Big Chef
May 2015 saw the launch of the restaurant themed video slot ‘Big Chef‘ by Microgaming. If you enjoy your food, especially if it consists of juicy steaks and succulent chicken then you might find yourself getting a bit hungry as you play this fun slot game. This slot is styled in a bit of a ‘Ratatouille’ type of cartoon style and like that particular Disney film, this game is also set in a French restaurant.
Big Chef by Microgaming is a 5-reel and 15 pay line video slot that includes free spins within the base game and a special rising wilds feature where the wild symbol will fill the rows above. There is also a bonus free spins feature created by landing scatter symbols that also will see your wins multiplied by two times. Play the Big Chef video slot by Microgaming and you could land the top jackpot prize of £75,000.
How to play the Big Chef Video Slot
When you load up the Big Chef video slot you will be presented with a very vibrant and colourful looking game with great looking graphics. The symbols depict characters and food from the restaurant which sit on their reels with a yellow and gold striped background. The 5 reels themselves sit on a backdrop of the restaurant’s kitchen with pans boiling away and meat hanging from the ceiling.
Unlike many of Microgaming slots, the Big Chef game does not include any standard card symbols. Instead, you have five scrumptious looking meals that include soup, creme brulee, chicken, steak and crab. Next, you have four characters that are the pot washer, the waiter, the sous chef and the head chef. Alongside these, you have the Big Chef game logo as the Standard Wild symbol, the Scatter Menu symbol that can activate free spins, the base game cloche symbol on reel 5 for single free spins and then the rising wilds symbol. As you can see, this online slot has a lot going on.
Before you tuck into this feast of fun, make sure you set your cost per spin and that this is at a level you are comfortable with. Using the ‘Bet’ button at the bottom of the game screen you can set the coin size at 1p, 2p or 5p along with a multiplier of how many coins to bet. This can be set from 1 up to 10. Therefore, adjusting these options allows you to set the cost per spin to as little as 15p up to a maximum of £7.50 which is quite low compared to many other Microgaming slots.
To start playing Big Chef you just need to select the oblong looking button on the bottom far right of the game screen marked ‘Spin’. There is also an ‘Auto Play’ button along the bottom section of the game screen. Clicking the AutoPlay feature allows you to have the game spin the reels automatically. You can set the number of spins from 5 up to 100 or use the pre-set buttons for 10, 25, 50 or 100 spins.
As you play the base game of Big Chef you will find that the basic wild symbol will appear quite frequently and therefore help generate wins often. However, although these can be of a decent size at times, it is the bonus feature of the rising wilds during the free spins bonus round that can help you land the biggest rewards.
If you manage to land at least 3 scatter symbols then you will activate the free spins bonus round. You will be awarded 10 free spins with a 2x multiplier on all wins. During the free spins, if a wild symbol lands it will then change into a rising wild and expand to the row above for the next spin. If this process starts on the bottom row then it will expand to cover the whole of the reel and then disappear. Landing more than one wild symbol at a time will see a large portion of the game board filled with wilds and helping to produce some big sized wins.
Once your 10 free spins are complete you will return to the base game. During the base game, you can also receive single free spins if you land the free spin cloche symbol on reel five.
Big Chef Video Slot Tips
On the right-hand side of the game screen, you will see a button labeled ‘Pays’. This will reveal a series of 4 screens that give information about the game including the main features as discussed above. You can also view the coin payout levels for the number of matching symbols on a winning line along with a grid view of how the wins are generated. These screens are useful and help familiarise you with the game and what you need to do to get the best wins possible.
If you are new to playing the Big Chef video slot, then it would be worth your while to try out the game for free at one of our recommended online casinos. This facility allows you to learn how the game plays and see the bonus free spin feature before spending your hard earned cash. You can switch to real cash play at any time. If you would like to play Big Chef slot for free then you can at Betbright Casino and Slotty Vegas.
Is Big Chef the right video slot for you?
The Big Chef Slot by Microgaming has a theoretical RTP (return to player) of 97.0% giving a house edge of 3.0% which is one of the better RTP’s for a Microgaming slot. However, over our test plays of 100 spins at £1.50 per spin the game felt like the RTP was slightly lower than this. The longest dry spell we had was 9 spins without a win. The single free spin feature landed very infrequently as did the main bonus feature.
The scatter symbols would land often but no more than two, which still produced a win but you do need three to start the bonus round. The game is very much a medium variance game as you are reliant on hitting the main feature to boost your winnings. On this basis be aware that using this slot to work through a free casino bonus and meet the wagering requirements can work either way. Hit the main feature and you should do well, however, remain in the base game and you could see your bonus cash disappear quite quickly even with frequent low-value wins.
