Rakin' Bacon bonus features: the pig, the Jackpot Pick and the free games

Rakin’ Bacon! has two bonus events, and the golden pig announces both. The Jackpot Pick Bonus can start at random whenever a wild lands in the base game and always ends with one of four fixed jackpots; the Free Game Bonus lets you trade spins for grid size, from 15 spins at 243 ways to 5 spins at 3,125 ways. The steps below come from AGS’s game page and the rules file shown to players at Borgata Online.

What the coin wilds and the pig do

AGS describes the pig in two places, in slightly different terms. Its game page says coin wilds landing on the reels can make the pig grow fatter, or burst and trigger the Jackpot Pick Bonus. The rules file says the pig fattens as wins add up and bursts when you win the Free Game Bonus, opening the screen where you choose your reel layout.

Treat the pig as the game’s signal that a feature is starting, not as a gauge. Nothing in AGS’s material says a fatter pig makes a feature more likely, and every spin is independent of the last.

The Jackpot Pick Bonus, step by step

1. A wild lands anywhere on the reels in the base game. That can trigger the bonus at random, but not every wild does.
2. A pick screen opens, and you choose icons one at a time.
3. You keep picking until three icons of the same jackpot match.
4. The match pays that jackpot: Grand, Major, Minor or Mini. One of the four is guaranteed every time the bonus starts.

AGS lists these jackpots as static. They are fixed prizes inside the game, not progressive meters, so they do not grow while other people play. The rules file does not print the jackpot amounts, so check the paytable in the game. Our guide to progressive jackpots explains how fixed and progressive prizes differ.

The Free Game Bonus and the volatility choice

When the Free Game Bonus is won, you pick one of three reel layouts:

More free spins can be won during the round. The rules file does not spell out what triggers the Free Game Bonus in the first place, so check the paytable in the game.

AGS calls this choosing your own volatility. Fifteen spins on the standard grid give you more chances, each with fewer ways; five spins on the 5x5 grid put the whole round on a handful of spins with far more ways each, so the result is likely to swing more between a small total and a large one. Neither AGS’s page nor the rules file says the RTP changes with your choice, so treat it as a choice about how the round pays out, not about how much the game returns over time.

How the bonus changes in the spin-offs

• Odyssey and Sahara. Three, four or five Bonus symbols on consecutive reels from the left award 10 free spins plus credits. In the free spins, a special symbol expands its reel to six rows for the rest of the round, up to 7,776 ways, and on an expanded reel it adds free spins or wilds. The Jackpot Pick Bonus uses 12 objects; you match three icons.
• Jackpots Bonus Wheel. No free games appear in its rules file. Gold Coin symbols may trigger a wheel spin with one to five pointers, one per Gold Coin on the reels, each paying the credit value it lands on; at the lowest bet the slices run from 100 to 5,000 credits. The jackpots come from three matching wilds on an active payline instead of a pick game.

For what these features mean for payback, read Rakin’ Bacon RTP and volatility. For the base game, see how Rakin’ Bacon plays, or go back to the Rakin’ Bacon overview.