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Playtech, a Douglas, Isle of Man-based gambling software development company, released the Ugga Bugga in July 2006. In the last 19 years, it has grown through leaps and bounds, becoming a top favourite for Canadian players who seek a drift away from classic slots to adventure-based games. In this review, we discuss Ugga Bugga by Playtech.
The title presents a 3-reel and 10-row jungle-themed reel machine, offering punters inroads into frequent wins.
The company has excelled over the years and become a force to reckon with in the Interactive Gaming (iGaming) industry, where it drives the market with proprietary technology designed to deliver innovative services and products.
The Ugga Bugga slot game is built around a tribal and jungle theme, juggling the exotic thematics of both to evoke the feeling of a mystical and ancient civilization. As expected, punters need to go deeper into the uncharted jungle to figure all these out, while maintaining the spirit of adventure.
The storyline trails gamblers through the quest to discover and unearth symbols and treasures that open doors to more winning potential. The game’s tonality is slightly mysterious, further maintaining the wonderful and quirky thematic atmosphere that keeps punters invested.
Visual elements like exotic shields, tribal masks, totems and tropical fruits highlight the mystery and rhythm of tribal life.
The purpose of the Ugga Bugga slot game’s plot is to take punters on an adventure through using the «hold and spin» mechanic rather than unfolding a storyline. In light of this, the graphics, animations and sounds are optimized to highlight all these.
Starting it off are the intentionally retro and bright graphics denoting a cartoonish tribal aesthetic. This is a sharp contrast to what some other reel machines would offer, in the case of using modern 3D effects.
The graphics are further dotted with large and bold icons like exotic fruits, jungle drums, shields and totems.
The animations improve upon what the graphics offer, introducing a modernized approach to events within the game, all done without distractions. For example, there are no heavy transitions and symbols simply glow or lightly flash upon winning.
The sound is superb, featuring rhythmic tribal drum beats in the background and a soft whoosh when spinning the reels. While the audio is subtle, it does enhance the jungle vibe.
Enjoying the Ugga Bugga online slot requires understanding the layout, which is a tad different from the conventional structure. This time, you’re presented with an unconventional 3 by 10 reel grid, which lets you play ten sets of three reels at the same time. The idea? Giving each of the lines independence while making it appear like you’re launching ten small 3-reel slot machines at the same time.
Once you understand that, proceed to make an account with an online casino like JackpotCity Casino, Spin Casino Canada or Zodiac Casino.
Some of these platforms allow Canadians to play Ugga Bugga slot free, through the demo version made available.
When done with the registration process, set your bet between CAD 0.01 and CAD 10 per line, use the «hold» feature to lock any icon and apply it to all 10 active paylines on the next spin, then spin the reel.
Landing the winning combinations on the reel helps you win. Cash out and jump in the title again!
The gameplay starts with a 3-reel and 10-payline structure, which means that rather than spinning per slot, you’re spinning ten 3-reel mini-slots at the same time. This also means that:
The core mechanic in the gameplay is the «hold and spin». It starts with the first spin, which shows three symbols at the stop of the first reel. By locking this feature, you give the slot machine the go-ahead to hold any of those icons and carry them on to the next spin. Canadian players are better off holding either the tribal masks or wild shields, which have higher winning potential.
In this subsection, we talk about some of the features to teach you how to play Ugga Bugga slot. The hold and spin feature is the main attraction for these reasons:
The Ugga Bugga by Playtech also has an «auto-hold» feature, which automatically recommends the best icons for punters to hold. This comes in handy for those looking to form better-winning combinations and make money with fewer guesses.
Though it doesn’t have scatter symbols, extra rounds, or multiplier functions, this game has an adjustable bet size, allowing Canadian players the liberty to select their bet per line. This is a good way to keep a thumb on your bankroll and spread money across all lines.
The Ugga Bugga slot game has a total of ten symbols, classified according to the pay structure. While the low-paying ones are two, featuring coconuts and bananas, the medium-paying variants are three, featuring pineapple, fruit bowl, and tiki totem. The high-paying symbols are five and include an African shield, bongo drums, two tribal masks and a wild shield.
Canadians need to aim for the Wild Shield, which has the highest payout of 1,000 times the line bet. The two tribal masks are marked red/yellow paying 750x and blue/green paying 600x.
There’s also the wild shield doubling as the «special symbol». It substitutes for every other icon and potentially increases winning chances if the hold feature is held.
