Ferris Wheel Fortunes Slot Review
A bulb-lit Ferris wheel turns behind the right-hand reels of this carnival midway, bunting strung overhead and a carousel horse waiting in the wings, and High 5 Games have built the entire game in its image. One trigger, one wheel spin, one result: free games or a jackpot. That economy of design is deliberate, and it’s the whole argument of the game.
It’s a fairground with a single ride, and nothing else to queue for. Ferris Wheel Fortunes runs on a 5×4 grid with 720 Ways to win, a 96% RTP and high volatility. Everything of consequence routes through the Bonus Wheel, which hands out free games or a jackpot worth up to 5,000x the total bet.
It sits in the studio’s catalogue alongside Da Vinci DeluxeWays and Dangerous Beauty Jackpot. The wheel, as ever, decides.
Playing 720 Ways
Wins form through 720 Ways rather than fixed paylines, so any left-to-right arrangement of matching symbols on consecutive reels counts. A symbol anywhere on a reel is as good as a symbol at the top of it, which is what four rows of five reels multiply out to a number this large. There’s no line-selection to think about. The stake covers the full grid every spin.
That mechanic rewards stacked symbols more than most. A single reel carrying four copies of the top symbol contributes all four to any combination that runs through it. With wins counted across consecutive reels rather than specific rows, those stacks do a lot of quiet work.
The extra row also means more symbols land per spin than on a conventional 5×3 layout, which matters in a game where the trigger needs five reels involved at once. The cast is pure carnival: a top-hatted ringmaster leads the paytable, with a mustachioed showman and a clown behind him, followed by the midway’s own carousel and balloons. The royals bring up the rear, and the Lion shares their tier, an odd placement for a game this decorative.
Wilds stack on the reels, sometimes filling one entirely. The game doesn’t spell out a substitution rule for them, so treat them as a helpful sight rather than a promise of anything specific. On a ways grid, a full stack of wilds is worth more than it looks, since it stands in for every row the combination might need on that reel.
Values below are credit wins at a 1.00 stake, so read each as a multiple of that bet.
- Top Hat Man – 20 for three, 60 for four, 600 for five
- Mustache Man – 10 for three, 30 for four, 300 for five
- Clown – 8 for three, 20 for four, 200 for five
- Carousel and Balloons – 5 for three, 10 for four, 40 for five
- A, K and Lion – 2 for three, 5 for four, 20 for five
The drop from the top symbol to everything beneath it is steep: Top Hat Man pays 600 for five, and no other character comes close. Credit wins are shown without bet modifiers applied.
Three-of-a-kind is where most ways wins will sit, and even the ringmaster only pays 20x the stake for that. The money in this game isn’t in the base paytable. It’s in what the wheel gives away, which is why the base game often feels like a countdown to the next trigger rather than a destination of its own.
The Bonus Wheel
During the base game, at least one Bonus symbol appearing in any position on five consecutive reels starts the Bonus Wheel. It’s the game’s only trigger, and the Bonus symbol doesn’t pay on its own. Landing it on all five reels is a tall order; the “any position” wording means a single symbol per reel is enough, which softens the ask considerably on a 5×4 grid with four positions available per reel.
The Bonus symbol is a crown-and-marquee icon, styled to match the fairground frame around the reels, so it’s not easily missed when it lands. Once the fifth consecutive reel is covered, the wheel takes over and the base game pauses for its verdict.
The wheel spins and awards exactly one of the following, and the ladder is steep from top to bottom:
- Free Games – 12, 14 or 16 spins per winning combination of Bonus symbols
- Minor Award – the Minor Jackpot, or 50x the total bet
- Major Award – the Major Jackpot, or 500x the total bet
- Grand Award – the Grand Jackpot, or 5,000x the total bet
Each jackpot award pays either the running jackpot or its fixed fallback multiple, whichever applies. The three fallbacks step cleanly from 50x to 5,000x, so even the floor of the jackpot ladder is a meaningful hit at any stake. A Minor Award at 50x the total bet is a solid return in its own right, given the modest sums the base paytable deals in.
