Happy Bamboo Review—Editor’s Impressions
Climb the mountains of the Far East and enter a mystical and wonderfully bizarre world full of monkey warriors, hungry pandas, and magical symbols. In this Happy Bamboo slot review, we’ll take a closer look at a Push Gaming release that blends elements of Journey to the West with Kung Fu Panda—a mix of the ancient and modern that clashes with jackpots, Wilds, Mystery Symbols, Collectors, and more.
Happy Bamboo Slot Overview
A heavenly 3x3 grid and classic playing card symbols give this Push Gaming slot a retro feel, but the intricately designed Panda, Sun Wukong, Scroll, and Bottle symbols are more in line with popular 3D slots. Along with the Wild symbol, which substitutes for all other main game icons, the Panda is the game’s biggest payer.
The background depicts a mountaintop temple set among the clouds, while the game’s mascot sits atop the reels, cradling a bowl of gold coins.
Happy Bamboo RTP, Payout, and Volatility
Happy Bamboo features just five paylines, but comes with a strong RTP range that goes up to 96.31%. It can drop as low as 85.46%, though, so check the info screen (click the three lines, followed by the question mark, and then scroll to the bottom) before playing.
Volatility is medium, which should provide balanced gameplay when combined with the high end of that Happy Bamboo RTP range.
At 6.060x, the max win is higher than average, but not comparable to progressive or even fixed jackpot slots.
Happy Bamboo Mobile
We tried Happy Bamboo on Android and iOS and can confirm that it works well on both platforms. We got the best results on iPhone, but that’s entirely device dependent, and the neat layout and careful icon positioning mean it should work well on any mobile device.
Happy Bamboo Graphics and Gaming Experience
This is a very bright and shiny slot. It’s a strange description, but if you launch the Happy Bamboo slot demo, you’ll see what we mean.
It will have you reaching for your brightness settings and may prevent extended sessions. It’s great if you’re into that sort of thing, but it could have been toned down a little, and it will deter players who prefer darker, richer, or more intricate 3D slots. The audio is excellent, and unlike many other online slots, it doesn’t get repetitive.
Happy Bamboo Bonus Features
The reels and symbols might be influenced by classic slots, but the features definitely aren’t. There are several to unlock:
Mystery Symbols: Lands anywhere on the reels and transforms into the same symbol.
Golden Mystery Symbols: Open and spin to reveal high-paying icons.
Swapper: When the Panda lands on the top row, it swaps positions with another symbol.
Golden Coins: Can randomly trigger the main feature.
Happy Bamboo Free Spins Feature
The main Happy Bamboo Free Spins feature is a Hold and Respin round, and just like the base game, it has a few modifiers to enhance gameplay. These include fixed jackpots of up to 500x, instant prizes of 1x to 100x, and multipliers from x1 to x10.
You start the feature by spinning a multiplier reel, giving you a boost of x2, x3, x4, x5, or x10. The 3x3 grid then transitions to nine individual reels, and the goal is to collect Mystery Symbols, which lock in place on the reels and keep the feature running. At the end of the round, the multiplier boosts all values on the reels and pays out.
Pros and Cons of Playing Happy Bamboo
Pros
- Mystery Symbols
- Wilds and multipliers
- Jackpots and instant prizes
- Hold and Respin round
Cons
- Design won’t be for everyone
- Only five paylines
Where to Play Happy Bamboo Online
We have reviewed countless top Happy Bamboo slot sites, and if you want to play this slot for real money, you can find the best ones on our Push Gaming page. Be sure to read our expert reviews and compare CasinoRank scores before signing up.
Happy Bamboo Slot Summary
The design of the Happy Bamboo slot machine will divide some players, but all slot fans can appreciate its excellent range of features, including Mystery Symbols, jackpots, and a Hold and Respin round. As we’ve discussed in many other slot reviews, make sure you check the RTP, as it can vary considerably.
Get started with the Happy Bamboo demo. Once you have a good read on the features and mechanics, you can decide whether to transition to real money spins.