Big 5 Africa

Big 5 Africa review

Big 5 Africa is a 5 reel African wildlife game from 7Mojos with 30 fixed lines, high volatility and a mix of classic features like free spins, multipliers, a bonus round, gamble option and even a progressive jackpot.

Theme, visuals and sound

The game is themed around the African savanna and the famous big five animals. You will see lions, leopards, elephants and other wildlife on the reels, with dry grass and warm sunset colors in the background. The layout is a standard 5 by 3 grid so it feels familiar right away.

Animations are simple but clear. Wins are highlighted, and special symbols are easy to spot. The sound is what you would expect from an African themed title, with drum style effects and short jingles when you hit something decent.

Math model and betting

Big 5 Africa runs on a 5 reel, 3 row setup with 30 fixed paylines. You cannot change the number of lines, so every spin uses all 30. Wins pay from left to right starting on the first reel, and you need at least three of the same symbol on a line to get paid.

The return to player is about ninety five point two percent and the volatility is on the high side. That means you can go through dry spells, but the game is built to drop bigger hits from time to time. The hit rate is stated as low, so you should expect fewer but stronger winning spins rather than constant small line hits.

The bet range is straightforward. With all lines fixed, you choose a total stake between 1 and 10 per spin, depending on what the casino offers. This keeps things simple but does not give tiny bet sizes for very cautious players.

Symbols and payouts

The paytable is split between premium animal symbols and lower paying icons.

• Top symbol The highest paying picture can return up to one thousand times your line bet for five of a kind. This is the main regular symbol you want to see stacked across the reels.
• Other premiums Big animals like lions, elephants and similar wildlife pay less than the top icon but still give solid line wins when you land four or five on a payline.
• Low pays The bottom end of the table is made up of simpler images that hit more often but for smaller amounts. These keep the balance moving while you wait for features or bigger hits.

All line wins are calculated from the leftmost reel to the right and only the highest win on each line is paid. If you hit several lines on the same spin, they are added together.

Wild symbol

The game uses a wild symbol that can stand in for regular pay symbols to complete or improve winning lines. When a wild lands in the right spot, it can turn a near miss into a full five of a kind or boost the number of winning lines on that spin. Wilds do not replace scatters or other special symbols that are used to trigger features.

Scatter symbol and free spins

There is a scatter symbol that is responsible for triggering the free spins feature. You do not need scatters to land on a specific line. Instead, they pay and trigger based on how many appear anywhere on the reels during one spin.

Landing at least three scatters at the same time starts a set of free spins. The common setup for this game is ten free spins when you trigger the round. During these spins, a win multiplier is active, so every line win is boosted. The multiplier can go up to three times, which makes even medium hits feel much stronger than in the base game.

In many versions of this style of feature, landing more scatters during the round will give extra free spins. If that is offered in your casino, you can extend the bonus and keep the multiplier working for longer.

Bonus round

On top of free spins, Big 5 Africa also includes a separate bonus feature. This is another special mode that you can enter by landing the required special symbols, usually a set number of scatters or a particular bonus icon.

When the bonus round starts, the game switches to a different payout pattern than the regular line wins. Often this means picking items, spinning a different style of wheel or collecting values that are added together at the end. The idea is to give you a shot at a chunkier prize than a normal spin would usually award. Exact details can vary by operator, but it is always a separate event from the regular free spins.

Multipliers

Multipliers are mainly tied to the free spins feature. When the round is active, wins are multiplied by a value that can reach three times your normal payout. For example, if a line would usually pay ten units, the same line during the feature with a triple multiplier will pay thirty instead. This is where a lot of the game’s bigger non jackpot wins will come from.

Progressive jackpot

One of the more interesting parts of Big 5 Africa is the presence of a progressive jackpot. This is a prize pool that grows over time as a small slice of bets is added to it. The jackpot can be awarded during play, often at random or through a special combination of symbols.

Because it is progressive, the top prize is not fixed. It can reach much higher than the usual paytable wins and is a big part of how the game can reach very large total payouts, up to tens of thousands of times your bet in the best case. Not every casino will link the game to the same jackpot network, so the exact value you see in the corner of the screen can differ between sites.

Gamble feature

After a winning spin, you may be given the option to gamble your win. The gamble feature usually works through a simple card guess or color choice. If you choose to use it and guess correctly, your win is doubled. If you guess wrong, you lose the amount you gambled.

You can often repeat this a few times in a row, but there is always a cap. The gamble option is completely optional. You can collect your win and skip it if you prefer a steadier balance.

Autoplay

Big 5 Africa supports autoplay. This lets you set a number of spins to run automatically at the same bet size. You can usually set loss limits or stop conditions such as when a bonus hits or when your balance changes by a certain amount. Autoplay is handy if you like to let the game run without clicking every time, but you should still keep an eye on your balance because the high volatility can move it up and down quickly.

Overall gameplay flow

Most of your time in Big 5 Africa will be spent in the base game, lining up animal symbols with the help of wilds. The real jumps in balance tend to come from the free spins with their multipliers, the extra bonus round and the chance at the progressive jackpot.

Because of the high volatility and low hit rate, the game is better suited to players who are comfortable with swings and are fine with waiting for features rather than getting constant small wins. If you enjoy that style of play and like African themes, this one lines up well with those tastes.