On the free games side, the spin count is quoted per winning combination of Bonus symbols, so a fuller spread of triggers translates directly into a longer round. Exactly how the game counts winning combinations of Bonus symbols is not spelled out in the rules, only that the spins are awarded per winning combination.
That makes the difference between a sparse trigger and a stacked one enormous, and it’s where the game’s real upside sits.
The Free Games Bonus
The Free Games Bonus begins with however many spins the wheel awarded, so the round’s size is decided before a single free spin plays out. Land 16 and you start with a proper run at it; land 12 and it’s a shorter affair. The round plays on the same grid and the same paytable, with nothing added to the reels beyond what the base game already carries.
That’s worth being clear about: there’s no enriched symbol set in the bonus, no extra wilds, no progressive counter quietly building towards something. The free games are the base game with the stake removed, and their value comes entirely from volume of spins and whatever the wilds happen to stack into along the way.
Retriggers
Inside the bonus, the Bonus symbol returns in the same role: appearing in any position on five consecutive reels awards 8 additional free games per winning combination. The round ends when the counter reaches zero, so retriggers are the only thing standing between a modest bonus and a long one.
There’s no multiplier mechanic layered over the free games and no symbol upgrade. What the wheel gave you is what you play with, plus whatever the Bonus symbol adds while it lasts. The round can, in principle, keep feeding itself indefinitely while the symbols keep landing.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7/10
A session here is mostly waiting your turn at the fairground. The base paytable deals in small sums, stacked wilds do what they can, and every spin is really a question of whether the Bonus symbol reaches that fifth reel. The reason to sit down at all is the wheel itself: one spin that resolves the whole visit, into free games or a jackpot.
The strength is that the wheel has a real floor. Even the Minor Award’s 50x fallback beats anything the base paytable realistically produces, so no trigger lands as a dud. The weakness is what’s around it: the free games round adds nothing the base game doesn’t already have, no multiplier, no upgrade, just more of the same on the house’s spins.
It suits players who want one big moment rather than a scatter of small ones, and who don’t mind a long walk between rides. Players who want layered mechanics and constant features will find the midway empty. For everyone else, the big wheel keeps turning.
Ferris Wheel Fortunes FAQs
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What is the RTP of Ferris Wheel Fortunes?
The RTP is 96%, which is a fair return by the standards of a high-volatility jackpot game. -
Is Ferris Wheel Fortunes high volatility?
Yes, the game is rated high volatility, so wins tend to be less frequent but potentially larger when they land. -
How many paylines does Ferris Wheel Fortunes have?
It doesn’t use fixed paylines at all. Instead, 720 Ways to win means any left-to-right arrangement of matching symbols on consecutive reels counts towards a win. -
What is the grid size of Ferris Wheel Fortunes?
The game plays on a 5×4 grid of five reels and four rows. -
How do you trigger the Bonus Wheel in Ferris Wheel Fortunes?
At least one Bonus symbol appearing in any position on five consecutive reels during the base game starts the Bonus Wheel, which awards free games or one of three jackpot awards. -
Can the Free Games Bonus retrigger?
Yes. A Bonus symbol landing in any position on five consecutive reels during the free games awards 8 additional free games per winning combination, and the round ends only when the spin counter reaches zero. -
What is the biggest prize in Ferris Wheel Fortunes?
The Grand Award on the Bonus Wheel pays either the Grand Jackpot or 5,000x the total bet. The Major and Minor Awards fall back to 500x and 50x the total bet respectively. -
What does the Bonus Wheel award besides free spins?
Besides 12, 14 or 16 free games, the wheel can land on the Minor, Major or Grand Award, each of which pays either its corresponding jackpot or a fixed multiple of the total bet: 50x, 500x or 5,000x. -
Who makes Ferris Wheel Fortunes?
It’s made by High 5 Games. Ferris Wheel Fortunes’ release date is 6 October 2023.
