The Donuts slot by Big Time Gaming has been in the oven for quite some time already. Seeing its first daylight earlier in June, it’s finally received a full release on July 4th, the independence day of America. Sporting old-school retro aesthetics and an American vibe, is this a donut worth biting? Grab yourself a coffee and get ready to read. We’re diving into Donuts!
Donuts Slot Introduction & Stats
Announced earlier this year, Donuts is the latest release by Big Time Gaming, the darling of the casino streaming community. With releases in 2018 such as Book of Gods and Extra Chilli, they’ve managed to step up their production rate quite a bit. The first thing I noticed right away was the lack of a bonus drop feature, which is now a commonplace feature in other BTG slots. This was a quite welcome sight to my eyes, as I’m still feeling a bit uncomfortable about Big Time Gaming’s push to make slots as volatile as humanly possible. There are no free spins to gamble away on this slot, quite the opposite. It’s probably the cleanest and purest looking slot BTG have ever released!
The base game of the Donuts slot
The Donuts slot is rather unassuming at first sight. With four reels, four rows and 2401 possible ways, it also doesn’t feature the classic Megaways we’ve come to love. The RTP of 96.54% is a relative industry standard. Featuring a classic design featuring a cliche American drive-in set in a desert landscape. I’m not sure if this is a rip-off or merely a throwback. Regardless, it’s a bright copy of a Sonic drive-in in the United States. I’m guessing it might be the latter, as the game also features casino streamer references. For instance, upon scoring a big win, you might be presented with phrases such as “GOOD ONE!” or “GET THE FUDGE IN THERE!”. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this game gives some clear shoutouts.
Donuts Slot Base Game & Stats
The base game of Donuts is horrible. Yes, I said it. If you’ve come to look for a handful of spins and then head off elsewhere, this is not the right game for you. This is one drive-in where you might be stuck for a long time. Even though Donuts allows for bet sizes as low as 0.05EUR or equivalent, you won’t be seeing your stake multiplied heavily on the standard game. While the game’s random donut boxes can open up a wild or two, it will take some serious combinations to trigger a nice win. The game’s premium symbols do not even pay that much with a single multiplier.
As you can see in the above screenshot, the donuts are the “premium” symbols in the game. Although even getting the red one only provides a 4x if you manage to hit 4 of them. You need to the boxes with a good multiplier to get something going in the base game. Don’t be surprised if you get “wins” in the 0.01-0.05 category, as the base game is as tight as they can get. It is a game that’s all about the BONUS!
Donuts Slot Bonus Feature
I want to get one thing straight and clear before I talk about the bonus. I did not receive it a single time. I’ve played over a 1000 spins of this game, yet I have not received a single bonus, therefore, the information below only comes from fact sheets and conversations with other players.
A screenshot of the Donuts bonus game, the most mythical of all bonus games
The gist of triggering the bonus game is rather simple. Get three golden donuts, that’s 12 free spins. Four golden donuts give you 20. Great. Upon entering the bonus round, you get an assortment of 1×1 squares, which can either give you a blank or reveal a golden donut with a multiplier. Each scatter can range from a multiplier between 1x and 50x. The actual free spins only trigger once you either get three dead spins in a row or the entire screen fills up with scatters.
Afterward, the entirety of your multiplier collected applies to the base game where the free spins are used up. During this round, it’s possible for the game to retrigger again, with sums of up to 7,500,000x being hushed and whispered about as being the theoretical maximum. Good luck! I’ll do an update of my own as soon as I land a bonus on this game, but I kid you not. I’ve played the game for more than a thousand spins without a single bonus. While I might be the outlier here, this should give you an indication of this slot’s volatility.
UPDATE JULY 5th: I finally managed to get my first bonus on this game!
Yeah. That’s all I’ve got to say. You can draw conclusions yourself.
Donuts Slot Conclusion
All in all, I’m not entirely sold on Donuts just yet. While I like the snack in real life, the game is a real mixed bag. With all of the RTP being crammed into the bonus game, this might be the most volatile game Big Time Gaming have ever released. Forget gambling away your free spins or buying bonuses. This little, simple 4-reel slot carries a bonus that’s heavier than a Boeing 787. Of course, the chances of hitting a life-changing win are minimal, but there’s enormous potential to get a win that could change your life even on the smallest stakes.
Will it make an appearance on SlotsFighter? Who knows! The Big Time Gaming round is a favorite of many, but I have difficulty seeing how this slot will adapt to tournament play. On the one hand, it can provide an insane score, as the slot has absurd volatility. On the other hand, the steep time to trigger a bonus might infuriate a lot of participants. If you want to try out the slot on your own, it’s now available on all good casinos such as Mr. Green both in the UK and worldwide. Take a bit of the donut and let me know how it tastes. Maybe you managed to get a bonus.
