Win Up To $125,000 With Belatra Games’ Northern Boom!
Animal-themed pokies are nothing new but it is quite rare to find North Pole-themed games in an online casino. Northern Boom is one such machine. Belatra Games launched Northern Boom in late 2021 and it quickly became a hit with recreational players. Why? Keep reading to find out.
Northern Boom Fundamentals
Northern Boom takes place in the icy arctic waters, so all the symbols have a wintery feel. The base game runs on a 5×3 layout with 25 pay lines running from left to right. You bet per line from as little as $0.01. This means $0.25 is the cheapest spin with $50 the maximum. Multiply those figures by the 5,000x maximum payout and you arrive at $1,250 and $125,000.
Behind the cute, fun graphics, which, by the way, have some great animations, lays a medium variance maths model. Combine that with a slightly below average 94.14% RTP and you get a pokie that is relatively kind to your bankroll.
What Are The Northern Boom Symbols?
All the Northern Boom symbols have a winter feel or are linked to the arctic sea. Spades, messages in a bottle, and anchors are the game’s lowest-value symbols. You receive 0.2x, 0.8x, and 2x for matching three, four or five.
Lobsters hiding under a rock, penguins, and sea lions are your mid-tier symbols. The latter pays 12x if you land five of them.
Submarines, fish wearing a deer stalker hat, and the game’s wilds make up the highest-value symbols. Wilds and the fish pay 1x, 10x, and 20x for landing three, four or five.
| Symbol | Match 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilds + Fish | 1x | 10x | 20x |
| Submarine | 0.8x | 6x | 16x |
| Sea lion | 0.6x | 4x | 12x |
| Penguin | 0.4x | 2x | 8x |
| Lobster | 0.4x | 0.8x | 2x |
| Spades, Bottles, Anchors | 0.2x | 0.8x | 2x |
Look out for snowballs that carry cash prizes and start a bonus round, plus a polar bear scatter that starts the free spins round.
What Are The Game’s Bonuses and Features?
You occasionally see snowballs with cash displayed on them landing on the board. Six or more of these trigger the bonus round. The board splits into 15 mini reels which spins individually. Cash credits, Mini Jackpot, Maxi Jackpot, and Grand Jackpot symbols are in play. As are fish bones, which award nothing. It is here you can win one of four jackpots.
- Mega Jackpot worth 2,000x
- Grand Jackpot worth 200x
- Maxi Jackpot worth 30x
- Mini Jackpot worth 20x
Three polar bear scatters start the Northern Boom free spins round. Five free spins are all yours. Landing an additional three scatters during the free spins round give three more free spins. Free spins are limited to 101.
The middle nine symbols morph into one giant symbol during the free spins round. Fingers cross you get a wild because this creates massive wins!
Conclusion
Northern Boom will not be to everyone’s liking because of the cartoon graphics. However, under the fun look lays a great little poker machine. We have to admit that the sounds get annoying quickly, so you may want to turn them off. There are only so many bubbles popping that one person needs to hear in their lifetime!
The house edge of 5.86% is a little on the high side, but the medium variance makes up for the shortfall. Combining the lower-than-average RTP with a high volatility model would not be nice.
Most symbols pay less than your cost per spin until you start landing four or five. This can be disheartening, but Northern Boom never seems unfair. The giant symbol during the free spins is a nice touch. It leads to some major wins, in addition to some frustrating near misses!
Northern Boom is available at Hell Spin Casino where a $1,200 welcome bonus awaits our readers.
