More and more online games are offering the option to buy bonus rounds in-game. In practice, this means you are paying multiple times the amount you bet to enter the bonus game directly. We all know that the biggest wins in the game are in the bonus games, but is it worth paying for them? In this article, we’ll look closely at how this feature works and whether paying for it makes any sense.
Pros
- The player can decide when to buy the bonus game
- Possibility of significantly higher payouts than the base game
- Payout rate in some games is higher in bonus rounds
Cons
- A price tag up to several hundred times higher than a normal bet
- Easy to lose large amounts very quickly
Bonus buy, Feature Buy, Purchase Bonus – How do They Function?
Most of us know the feeling when, no matter how many spins you spin, the scatters just refuse to fall and trigger the bonus round. If only there was a shortcut to this… Well there is! In games with a bonus buy feature, you can purchase your way into the in-game free spins or bonus game with a single click. This is a quick way to get your hands on the highest prizes in the game, but on the other hand, the price is pretty salty as well. It is directly linked to your stake and depends entirely on the game. At its lowest, you can buy a bonus game for 50 times your bet, but the price can go up to hundreds or even thousands of times your stake. Buying a bonus game cannot be recommended for players who cannot handle very high volatility!
In its simplest form, you can activate the bonus game by clicking on the “feature buy” button within the game and the free spins will start spinning. In some games, you can choose between different features or how many spins you wish to buy, for example. The bonus feature will then trigger automatically, so you can lean back and watch the outcome. Buying a bonus game is generally not possible when playing with a casino bonus!
Bonus Buy Games
The bonus buy feature is most frequently available in games with either high or very high volatility. So by directly buying the bonus rounds, you are effectively enjoying even higher volatility. The risks and potential rewards increase accordingly. In addition to bonus buy games, Megaways games also tend to have high volatility. It is, therefore, no accident that many slots that use the Megaways mechanics offer the possibility to buy a bonus game.
Games with a bonus buy feature cannot be identified from the top, but can only be found in the game itself. Some online casinos have started to list bonus buy games in their separate category to find them, but most of the time, the player just needs to know which games have this feature. At the time of writing, there are literally hundreds of bonus buy games. Their number is constantly increasing, so it’s hard to list every single one. For this reason, we will now present the most well-known games with a bonus buy feature.
Rick & Morty Megaways
Bonus buy price: 100x stake
RTP: 96.55% in the base game
Win potential: 50 000x
Volatility: High
Based on the Blueprint television cartoon of the same title, the Megaways slot is highly entertaining, even at its basic game. However, a bet of 150x will automatically activate the bonus game. In this slot, the purchased bonus game is chosen from three options on a wheel of fortune, which also randomly draws between 5 and 20 spins. However, if you access the bonus rounds via the base game, you can choose which bonus game you want to play. The slot version of the cult classic Rick & Morty series is also perfect for those who haven’t had the chance to watch the first episode.
Money Train 2
Bonus buy price: 100x stake
RTP: 96.4% in the base game / 98% in the bonus game
Payout potential: 50 000x
Volatility: High
Money Train 2 is one of the most popular games for purchasing a bonus game. In this high-volatility game from Relax Gaming, payouts can reach up to 50 000x! Playing the base game can sometimes be very frustrating, with Money Train 2 skimping without delivering any winnings for a long time. The bonus game can be accessed by placing a bet of 100x, and the shootout begins. Instead of the usual symbols, the original bonus game only counts odds on the bet. What’s also interesting about Money Train 2 is that by purchasing the bonus feature, the game’s potential theoretical payback percentage increases from the standard 96.4% to 98%!
White Rabbit
Bonus Buy Price: 100x stake
RTP: 97.24% for the base game / 97.77% for the bonus game
Payout Potential: 13 000x
Volatility: High
The first bonus buy game to hit the big time was Big Time Gaming’s White Rabbit, which is also one of the first Megaways games. White Rabbit is a very interesting bonus buy game since the price of the bonus feature drops as you spin the reels. Originally, the bonus game pays 100x your stake. If the bonus spins don’t trigger by chance during the base game, the feature buy price will eventually decrease to zero and activate the spins automatically. So the game is perfect for a broad range of budgets and strategies.
Extra Chilli uses a similar “feature drop” mechanic from the same game provider. Because of the feature price drop, these games from Big Time Gaming are not allowed to be played with a bonus in most casinos. Otherwise, players could play the bonus feature with bonus money at a price close to zero and trigger it later with real money. This would be an abuse of casino bonuses and is therefore not permitted.
Dead or Alive 2
Bonus buy price: 60x stake
RTP: 96.82% in the base game
Win potential: 100 000x
Volatility: High
Dead or Alive is a very well-known slot game from NetEnt, but did you know that there are two variations of this game? The original Dead or Alive 2 game didn’t have the option to buy a bonus game, but this has been later added to the Dead or Alive 2 Feature Buy game. So if you can’t find the bonus buy feature in the game, check out the other version by searching the casino.
Once you have bought the bonus feature, you can choose between three types of bonus games. Each works slightly differently, but the most important factor is that their volatility will vary. So you can decide whether to chase small wins frequently or hunt for the biggest win with the highest possible risk. Your choice of the bonus game does not affect your purchase price.
I am a woman of passion – and it just so happened that one of those passions is copywriting. iGaming, Crypto casinos, games, you name it, I’m all in. In this industry, the stakes are high, and in order to survive, you have to be a high-roller, so may the odds be in my favor.
