Bull Rush is a bullfighting-themed video slot from Novomatic, released in February 2018. The reels are dressed in Spanish corrida imagery: a matador, red roses, a bottle of red wine, a guitar and, on the wild, a very angry-looking bull. There are no depictions of an actual fight, so the theme stays in the arena rather than in the ring.
The game is built on a simple five-reel, 20-payline layout, and its hook is the free spins round, where every bull that lands multiplies your wins. Add a classic red-or-black gamble feature and a matador who pays 2,000 times the line bet for a full line, and you have a straightforward Novomatic video slot with more upside than it first looks.
This guide covers how Bull Rush plays, what each symbol pays, how the free spins multiplier works and what the gamble feature risks. The free demo on WinPockets lets you try it with virtual credits before you play for real money.
You can play the Bull Rush demo free on WinPockets below — virtual credits, no risk.
How to Play Bull Rush
Choose how many of the 20 lines to play and set your line bet. Playing a single line costs AU$0.10 per spin, but only wins on that line count, so to be paid for everything that lands you need all 20 lines, which starts at AU$2.00 per spin. Stakes go up to AU$10.00 per spin, and an Autoplay button lets the reels run without you clicking each spin.
Wins are paid for matching symbols from left to right on active paylines. The matador is the symbol to watch, and the arena scatter is the one that opens the bonus round.
Gameplay & Winning Combinations
Bull Rush is a classic video slot: five reels, three rows and 20 fixed lines. Line wins are multiples of your line bet, while scatter wins are multiples of your total bet and are added to any line wins.
The wild is a close-up of the bull. It does not pay on its own, even when it fills an entire line, but it substitutes for the other symbols and can complete a run that would otherwise be broken.
Symbols
The lower tier is made up of the playing-card symbols. The 10, J and Q pay 5×, 20× and 100× the line bet for three, four and five on a line, while the K and A pay 10×, 30× and 150×.
Above them sit the themed symbols. A red rose and a bottle of red wine each pay 20×, 50× and 300× the line bet, and the guitar pays up to 500×. The matador is the top symbol: 50× the line bet for three from the left, 200× for four and a full-line 2,000× for five.
Bonus Features
The scatter is a view down into the bullfighting ring. It pays wherever it lands, worth 4× your total bet for four and 5× for five, and four or more of them start the free spins round.
You receive 12 free spins with the Bull Rush feature: the number of bull symbols on screen multiplies that spin’s wins. No bulls pays at the normal rate, one bull gives a 2× multiplier, two bulls 3× and three bulls 4×, and the multiplier keeps climbing to a maximum of 16×. Free spins are played at the bet and paylines of the spin that triggered them.
After any winning spin you can press Gamble to try to double the prize. A playing card flashes between red and black and you have to click at the right moment. A correct guess lets you collect or go again, while a wrong guess loses the original win as well as anything gained in the gamble. Gamble is switched off during autoplay.
RTP & Volatility
The average RTP of the Bull Rush pokie is 95.17%. Check the in-game info screen before you play for real money though, as the level can vary per operator.
The free spins multiplier and the 2,000× matador line prize suggest a game where most of the value sits in the bonus round, so expect stretches of small wins between features.
Maximum Win
The biggest line prize is the matador at 2,000 times the line bet for five on a payline. Free spins multipliers of up to 16× apply on top of wins in the bonus round, and Bull Rush has no progressive jackpot.
Theme, Graphics & Sound
The reels are colourful and detailed, with Spanish guitars, roses and wine standing in for the theme. The soundtrack is a generic tune that has little to do with the Spanish setting, which is one of the few weak spots in the presentation.
Play Bull Rush on Mobile
Bull Rush is available on mobile as well as desktop, so you can play it in a browser without a download.
Our Verdict
Ignoring the subject matter, Bull Rush is a well-made Novomatic video slot. The bull multiplier in free spins is a genuinely different idea, the paytable is easy to read and the matador’s 2,000× line prize gives the base game a real top end.
It suits players who like a classic 20-line layout with a strong bonus round. If bullfighting is not for you, check our catalogue for more themes.
