The famous jazz clubs of New Orleans provide the setting for The Big Easy, the latest live to online video slot conversion from IGT. This jazz-themed game is played using a 5 reel, 20 payline game engine and comes with a bonus feature where you can win up to 50 free spins complete with multipliers of up to 10x. Tune up, on all devices, from between 20p and £400 per spin.
A moonlit New Orleans street corner forms the backdrop to the reels. Rather than lower value playing cards, all of the symbols relate to the jazz theme – you’ll see glasses of bourbon, a jazz club programme, a shrimp and oysters dish, a street lamp, a saxophone, swirling piano and a street scene. More lucrative still are the trumpeter and the female singer. Land 3, 4 or 5 of the latter in a payline and you’ll pocket 3, 50, 250 or 1,000 coins.
The neon Big Easy logo is the wild – it too offers payouts of up to 1,000 coins per payline. Unusually, it rather than the scatter (the moon) triggers the Free Spins Bonus feature – land 3, 4 or 5 logo symbols on successive reels and you’ll activate the feature.
First choose from the selection of nightclub buildings to reveal how many free spins you’ve been given. Then pick from the selection of musical instruments to confirm the multiplier. The range of free spins and multipliers from each venue and instrument depends on how many bonus symbols triggered the feature.
- 3 Bonus symbols – 8, 10 or 15 free spins with a 2x, 3x or 4x multiplier
- 4 Bonus symbols – 16, 18 or 20 free spins with 5x, 6x or 10x multiplier
- 5 Bonus symbols – 22, 24 or 25 free spins with 7x, 8x or 10x multiplier
If you get 3 or more bonus symbols during a free spin, you will retrigger the feature giving you potentially 50 free spins with a 10x multiplier.
It’s not just the sound and visuals that are smooth here. The same goes for the volatility. This is a low to medium variance game so expect plenty of smaller wins and not too many massive jumps up or down for your bankroll. In fact, the maximum win is 1,047 times your stake on each spin.
A jazz themed video slot could easily descend into a Fast Show-style pastiche but The Big Easy stays on the right side of good taste. The design is classy and the bonus round offers some solid enough entertainment. Overall then, nice! If you want something more volatile, King of Atlantis by IGT is worth trying.
