Play Sweet Bonanza

Sweet Bonanza by Pragmatic Play is credited as being one of the first cluster pays slots. The 6x5 grid is filled with fruit and candy which award payouts when 8 or more appear together. Features include cascades and a Free Spins round with multipliers. 

Sweet Bonanza was released in 2019, making it seven years old at the time of writing, an eternity in the world of online slots, so a lot of what appeared innovative at the time is now pretty standard stuff. For example, the way the symbols tumble into the grid instead of spinning on a reel was a big wow factor back in the day, now, not so much.  

Still, it looks pretty good for its age, and Pragmatic Play has updated it over the years, polishing up the graphics every couple of years as new tech raises player expectations. The game has also inspired so many copies that even those who haven’t played it might find the sweet, sugary, landscape in the background familiar. The symbols on the reels, even the fruit, all have a boiled sweet look, and the soundtrack can best be described as elevator music.  

Special symbols: 

The Lollipop Scatter handles feature triggers and also brings a payout when enough land together. 

Multiplier symbols act as special additions, stepping in during certain parts of the game to boost outcomes. 

Tumble Feature 

Every spin runs with the tumble system active, meaning when a winning group lands, those symbols disappear and new ones fall into place, a process that can keep going for several drops in a row if new matches keep forming. 

Free Spins 

Free spins kick in when 4 or more Scatter symbols land anywhere on the grid. This will get the player 10 spins, and extra Scatters during the feature add more. 

Multiplier Symbols 

During free spins, multiplier symbols show up and apply their value to the total from a tumble. If more than one lands, the values combine before being applied, which can lift the overall result of that spin.

The game runs on a 6x5 grid, with cluster pays instead of paylines so matching 8 or more symbols anywhere on the screen forms a win. 

Some titles have become iconic, either for introducing a new mechanic like Megaways, or just for their appeal, like the following:  

• Starburst by NetEnt and its expanding wilds still tops the list of player favourites. 
• Bonanza Megaways by Big Time Gaming brought the shifting reel layouts and cascading wins into the public eye, even though it wasn’t the first Megaways game. 
• Fishin’ Frenzy by Blueprint Gaming inspired a whole genre built around collection mechanics, and fish. 

We look at Sweet Bonanza as one of the early examples that helped shape how cluster slots are built today. The layout is simple, and most of the focus sits on the tumble system and how it links into the bonus round. When multiplier symbols stack during free spins, the pace can change quickly. Some players might find the base game a bit slow, but anyone who wants to experience a classic should definitely check it out.