Great Blue Slots
Great Blue is a 5-reel, 3-row underwater-themed video slot. Powered by the Playtech gaming suite, the high-variance title boasts 25 paylines on which players can look to hit matching combinations.
You can expect all the usual casino slot features in Great Blue, only there are a few twists and turns. For example, you might be familiar with wilds, but how familiar are you with stacked wilds? There’s also a scatter symbol to watch out for and an electrifying bonus game, during which you can win 33 free spins in addition to a 15x multiplier. Got your snorkel at the ready? Then let’s dive right into it.
The great wide open
Great Blue takes place on a standard 5x3 reel grid. The backdrop is of the deep blue ocean, with bubbles floating upwards towards the surface. The reels themself are of a different shade of blue to the water in the background, and numbers from one to 20 appear on both the left-hand side and right-hand side. It is, of course, up to you how many lines you play. You can elect to play on one, or use up all 20.
At the foot of the screen, you’ll find the regular controls. This is where you can keep tabs on your Total Bet, Lines Bet and number of auto spins (if applicable). There’s also a Gamble button; more on that later.
Great Blue can be played from as little as 25 to 125 credits per spin.
A shark’s tale
As you would anticipate, the symbols in Great Blue are related to the ocean. Thus, we have a sea turtle, a shark, some kind of flat fish (hey, we ain’t marine biologists!), a starfish and a seahorse (yeah…don’t count on that). There’s also a whale, an oyster shell and playing card icons, from 10 to A.
The shark and turtle are ‘of a kind’ symbols, meaning they represent identical pay values. Players can thus form matching combinations of the two. For two sharks and/or turtles, the pay-out is just two credits, but for three it’s 25. For four it’s 125 and for five it’s 750. Fortunately, the pay-off increases if you utilise a wild symbol to hit a win. If you use a wild, the pay figures for the aforementioned combinations are as follows: four, 50, 250 and 1,500.
The wild is the killer whale. It can substitute for all symbols except scatters to help you form pay wins, and it can also appear stacked, as noted. As we have demonstrated, the wild doubles pay wins in which it is involved. It is the gateway to the game’s 10,000 jackpot, but you’ll need to bag ten icons on adjacent, active lines to claim it. For four whales it’s 2,500, for three it’s 250 and for two it’s a respectable 10.
Look out for the oyster
The oyster shell is the game’s scatter, and is liable to appear anywhere on the reels. If you happen to hit three or more, you’ll activate the Great Blue bonus game. You’ll automatically begin with eight free spins with a 2x multiplier, whereupon you’ll need to choose two of the five oyster shells to win further free spins and/or multipliers. At best, you can win 33 free spins and/or a multiplier totalling up to x15.
What’s more, free spins can be triggered during free spins; you’ll win 15 regardless of how many scatters you hit, but you’ll be entitled to the same multiplier you have for the triggering spin. There is no limit to the number of re-spins you can potentially win.
Dare you gamble?
Although it’s pretty standard stuff, Great Blue’s gamble function lets you double your winnings if you can successfully guess the colour of an upturned card. If you get it wrong, you’ll lose the lot.
It’s blue, but is it great?
Because it’s a high variance game, Great Blue lures in gamers with the promise of huge wins. Like with all high volatility games, though, those wins can take a little while to come. If you’ve not got the necessary patience, we’d recommend finding another slot; but if it’s not too rich for your blood, and you can roll with the punches and ride out the lean spells, give it a go.
The slot has decent graphics, a range of well-paying symbols and a nifty bonus round. Superb wins are certainly possible, but far from guaranteed.
For more aquatic-themed slots by other leading providers, try IGT’s Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania 2 slot and Novomatic’s Lord of the Ocean.
