The Grand Show Slot

Well, the circus is in town, and this is your ticket to the big event. The Grand Show by Push Gaming is looking to place you on a tightrope of tension and provide as much fun as a calamitous clown. Oh boy, oh boy.

For more insight into the joys of this game, I will assume the role of the game player and share my experience with you. You will also learn about gaming features like design, bonuses, and paylines.

There is also the subject of programming and software performance. You will also have the pleasure of playing this game for free, as this review comes with the official demo. If you like, you can also play the game for real money inside the casinos recommended by Casinos.com.

The Grand Show by Push Gaming is a 20-payline slot with a 5-reel and 4-row layout. Above the reels, you will spot the five jackpot prizes: Mini, Minor, Major, Mega, and Grand.  The game's design is fairly simplified, with circus tents, moving bunting, and floating balloons.

Once you have located The Grand Show in a casino online, setting your total bet amount is the first step. The $0.50 default price can be adjusted by selecting the stacked coins icon. This loads the pricing list, with bets starting from $0.05 and rising to the max bet cost of $100. Bets are paid per spin, so make sure you stick to your budget.

With the bet set, begin playing by selecting the large circular spin button. The reels will proceed to rotate, and wins will be formed by landing the same symbols across the reels. Landing two or more Wild symbols and Lion Tamer symbols can return a win, but the rest, clown, hotdog, popcorn, A, K, Q, and J, need three or more. The symbols must land on one of the 20 paylines present in the game. You can find the patterns for these within the menu option.

Another way of winning can come about by landing Prize and Jackpot symbols. The Prize symbols have a value attached to them that carries a multiplier value relative to your bet. These values run from x2 up to x500. The Jackpot symbols are done by the names Mini, Minor, Major, Mega, and Grand. What you win is again relative to the value you are betting. These alternative win options can only be won with a Top Hat symbol landing on the reels at the same time.

During play, you will encounter symbols that can unlock features and bonus rounds. Look out for the following:

Free Spin Feature: To unlock this bonus, you need to land three or more scatter (ticket) symbols. 3 scatters = 10 spins, 4 scatters = 10 spins + 5x multiplier Prize symbols. 5 scatters = 10 free spins with 10x multiplier Prize symbols. 

Bonus Feature: This bonus game is launched by landing the Top Hat symbol and a Bonus Symbol. This feature can trigger with any spin; in return, you will play with six free spins. The round plays on an expanded grid with five reels and eight rows. You will also benefit from reel five, which consists of seven rows of multipliers.

Bonus Buy Feature: Select the star icon to reveal the bonuses you can buy your way into. You can buy three scatter symbols, four scatter symbols, or five scatter symbols. Alternatively, you can pay a medium cost for a random outcome of scatter numbers. You can also buy the Bonus Feature for 58.60x your betting value or a Super Bonus Game for 450x your bet. 

Push Bet: This feature option ups your wagering value and increases your chances of landing the necessary symbols to unlock either the Free Spins or Bonus feature. The Push Bet option allows you to choose which to play for.

I haven’t played a casino game by Push Gaming in a very long time. I have my reasons for this, but let’s just say that I wasn't exactly bursting with eagerness to play this game, not even as a free slot online. The fact that there are no in-play features aside from the two bonus games means that it could be a very dull experience.

I loaded The Grand Show slot, set my bet total to $1, and played 50 spins in the game’s auto-play mode. My first win ($1.60) landed on my tenth spin. Before this, the game was dull; after, it was dull for about ten more spins. I then won $4. 

With half the spins played, this is all I have won. Boy, this game is sucking the life out of me. I make my third win ($2.80) with my eighth spin. And that’s it, 50 spins played, and I just knew it would suck.

Surprisingly, The Grand Show has a medium volatility setting, yet the performance I experienced was totally unlike this. The Return to Player (RTP) rating came in at 96.28%. The maximum players can win is 10,000 times their bet value. With $100 being the max bet, the jackpot is capped at $1,000,000.

Well, I won't be rushing off to join this circus any time soon. It was a clown performance, which was just what I expected of Push Gaming. They used to be good, but maybe they’ve taken that direction of safety in design over having any substance at all.

If you want to play better circus-themed slot games, then I recommend the following:

• 3 Clown Monty by Play’n GO
• Zombie Carnival by Pragmatic Play
• Mega Fire Blaze: Big Circus by Playtech

Explore the reviews to find which casinos support these slots as real-money games. Remember, you can try them free in their demo mode first here at Casinos.com.