Gameplay & Design
Due to their nature, whether or not you win on an online pokie, or how much you win, is an entirely random affair. Given this, there’s not any sort of playing strategy that will make you be able to increase your winnings or get more out of Big Red or any machine. The best playing tip we can offer, especially when using real money, is to gamble responsibly. No online casino is ever going to tell you that you’ve spent too much, so instead of chasing wins consider playing some free pokies to break up your experience.
As with other online pokies in Australia, Big Red features two kinds of symbols: card symbols, such as 10s, Jacks and Queens, and themed symbols, based on the different creatures you might find in the Australian outback, such as foxes or boars.
The titular kangaroo is the Wild symbol, and only appears on the last three reels. Whenever he substitutes for a symbol in any winning line, the player will earn five free spins, to be played immediately afterwards and with the same bet. This is also a stackable effect, so if Big Red completes another line for you during your free spins, you’ll earn even more bonus rounds.
The tree is the Scatter symbol. Scatter wins are multiplied by the bet per line and the number of lines played. During the free games, any Scatter that appears is worth the same amount of money as the win line that triggered the feature. While this means that the amount you can win on Scatter symbols is highly variable, you will still add to your winnings whenever one appears.
While Big Red has remained a popular game throughout the years, it’s also very clear when playing that this is an older game. With the exception of the Wild and Scatter symbols, the themed symbols have no animations, and their realistic style would not lend itself well to movement.
As far as being a fun and engaging online pokie, Big Red still gets the job done, but as time has passed its design has unfortunately become bog standard. At this point, it’s an online pokie you should play because it’s trusted and reliable, not because you’re looking for something flashy.