Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas

Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas Slot Review

Somebody at Blueprint Gaming looked at the most over-fished series in UK slots and decided what it was missing was snow. Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas is a bolder idea than it first appears: rather than handing the festive treatment to a new build, it wraps the old 5×3 warhorse in tinsel, drapes icicles off the reel frame and hangs a landing net of frozen fish above the grid. The snow might be the only genuinely new thing here, and honestly, it’s enough.

Underneath the wrapping, the bones are old-school: a 5×3 grid, a 94.5% RTP that includes the jackpot contributions, and a Jackpot King Deluxe progressive system bolted on top. The festive reskin of Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch and Fishin’ Frenzy Reely Big Catch is easy on the eye, but the net mechanic and the progressive pots do the real work. It’s a Christmas card of a slot with a jackpot engine inside it.

Base Game & Features

The base game runs on a 5×3 grid with the series’ usual cast: the fisherman, his tackle and the familiar royals down the bottom. Wins form on paylines left to right, and the fish symbols carry cash values of their own, which matters for the net feature later on. Nothing here reinvents the format, and it isn’t trying to.

The setting does most of the decorating. Snow falls across the whole scene, a row of icicles hangs from the bottom edge of the reel frame, and a deep-red velvet panel on the left carries a large gold jewelled crown, a quiet nod to the jackpot system running underneath. It’s glossy, cartoonish festive kitsch, and it’s committed to it.

The paytable is short and top-heavy. All values are multiples of the total bet:

• Pelican: 0.5x for two, 5x for three, 20x for four, 200x for five
• Fishing reel: 2.5x for three, 15x for four, 100x for five
• Life ring and gift box: 2x for three, 10x for four, 50x for five
• Any fish symbol: 1x for three, 5x for four, 20x for five
• A and K: 0.5x for three, 2x for four, 10x for five
• Q, J and 10: 0.5x for three, 1x for four, 5x for five

The fisherman wild is only active during the free games, where he can appear anywhere on the reels and either forms wins on his own or substitutes for other symbols. He also happens to be the joint-top payer, matching the pelican at 200x for five, though you’ll only see him in the bonus.

On the return side, the 94.5% total splits three ways: the base game return, 0.38% feeding the jackpots and 0.11% into the reserve pot. Express Bet runs at exactly the same rate, so there’s nothing to lose by spinning faster.

The Fishin’ Frenzy Net Feature

Every fish that lands in the main game gets swept into the net slung above the reels. On any spin the net can go off at random, awarding a Pick a Fish game where one of four modifiers is revealed.

• 10/15/20 Free Games: takes you straight into the bonus with the number of spins revealed
• Cash Collect: collects all the fish symbols in view
• Cash Streak: awards a spinning streak on the fish symbols before collecting all the fish in view
• Extra Fish: adds extra fish symbols to the reels, guaranteeing a fish symbol win

It’s a neat bridge between the base game and the bonus, and it gives every fish symbol a second job as ammunition. The trigger is pure chance, though, so there’s no working towards it.

Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas Bonus Features & Free Games

The scatter is the boat symbol, and three or more in view triggers the free games directly. Once inside, the wild fisherman joins the party, substituting for everything and paying like a top-tier symbol.

The round itself is the classic Fishin’ Frenzy loop: land the angler alongside fish and he collects their values. With him appearing anywhere on the reels rather than on fixed positions, the free games are where the grid pays its best.

Jackpot King Deluxe Bonus

The route in is five Jackpot King Deluxe overlay symbols, one on each of the five reels. This can hit at any stake on any game plugged into the Jackpot King system, which is why the pots grow so large.

Once in, you spin to accumulate crown symbols and climb a win ladder. After each spin you pick an icon to reveal one of three outcomes: Spin, which spins again and adds any new crowns to the ladder; Collect, which banks a bonus win based on the total bet multiplier reached; or Wheel King, which jumps you straight to the final round.

Reach 15 or more crowns and you enter the Wheel King regardless. That’s a tombola-style wheel carrying big win multiplier segments alongside the progressive pot segments, and it’s the only place the Regal and Royal jackpots can be won.

The pots are funded by contributions from each stake, with the operator seeding the initial amounts. When a pot drops it resets to its reserve and starts climbing again, and the odds of winning improve as the value grows. Both pots are guaranteed to pay by their must-be-won-by value.

Simultaneous wins can’t happen. If two players appear to hit at the same moment, the first to trigger takes the whole pot and the second receives the reserve plus anything added since.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 6.9/10

This is slow fishing. Most of a session is quiet spinning with snow coming down, waiting for either the net to go off or three boats to line up, and the one reason to sit through that is knowing a single lucky spin can drop you into a jackpot round that pays nothing like the game around it. The wins that arrive in between are small and rarely exciting.

The Jackpot King Deluxe ladder is the best thing here: collecting crowns towards the Wheel King gives the bonus a real build, and the wheel can pay a hefty multiplier even when the pots don’t drop. The worst thing is the 94.5% return, which is thin for a game this gentle, and you’re funding pots on every spin that almost nobody will ever see.

Series fans who want their annual Fishin’ Frenzy with tinsel on it, and players who like a progressive chase without much volatility, will be happy here. Anyone chasing modern mechanics or tight returns has warmer waters elsewhere. As a fireside festive spin, though, it does the job nicely.

Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas FAQs

• What is the RTP of Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas?

  The RTP is 94.5%, and that figure includes the jackpot and reserve pot contributions.
• How do you trigger the free games in Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas?

  Landing three or more Bonus Scatter symbols (the boat) in view triggers the free games. The net feature can also award 10, 15 or 20 free games directly through its Pick a Fish game.
• What does the net feature do in Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas?

  Every fish symbol landing in the main game is added to the net above the reels. At random on any spin the net can trigger, awarding a Pick a Fish game that reveals one of four modifiers: Free Games, Cash Collect, Cash Streak or Extra Fish.
• How does the Jackpot King Deluxe bonus work?

  You need five Jackpot King Deluxe overlay symbols across reels one to five to enter the bonus. Inside, you spin to collect crown symbols and climb a win ladder, revealing icons to keep spinning, collect your ladder win, or jump to the Wheel King round. Fifteen or more crowns takes you straight to the Wheel King.
• Can the Regal and Royal jackpots be won on any spin?

  No. The progressive Regal and Royal pots can only be won during the Wheel King part of the Jackpot King Deluxe bonus. The odds of winning increase as the pot value grows, and both are guaranteed to be won by their must-be-won-by value.
• Is the wild symbol active in the base game?

  No. The fisherman wild only appears during the free games, where he can land anywhere on the reels and substitute for other symbols or form wins on his own.
• What is the grid size of Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas?

  It’s a 5×3 grid, in keeping with the rest of the Fishin’ Frenzy series.
• Who makes Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas?

  Blueprint Gaming, the UK studio behind the Fishin’ Frenzy series and the wider Jackpot King network.