GrandCasino Slot
This slot is uncannily similar to ‘Cashino’ – another solid casino themed slot by Barcrest. There are even a lot of the same symbols in play for example dice and a roulette wheel. This is a simple and retro type slot. The key reason to play is the potential for big wins. This can come from the 10,000 coin top regular prize, or through one of two different bonus features. One of these is a free spins game, the other a break-out which takes you to a roulette wheel. I can imagine this as a stand out title among the first generation of live video slots. Compared with some of the more modern titles from Barcrest and others, it does look dated.
Most of the graphics on the reels are brightly coloured playing card symbols. These spin over a plain black background, and share the reels with a ‘wild’, a logo and the bonus symbols in the form of dice and the roulette wheel. The frame of this slot is a red colour, which looks a little like a crumpled silk cloth. The only standout graphics come in the roulette bonus game, where you see a large 3D wheel. Sounds step up from the beeps and clunks during the bonuses. The Roulette bonus has a pop type track in the background, while the free spins bonus has a chilled acoustic guitar type tune instead.
Both of the bonuses are essentially the same as on the Cashino game. The only difference is that Cashino has an extra ‘cards’ bonus inside the reels.
Setup and Play for GrandCasino
This is a 20 line slot, and unlike many Barcrest games you can select the number of lines you’d like to play. Stakes start at 1c per line, and go up to $25, giving you a range of 20c to $500 per spin assuming you take all 20 lines. You can choose auto-play for up to 25 spins at a time.
There is one prize which is disproportionately bigger than the others in this game. If you land 5 of a kind of the wild symbol, you get a prize of 10,000 coins. Compared to the next highest prize of 500 coins for 5 of the GrandCasino logos – this is huge. The wild and logo pay from 2 of a kind up, for any of the other symbols you will need a minimum of 3 on a win-line.
Aces and Kings will net you 200 coins for 5, while the queen, jack and 10 are worth 100 coins for 5, and 20 coins for 5. Those smaller wins are still important, those are the ones which keep your bankroll ticking over while you wait for the features or the big ‘wild’ win to kick in.
There are two more symbols on the reels. The dice appear on the middle 3 reels only; you need all 3 to trigger 10 free spins. Three of the Roulette wheels anywhere on the reels triggers the break-out Roulette bonus.
GrandCasino Bonus Features
The free spins feature starts with all of the symbols on the reels being covered in individual blue ‘free spins’ signs. During this feature, the background of the game changes to blue, and some chilled out acoustic guitar music plays. Your wins will be totalled beneath the reels, and you will see how many spins you have left. You can retrigger while enjoying this bonus, in which case 10 more spins are added to your total each time. When your bonus is over, you see a little popup box showing the total won, before going back to the main reels to resume your game.
Three roulette wheels triggers a different kind of bonus. Here you go to a new screen, which is nicely produced and does contrast with the plain graphics of the main game. You do not need to do anything, as the giant wheel will stop on its own. There are prizes showing the multiplier of your stake on the wheel, going up to 100x. There are also 2 mini-wheels pictures in slots on the wheel. If the red pointer lands on one of these, you will go to a new wheel with even higher prizes and spin again. Otherwise your stake is multiplied by the number shown, you get a popup showing your total win, and you go back to the main game a little richer than before.
GrandCasino – Conclusion
This is a very solid slot which focuses on the game play. Sure, the graphics are retro and the bonuses can hardly be said to involve you doing anything. This kind of game will appeal to players who like their slot sessions to come without too many interruptions or computers that keep nagging you to make trivial choices. The 10,000 top prize and potential to retrigger the free spins do add to the interest in this game.
