Big Kahuna Snakes and Ladders Pokies
Big Kahuna is a well-known and popular pokie from Microgaming that became so successful they decided to release a follow-up version incorporating a Snakes and Ladders game into the mix. It fits in quite well with the tropical island theme, and adds a few extra serpent symbols, while some of the symbols from the old game have been subtly updated and a couple of others are thrown in as well, just for good measure.
Although there were a couple of quick bonus rounds in the original game, Microgaming have decided to go all-out and pack this one with extra features, so players get wild multiplier payouts, a free spins round where winnings are multiplied again, scatter wins and the Snakes and Ladders round that plays out on a new screen and can lead to a win of 100x the bet amount.
Snaking a Path to the Big Kahuna
There's 15 paylines to bet on, although players can choose to just have a stake on a single one if they want, while coins are valued at 0.01 to 0.25 each, and up to 20 coins can be put on each line. In plain English that means a bet range from just 0.01 to 75.00 per spin, and the paytable expresses wins as a multiple of the amount wagered per line.
The 5 reels are adorned with traditionally styled images from Polynesian islands, so there's a rich variety of tropical fruits like kiwi, pineapple, oranges and watermelons, plus a Komodo Dragon, monkey, male and female characters and a tribal mask.
Wins run from just 4x the line bet amount for getting the pineapple or watermelon symbols on a line, right up to 2000x if the player is fortunate enough to have the tribal mask appear right across all of the reels on an activated line.
As with the original version, despite the symbols being fairly simply drawn, this is an exceptionally bright and colourful pokie, so it certainly can’t be accused of looking boring, while a host of bonus symbols ensure that the gameplay remains pretty engaging as well.
Big Kahuna Snakes & Ladders
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The one that players are likely to encounter most frequently is the Big Kanhuna Snakes and Ladders logo which acts as a wild by replacing any other base symbol if it helps to complete a winning line. So players who get an orange on a payline on reel 1 and another on reel 3 wouldn’t win a prize, but if the wild was in the right spot on reel 2, they would, plus there’s the added bonus that in this example, the payout would be doubled from 6x the line bet to 12x.
The wild can also equal some of the biggest wins, even without having to substitute for anything else, with a full line of 5 being worth a very nice 5000x the stake per line.
Many online pokies have a free spins feature, and nearly all need to be triggered by a particular combination of symbols, or a scatter symbol, but that’s not the case here, as players will find themselves treated to 5 free spins completely at random. Any wins are doubled in value, but should any be made with wild substitutions, then they get quadrupled in value.
The name of this game would be a bit misleading if Snakes and Ladders didn’t turn up somewhere, so here’s where we look at this fun, innovative and potentially quite lucrative part of the game.
A snake symbol turning up on reels 1, 3 and 5 at the same time will take players to a second screen that’s laid out like the famous game, and designed in a style that fits in with the theme. So ladders are made from sticks and ropes, and there are some faintly disturbing shrunken heads on display to remind us that Pacific island life is not all about fishing off tropical beaches.
Players get to roll 5 dice, moving along, up or down the board depending on where they land, while landing a 6 awards them with a free roll. If they are lucky enough (very lucky indeed, actually), to get to the mask symbol at the top of the board, a prize of 100x the bet, or 30,000 coins maximum will be awarded, but each roll is worth a prize, so no-one leaves empty handed.
Big Kahuna or Big Clunker?
Microgaming have successful updated Big Kahuna and added some much-needed bonus rounds to the original. Free spins and multiplier payouts are welcome additions, and although the Snakes and Ladders round of the title may be tricky to complete, it’s still a fun diversion from the main reels.