The payout structure of the symbols has the following terms:
Canadians have the full experience when playing the Ugga Bugga slot game because it’s available across the top-rated online casinos, such as Casino Friday, Zodiac Casino and JackpotCity Casino.
Get into the smooth mobile experience, exploring the game on both mobile and desktop. Some of the online casinos also allow mobile browsing, allowing you to enjoy on the go with your mobile internet browser.
Local payment methods like Interac, Skrill, iDebit, Neteller and Instadebit are allowed. You may also use MasterCard and VISA debit or credit cards on some sites.
These options make entering the Ugga Bugga online slot enticing for Canadians.
Winning the reel machine comes in handy for beginners. The key is to master the hold feature, which helps automate the selection of symbols to hold across all paylines.
Here are some of the best icons to hold and why:
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Bongo Drums |
These reflect the African tribal theme and constantly remind you of the vibrant and cultural energy of the title. It ranks fourth in the table of high-paying symbols. |
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Wild Shield |
This is the highest symbol that pays in the Ugga Bugga slot game. It can substitute for any other icon. |
|
High-paying Masks |
These are the red/yellow and blue/green. If held correctly, they can significantly boost your payout chances across all 10 paylines. |
You can also win the Ugga Bugga online slot by enjoying all ten active paylines. Even though the game forces you to do so, it comes with benefits such as:
Unlike conventional reel machines, the title doesn’t have classic bonus features, such as free spins, progressive jackpots, or bonus rounds.
However, you can make the most out of the hold feature, which serves as the core bonus-style mechanic. It works by replicating the three symbols you got on the first reel after the first spin. By holding and replicating these across the ten paylines in subsequent spins, you have an increased chance of landing larger payouts on multiple lines.
This game doesn’t have a free spins bonus feature, just as it doesn’t feature the likes of scatter pays and bonus rounds. A couple of reasons explain why this popular bonus was omitted:
The maximum possible win you can get from wagering on Ugga Bugga by Playtech is 1,000 times your bet on each of the lines. That makes the maximum win 10,000x.
The calculation is the maximum amount payable on each of the winning symbols multiplied by the line bet multiplied by the total number of lines.
For example, if you wager with CAD 0.10 per line, and you land one Wild Shield, it’d be multiplied by your line bet, bringing it to the value of the symbol (1,000x) multiplied by CAD 0.10 line bet multiplied by the number of paylines = 1,000. Likewise, the total win possible would be CAD 10,000 if you wagered with CAD 1 per line bet.
The Ugga Bugga RTP is 99.07%. This makes it one of the reel machines from the provider, Playtech, with a high RTP.
While that is the official value, some online casino operators may display lower values, in the range of 95 to 96%. That notwithstanding, it’s a good percentage of returns made to players for every cent wagered.
Canadian players are advised to be vigilant, as some operators may not offer this value. Also, you should review the title info to be sure of the possible returns before playing and wagering.
The Ugga Bugga online slot is classified as a low-variance game. What this means for Canadians is that, first, the payouts will be frequent, but you can expect the wins to be small.
There’s also a chance to take a shot at big wins, only if you can land more of the high-paying symbols on the reel. To balance things up, it’s low-risk, opening up the doors for casual and professional players to wager without experiencing long streaks of losses.
A couple of reasons prove why Playtech opted to make it low-volatility:
This 3-reel and 10-payline online reel machine was developed by Playtech and released in July 2006. It features a rare hold and spin mechanism and, in place of bonus features, offers a ridiculously high 99.07% Return to Player (RTP).
Yes, you can test free versions to get familiar with online casino operators that offer this activity. It’s a good way to understand how the hold feature works and how to form winning combinations.
The Ugga Bugga slot game doesn’t have free spins, multipliers and scatter symbols. It also doesn’t have progressive jackpots or bonus rounds.
Wins are calculated per line, and all payouts multiply the line bet and not the total bet.
The maximum possible win is 10,000 for your line bet, only if you land high-paying symbols, especially the Wild Shield, on all ten active paylines.
You can wager between CAD 0.10 and CAD 10 per line. Depending on the casino, you can wager up to CAD 20 per spin.
The title is a low-variance reel machine, meaning that it offers frequent but smaller wins.
The Ugga Bugga by Playtech is one of the unconventional slot machines you’ll find out there, as it doesn’t feature some of the popular bonuses, and comes with a unique structure of 10 paylines and a hold feature used to replicate symbols across all lines.
It’s the ideal reel machine for Canadian players who prefer steady-win and risk-free mechanics over highly volatile titles.
