Bumba Meu Boi is basically Brazil’s answer to “what if we threw a party so wild that even a dead bull decided to come back just to see what the hell was going on?” The whole thing kicks off because someone really wanted to eat the bull’s tongue, because apparently asking nicely is overrated, and before you know it, the town’s in full carnival mode, dancing, drumming, and resurrecting livestock like it’s just another Tuesday.

And you thought Norse Mythology was confusing.

With the festival as wild as that as its theme, you’d think the Bumba Meu Boi Coin slot from VoltEnt would be all kinds of wild. But does it live up to the hype?

The hype train has left the building

The Bumba Meu Boi Coin slot features a wide betting range from just $0.10 per spin to $400 per spin. The fairly enemic 500x max multiplier means you’ll have to bet big to get anywhere near the $200,000 max win. The slot offers an RTP of 96.17%.

In the base game, you’re not really a slot at all. Instead, it’s preparation for the slot’s hold and win feature.

Play Now

The Bumba Meu Boi Coin slot features two sets of reels. The first is three reels wide and one row high, positioned above the other, which is three reels wide and three rows high. The top set of reels will only display blank or Magic Coin symbols. Once a Magic Coin symbol lands, the entire reel of the second set of reels directly below will be activated.

With each spin, the bottom set of reels will only display large symbols. If the symbol is an instant-win gold coin symbol, a jackpot symbol, a collector pot symbol, or a mystery symbol, it will be added to a blank active spot on the reels. If no spots are active, you will have to wait until you receive a Magic Coin symbol to open up another reel.

In addition to the instant win gold coin, jackpot, collector, and mystery symbols, you can also get an extra life symbol, which is used during the hold and win feature. These extra lives will be converted into spins of the hold and win feature that will be played before the standard format of the game begins.

A round of the slot’s hold and win feature is triggered when a Boi Da Fortuna Bonus symbol lands on the bottom set of reels. Once triggered, all symbols on the bottom set of reels will become active. You will then play through any extra lives first, with each spin potentially adding an additional symbol to the reels.

Play Now

You will then get three spins to add additional symbols to the reels. If you manage it, your spins will be reset. If not, your round will be over. Once it is, all mystery symbols will be revealed, with the Magic Coin symbols also acting as mystery symbols.

The Bumba Meu Boi Coin slot offers multiple ways to tweak its gameplay. Firstly, you can choose between three volatility levels, from low to high. You can also 2x, 4x, or 6x your chance of triggering a round of the hold and win feature with the Chance Level meter. 

The slot also offers an extensive buy feature that allows you to purchase a host of variants of the hold-and-win feature trigger.

Is the Bumba Meu Boi Coin slot less confusing than the name?

Listen, I like a simplified three-reel slot as much as the next guy. I do, however, think we’ve gone too far with the Bumba Meu Boi Coin slot. The base game isn’t a slot game. It’s just a glorified waiting room for the slot’s hold and win feature. And that’s a shame because I think there is a lot to like about the slot otherwise.

The hold and win feature is fun, and the graphics and animations are great. There’s just not enough here to keep me coming back. I give the Bumba Meu Boi Coin slot a six out of ten.

If you’re looking for a few VoltEnt slots that I would recommend, try out Los Muertos and Space Spins.