Hawaiian Gateway Slots - Wheel of Fortune Online Slots

Its popularity has spawned numerous slot games, including Wheel of Fortune on Tour, Wheel of Fortune Ultra 5 Reels, Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme Spin and Wheel of Fortune Winning Words. The latest addition to this series is Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway.

Let’s take a look at how it compares to previous counterparts and whether it is worth a spin.

Overview: Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway

Set on white, sandy beaches of Hawaii, the Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway slot machine will likely make you want to plan a trip. Its low-key, Hawaiian music and postcard symbols, all you need is a mai tai and sunscreen to complete the picture.

With its various types of symbols (basic, stacked, jumbo), respin feature, and the multiple bonuses granted by a spin of the Wheel of Fortune, there’s a lot to hold your interest. As a result, it stacks up well with past incarnations of the game. Even better, you don’t have to be good at spelling or guessing games to make some bank.

Who will play Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway slot?

Given that millions of people tune in every night to watch the TV show, it’s a good bet that those viewers will be attracted to this slot. And with a track record of five popular versions, anyone who enjoyed those slot titles will also be on board with this one.

Given the betting options — 50 cents to $250 — both low- and high-stakes bettors can enjoy the game as well.

Gameplay: Wheel of Fortune Hawaiian Getaway

You’ll find nine base symbols, five of which are postcards with fun themes: Surf, Hula, Tiki, Aloha and Lava. There is also the jack-ace, a wild and wheel bonus scatter symbols. The wild appears on reels two through five only.

To begin, you select your coin value, which is automatically multiplied by a fixed 50 coins. The minimum bet is 50 cents, with the maximum set at $250. You can then choose to hit the center spin button to make one bet at a time or use the autoplay button on the right side to choose from between 10 and 50 spins. Autoplay automatically stops if there is a bonus, jackpot or a single win amount reached. (There isn’t mention of what the single win amount is, however.)

Additional features

Big Kahuna respin

If you should land three or more adjacent stacks of the same postcard symbol, you’ll trigger the Big Kahuna respin. Adjacent stacks can be on reels 1/2/3, 2/3/4 or 3/4/5. During your respin, all adjacent symbols turn into one jumbo symbol. That respin will have a random multiplier of 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x attached for your subsequent spin, applicable if there is a payline win. The respin can be retriggered if you should get an additional reel of stacked symbols. But know that should your jumbo symbol be in the center reels and you don’t get a corresponding 1, 2 or 3 of the same symbol on the first reel, there is no payout.

Wheel bonus

If you land six or more wheel bonus scatter symbols anywhere on the reels, you will trigger the wheel bonus (and the audience shouting the phrase “wheel of fortune”). You will get one spin of the wheel, which will award you one of the following:

Monetary award
Pointer frenzy
Free spins bonus
Jackpot bonus

Your wheel spin is also narrated by the announcer, with the audience oohing and ahhing.

Pointer frenzy

If the wheel lands on the pointer frenzy, it’s indeed your lucky day. You will get up to six additional pointers to light up, granting you a monetary award, free spins bonus or a jackpot bonus. This is as good as it gets folks, especially if you get all six and get to try your hand at all the bonus features.

Free spins bonus

If the wheel lands on the free spins bonus, you are awarded 10 free spins. Spins can be retriggered by six or more scatter symbols landing during any spin. You can get up to 120 total spins.

Jackpot bonus

If the wheel lands on the jackpot bonus, you have a chance at five different jackpots: gold, silver, green, purple and blue. You’ll spin the jackpot bonus wheel to determine which you win. You’ll find the jackpot payouts listed above the reels, with the amounts based on your current coin bet (from 50,000 to 1,000). Vanna will even make an appearance here congratulating you on your win.

What works?

Big Kahuna respin

Respins only occur with the postcards, which are the five highest paying symbols. It’s not unheard of to get a full board of the same postcard with this respin feature, which is one giant symbol and a really nice payday.

Pointer frenzy

This is like getting multiple bonuses with one spin of the wheel and can also bring you a whopper of a payout.

Jackpot bonus

You are guaranteed a win with this feature, up to 50,000x your coin bet.

What doesn’t?

Stacked symbols

Stacked symbols can work against you. With all symbols able to stack, it can be difficult to get wins or a jumbo symbol. And when you do get stacked jacks, queens, kings or aces, they don’t turn into a jumbo symbol, which can be frustrating, especially when the wins pay less than your bet for all 25 paylines.

Autoplay

Typically autoplay makes your spin, calculates your win and quickly spins again. But in this game, it just drags on while all line wins are counted, which doesn’t make it much better than using the regular Spin button.

Small wins

With an RTP of 94.3%, you can’t expect to win often, but regular wins are often significantly less than your total bet unless you get the stacked symbols.

The scores

Graphics and soundtrack: 3/5

Graphics are similar to other Wheel of Fortune slot machine games, but I do like the retro postcard images they use. The music is a nice, Hawaiian melody, much like you’d hear in the lobby of any hotel or restaurant on the islands, making it pleasant to listen to while you play. You’ve got the announcer, Vanna and the studio audience chiming in periodically, adding some authenticity to the game and making it feel more like the TV show.

Originality and creativity: 4/5

Obviously, there are some holdovers from both the TV show and previous WoF slot titles. That being said, the Big Kahuna respin with jumbo symbols, the pointer frenzy and the five jackpot bonuses really differentiate it from the others.

Play value: 3/5

While the RTP is a bit low at 94.3%, and the max payout is the standard $250,000, there’s enough in this game to make you want to come back for more.

Jackpot potential: 4/5

There are various ways to hit some big bucks with this Wheel of Fortune game. As mentioned above, respins can earn you five of a kind across all paylines, plus there is the pointer frenzy, which can award monetary amounts, free spins wins and a jackpot. There’s also the jackpot bonus itself, with the possibility of getting 50,000x your coin bet.

Repeat play: 4/5

If you’re a Wheel of Fortune fan, like the possibility of big payouts, or want to pretend you’re in Hawaii, then you’ll be coming back for more.

Total score: 18/25

So, how does this compare to previous incarnations? It sits in the middle of the pack:

Wheel of Fortune on Tour (20/25)

Wheel of Fortune Ultra 5 Reels (18/25)

Wheel of Fortune Triple Extreme Spin (17.5/25)