Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway Slot Review

Released in October 2018, you can play this game at online casinos such as Mr Green, William Hill or LeoVegas.

Theme and basic information

Hawaiian Getaway is the latest in among a gazillion other Wheel of Fortune games from IGT. The scene is set on Hawaii and on the reels, we find vintage postcards from Hawaii, which are pretty cool. The background music fits well with the theme and takes us to the sunny shores of this beautiful Pacific Island.

Whilst it feels a little bit much to look at when you first open the slot, you do get used to the look of the slot soon and we ended up quite liking it. Somehow it all works quite well together, the sound the vintage postcards, even the flower-adorned playing card symbols. Of course, many IGT games somehow feel like vintage slots, which might have something to do with the fact that they are still a major producer of land-based casino slot machines, which just look different.

The various postcards are the high-value symbols, paying between 14 coins and 25 coins for wins of 5 on a payline. The four playing card symbols from J to A pay between 10 and 12 coins for such a win.

The wild symbol only shows up on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5.

You can play this game from 0.50 to 250.00, making it more suitable for medium-range players or those who like to roll big.

Big Kahuna re-spins in the base game

You’ll notice that the symbols come stacked on every spin. This is useful and necessary, especially when it comes to triggering the Big Kahuna re-spins. Whenever three stacks of the same high-value symbol land on the first three reels, those three reels merge together to form one big 3×3 symbol. You get your winnings paid out and then a re-spin is awarded, where the first three reels spin as this gigantic 3×3 symbol on the reels.

With a little luck, another full stack of the same symbol that lands on the first three will land on reel 4, now resulting in more wins and a new big 4×3 symbol. That will also award you another re-spin and the possibility of creating a 5×3 symbol on the reels and the potential for great wins. As it is, only the high-value symbols are in play during the feature and as an added boost, a random multiplier from 2x to 5x is also added to the re-spins.

The Wheel Bonus

You will need six scatter symbols on the reels to trigger the name-giving Wheel of Fortune bonus. Six may seem like a high number but scatters also land stacked on each reel and usually you’ll get two stacks of them somewhere to trigger the Wheel bonus.

When the wheel shows up, you get to spin it and wait for it to land on one on the following options:

• Coin prize – A random coin win that will be instantly awarded before you return to the base game
• Frenzy – The wheel stops, and 2 to 6 pointers are additionally activated, awarding the corresponding prizes, including jackpots and free spins
• Jackpot – The game holds five static jackpots, paying out 20x, 50x, 200x, 500x or 1,000x your stake
• Free spins – You can get 10 free spins, which can be re-triggered to give you a maximum of 120 spins

Conclusion: Not a favourite at first glance but interesting mechanics to love

The theoretical RTP (Return to Player) for Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway varies from 93.32 to 96.15%. Make of that what you will, it’s the value provided by IGT. At the top end it is only an average value, which is probably true for the bottom end as well, because most slots realistically don’t pay out more than that as it is.

We found the volatility in this slot to be medium range. Wins were relatively frequent, though rarely big. You have to score the Big Kahuna Re-Spins or win at least some coins on the Wheel of Fortune to make things worth your while. Indeed, the base game feature was much more difficult to trigger than the Wheel bonus. The latter made frequent appearances during the different sessions we played, and we made decent wins here most of the time. We won everything from coin prizes to a jackpot to the frenzy option. It was rarely much, but usually enough to keep us going.

All in all, the game was surprisingly entertaining, and the features hit often enough so that we weren’t bored for a long time. Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway is very playable and with a little luck, you might even win big.