Kids used to go crazy when the circus was rolling into town but these days, its mere right to existence is a hot debate topic. All respect to the many incredibly skilled acrobats, jugglers, knife throwers, tightrope walkers, magicians and unicyclists etc, but what caused the negativity is of course the clear mistreatment of animals.
Another thing which the circus has contributed greatly too is Coulrophobia. To this day, millions of children and adults continue to suffer from fear of clowns.
So when Push Gaming tells the casino world that they are bringing The Grand Show slot into our lives, I expect the welcome to be something like the Katy Perry song “Hot ‘N Cold.”
Is It Worth the Price of Admission?
Will The Grand Show be the type of show Push Gaming tells us or will it be a shady, hood version of a joke where you ask for your money back halfway through? Are there enough tricks to keep us entertained and on the edge of our seats?
Let me find out what’s going on and I’ll let you know whether it’s worth getting a ticket or not.
Let the Show Begin
Compared to other circus slots such as Wild Circus or Golden Ticket, despite the symbols and the tents in the background, The Grand Show doesn’t bring enough of a circus vibe for me. Sure, the graphics are crisp and it’s not a bad looking game. I just don’t get the authentic feel I was hoping for.
Released: July 2024 | RTP: 96.28% | Variance: Medium |
Min Bet: €0.05 | Max Bet: €30.00 | Max Payout: 10,000x |
Get Your Instant Prizes
You’ll be able to spot tickets with a prize attached, known as Instant Prize symbols. These guys can be quite valuable as you can scoop up tickets holding anywhere from 1x up to 500x your stake.
The Grand Show Jackpots
As you can see above the reels, there are as many as 5 Jackpots up for grabs. I managed to win both the Minor and Mini during my run, which is always nice. They can appear at any time on any reel and the respective value are as follows:
- Mini Jackpot – 10x
- Minor Jackpot – 50x
- Major Jackpot – 250x
- Mega Jackpot – 1,000x
- Grand Jackpot – 10,000x
How to Get Free Spins
Circus or no circus, it will take 3 scatters in order to trigger the Free Spin feature. It took me a while to do so, even with the Push Bet activated, but I finally got it done.
You will get 10 Free Spins and if you land more scatters, the only difference is that you’ll get bigger Instant Prize symbols.
I didn’t find that the Free Spins really added anything extra worth mentioning. The noticeable difference is the background, which is darker. Other than that I didn’t find it to be as exciting as I would have liked.
Enter the much preferred Bonus Feature
Since the Free Spins were so boring, I’m happy to see there’s another Bonus feature. This one is triggered by landing a Top Hat symbol on reels 1 and 5. You’ll see the screenshot above and be on your way with 6 Bonus Spins.
Here’s the opening scene for the Bonus Game and as you can see, it’s a 5×8 layout with added multipliers on the right hand side. You’ll see symbols land on the last row but the real action takes place on the very bottom row, the green one.
A spin can get you the Instant Prize symbols or even Jackpot symbols but it’s the symbols on the green row that decide what happens next.
In the image above I was given 3 arrows. This will move each of the Instant Prize symbols up one row. With each new row you can move the symbols, it will increase your multiplier in the end.
Boost Your Multipliers
There are 3 types of symbols that can appear on the bottom position on reel number 5.
- Boost Symbol
- Re-Trigger Symbol
- Nudge Symbol
My favorite was the Boost because it will increase all your multipliers. For example the initial 10x multiplier will turn into 15x after getting one Boost symbol.
When you’ve eventually run out of spins, it’s time to add up all your prizes. Each of the values on your screen will get their respective multiplier and then added up.
If you can get a couple of Boost symbols before the game is over, it will make a big difference when it’s time for the payout at the end.
I ended up with a mighty fine $137.50 after getting a few nice multipliers. I thought the Bonus game would be something you see in a lot of games so I was happily surprised by how this one played out. I wish I could have more spins but oh well, you can’t have it all, am I right?
Activate the Push Bet
If you have read any of my old slot reviews, you know that if I can increase my chances of winning by activating a Push Bet or an equivalent feature, I won’t hesitate. In The Grand Show, the price to boost your chances for Free Spins will cost you another 40%, which isn’t all too bad.
There’s also a Push Bet version that will increase your chances of triggering the Bonus feature, which will cost you 60% of your initial bet.
To be honest, I’m not sure it helped me too much this time unfortunately but I still think it’s the way to go.
How to Buy Free Spins
There is a Bonus Buy option available that will give you the chance to head straight to the Bonus game. For those of you curious about the price, here you go:
- 3 Scatters = 46.4x your bet
- 4 Scatters = 86.6x your bet
- 5 Scatters = 147x your bet
There are a couple of other random options as well but for me, these are the ones you should know about.
The Grand Show – Pass or Play?
We’ve seen quite a few circus themed slots over the years and I have to say, I have enjoyed most of them. Some are of course better than others and one of my favorites has been Golden Ticket 2.
I don’t feel that I got the same circus experience from The Grand Show, if I’m being honest. Sure, Push Gaming made sure to squeeze in as many tents as possible in the background to really push the theme but it doesn’t quite get the job done.
The Free Spins were another disappointment unfortunately and the base game was quite the snooze fest for being a circus act.
The only feature that I felt got the audience (me) at least a little bit excited was the Bonus game. The Nudge symbols and the increasing multipliers really ended up being the savior that The Grand Show needed.
Luckily for you and other players, you can get there quicker through the Bonus Buy!
Final Verdict
The bottom line is that if it wasn’t for the Bonus game, I would give this slot a Pass but I will let it slide with a pass this time around. No, it’s far from the “Grand Show” Push Gaming promised but just like me, you can have a successful run in the Bonus game and it can save your day.
Play it ✅
Where Can I Play The Grand Show?
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