Grand Blue

Grand Blue Review

If you’re used to classic slot grids with reels spinning in a vertical plane, Fa Chai Gaming has something special in store. It’s the Grand Blue slot, which was released on September 13, 2022, and still looks unique and fresh. All the action takes place on a 5-6-6-6-6-5 grid consisting of both horizontal and vertical reels. As a result, there’s a very wide range of ways to win, starting at 2,025 and reaching an impressive 32,400 when certain bonus features are active.

From a technical standpoint, everything is in order here, as the RTP is set at 96.59%, which is above the industry average. Although one might expect high volatility, it’s actually average here, which is definitely good for beginners and casual players. And even with all that, the maximum multiplier here is a pretty decent x3,500. The winning combinations here follow the rules familiar to many players. That is, you land matching symbols on adjacent reels horizontally to win prizes.

Fa Chai Gaming offers a very wide betting range here, from 0.80 to 1,000 euros per spin. This indicates that the provider is targeting the broadest possible audience of players. It also means that if you take a chance and play at the maximum bet, you could theoretically win a prize of 3.5 million euros, which is a very impressive figure for a medium-volatility slot.

Grand Blue Reels Screen

Here, we once again encounter a set of symbols arranged according to the classic layout typical of ocean-themed slots. In other words, the screen still features card symbols ranging from 10 to Ace, which award small multipliers. A little further down the grid, you’ll find sea creatures like a seahorse, a starfish, a fish, a turtle, and a dolphin, as well as a special pearl shell, which is the highest-paying regular icon on the paytable. Fa Chai has also added a Wild that can substitute for other icons, as well as a Scatter in the form of a trident, which triggers the FS mode.

Grand Blue Features

Given how meager the multipliers are for combos in the base game, it might seem like Grand Blue isn’t worth your time. But it’s worth being patient for a bit, because there’s a whole set of interconnected mechanics that gradually reveal the slot’s potential. Plus, if you’re not afraid to shell out some cash, you can take advantage of several bonus buy features that save you from having to wait for a natural trigger.

Featured Wild

There are Wilds here, and their main purpose is to act like other symbols at the right moments to complete combos. But they don’t land on their own, and that’s the problem. Don’t be discouraged, though, because magic happens even during the base game: even simple icons that land on reels 2-5 can get a silver frame. And if such a marked icon is part of a winning sequence, it transforms into a random symbol (except for the Wild) with a gold frame. And that’s not all the possible transformations here. After all, if such a gold-framed icon is also part of a combo, it upgrades to a full-fledged Wild King of the Seas.

Seabed Treasure Hunt

The pearl shell here can behave in a special way. And this happens on both the vertical and horizontal reels. So every new winning combination that includes the pearl shell adds x2 to the round’s total multiplier at the top. And this multiplier isn’t reset until the very end of the game, even if you’re in bonus mode. This is precisely the feature that determines the true potential of the final prize, because the longer the winning streak lasts, the higher the final multiplier by which your points are multiplied.

Free Game

This slot also features Scatters. You need to land at least three of them in any position on the grid to activate FS mode. At the start, you’ll receive 8 free attempts and a x2 starting multiplier applied to your total winnings. Each additional Scatter that lands on top of the three required to trigger the feature gives you +2 FS on top, up to a total of 50 FS. But you can’t retrigger the Free Game Bonus, since Scatters don’t appear during the FS.

Grand Blue Free Spins Win Screen

So, the Free Games feature itself looks pretty good thanks to the extra multipliers. But here you can also see transformations of the golden shell. For example, you might see a white pearl that increases the extra multiplier by x2, a golden one that boosts it by as much as x5, and a black one that grants an additional free spin. What’s more, the gold and black pearls can substitute for the white pearl when forming a winning line. This makes the bonus system quite flexible and truly rewarding.

Buy Feature

Fa Chai also offers instant access to free spins, where you don’t have to wait for at least three Scatters to appear on a spin. But of course, this isn’t free, so be prepared to increase your base bet by 65 times. In return, you’re guaranteed to get at least 3 Scatters, which give you 8 free spins and a x2 starting multiplier.

Theme & Graphics

Designed to immerse us in the underwater realm, Grand Blue doesn’t look all that impressive, even by 2022 standards. In other words, there’s nothing particularly remarkable about the graphics, but that doesn’t mean the game looks bad. In fact, the seahorses, turtles, dolphins, fish, starfish, pearl shells, and the majestic King of the Seas with his trident are all rendered quite well. However, the background design, rendered in calm shades of blue and turquoise, looks too similar to what you’ve already seen in many other games with a similar theme. On the other hand, the multiplier animations and the trident landing right on the grid before FS mode starts look truly spectacular. And it all runs smoothly even on mid-range smartphones. So anyone who wants to can enjoy Grand Blue even on the go.

Grand Blue Free Play

Despite its moderate volatility, this game can still be quite risky, especially if you decide to bet above the average. So try out the Grand Blue free play version first, especially if you haven’t played slots with such an unconventional grid and a huge number of betways before. SlotCatalog offers a working Grand Blue demo game where you use virtual credits instead of real money. It also includes Feature 0, Feature 1, and Feature 2 buttons added by Fa Chai so you can test all the available bonus features without waiting for them to trigger naturally.

Pros & Cons of the Grand Blue Slot

Our Verdict

The unique layout of the game board, which combines horizontal and vertical reels into a single system, is the first thing that catches your eye here. But don’t be intimidated as this is a medium-volatility game. And this level of variance is essentially confirmed in practice, as we saw winning combinations quite frequently. The RTP, set at a respectable 96.59%, also leaves nothing to be desired.

But let’s be clear: to land truly large multipliers here, you’ll need to trigger the free spins with a lucky combination of pearls. So the Seabed Treasure Hunt cumulative multiplier, which theoretically has no upper limit, is the most useful feature in practice. The Featured Wild also adds a nice bit of variety to the base game. But these transformations don’t happen very often, and it’s worth keeping that in mind. Of course, the main focus here is on the white and gold pearls, which allow you to accumulate x2 and x5 extra multipliers even without landing standard combinations.

By all accounts, Fa Chai created this game for those who appreciate thoughtful, slightly unconventional mechanics and a steady stream of medium-sized wins. And it’s not unique in its genre, as similar titles can be found even in Fa Chai’s own portfolio, such as Golden Genie or Legend of Inca. Still, it’s a solid game with mechanics that aren’t exactly obvious, and one that many will enjoy.