Grand Wheel Slot Machine
Bonus wheels can be found in certain slot games and act as a special feature, a small bonus to win a few extra credits or some multipliers. In Grand Wheel, this particular feature is the very inspiration behind the entire game. This Red Tiger Gaming creation is surprisingly simple, and equally challenging as a result.
As a video slot game, Grand Wheel can clearly be put in the retro category. The high volatility will turn every spin of the reels into a real challenge, with only 3 reels and one payline to deal with in total. Learn how to make the best of Grand Wheel and what your options are in our complete review of the game.
Back to the Slot Machine
Grand Wheel sticks to very basic graphics from top to bottom. The reels occupy most of the screen space, in a sort of close-up on a giant, purple slot machine. The sound effects are equally basic, giving the game a very old-school casino feel. This should please quite a few players out there, especially those looking for the original casino experience.
That being said, we felt that Grand Wheel was a little too basic after all. Retro slot games can still take plenty of different shapes, and some end up being quite memorable. Grand Wheel and its basic setup fails to do that. We were also expecting to see a bonus wheel right away, but it only shows up much later.
Nothing but the Reels
Your task as a player is extremely simple: you need to try and line up 3 identical symbols on the unique payline of Grand Wheel. Use the command buttons to bet from 0.20 to 500 credits per turn, and spin the reels either turn by turn or with some help from the autoplay game mode. Whatever your preference, Grand Wheel doesn’t have a lot of options in terms of customisation.
The high variance in Grand Wheel will be obvious after only a few spins. We really struggle to score any reward at all while testing the game. The command bar on top of the reels shows all the options you have: fruits, bells and 7s need to line up in packets of 3 exactly on the payline to trigger rewards going up to 88 times your current wager. Nothing too impressive there either, so let’s move on to the special features right away.
Just a Sprinkle of Bonuses
The only special symbol in Grand Wheel is the wheel bonus sign. Finding one or 2 on the payline will allow you to spin the bonus wheel, finally. Cross your fingers and you might end up unlocking some surprise rewards. We have to stress out here that triggering even this basic bonus is quite tricky.
If you are extra lucky, you might end up with 3 bonus wheel logos on the payline. This is your key to the Grand Wheel feature, a special bonus wheel that can award up to 1,000 times your wager. In comparison to the other cash prizes we have seen so far, this is surely impressive. But other modern slot games deliver this sort of reward right from the base game, too.
Other Choices
The 3-reel 1-payline setup of Grand Wheel can be found in other slot games on the market. They are all quite challenging, and if you are looking for new, high-variance slot games to try out then you are in luck. Slots like The Cash Inn from Parlay or Fantastic 75 by Microgaming fit this description perfectly, although we still found Grand Wheel to be even tougher.
Alternatively, you can give Slot Wheels by Play’n Go to see if your luck improves there. With a more modern set of rules, up to 50 free spins to win and bigger rewards, this particular game offers a more dynamic version of the bonus wheel to players. And thanks to a lower volatility, you are more likely to score frequent reels as well.
Not Enough Reasons to Keep Going
Grand Wheel is not a particularly surprising game. If you are looking for a retro challenge, then you have found it. We didn’t think that the game was particularly fun to play, to be perfectly honest, and not just because of its high variance. We love a good challenge, but it would be preferable to have a good incentive to keep the reels spinning in the first place.
And that is precisely what we thought was lacking in Grand Wheel: decent and accessible rewards. We are all in the slot game business to have fun, but winning some cash is also crucial. It was our impression that Grand Wheel used the stick too much, without showing us any kind of decent carrot in the end.
