Grinning Harvest Slot Review
The cold, crisp chill in the air tells us that Halloween is on the horizon, and with that comes spooktacular slot releases like Grinning Harvest from Trusty Gaming. With summer officially over for another year, Farmers have moved on to a new seasonal harvest, and it comes in the form of bright orange balls.
Pumpkin-carving season is finally among us, so head down to your local supermarket and grab yourself a plump pumpkin to slice open, tear out its insides, and carve the most ‘spooktacular’ designs…or better yet, pluck your own pumpkin from the cold ground with your own two hands.
Whatever the season, Farmers always have their work cut out for them, with the public’s needs and interests at the heart of what they do. For most of us, the month of October marks the start of the winter months, and once that calendar flips to November, pumpkins will be traded for all things ‘merry & bright’.
While we wait for Mariah Carey to defrost, we’re feasting our eyes on Jackpot Prizes, Win Multipliers, and Prize Collectors in Grinning Harvest. Trusty Gaming is the latest studio to pair with Hacksaw Gaming and their OpenRGS platform, marking their first Halloween-themed slot release.
Trusty Gaming is a smaller studio with a limited portfolio of titles, including Sticky Candyland & Lucky Multifruit. It’s hard being the new kid on the block and finding your footing in the iGaming industry can be tough, but having a provider like Hacksaw Gaming in your corner makes a great first impression.
Grinning Harvest offers a fixed RTP of 96.26%, a high volatility rating, and a sizable 15,000x max win potential. If you don’t win first prize in the biggest pumpkin competition, there’s something even more rewarding to be won in Trusty Gaming’s Grinning Harvest…
Base Game & Features
Grinning Harvest is the latest 3-reel, 3-row video slot from Trusty Gaming, specifically tailored to the Halloween festivities. Wins occur when no fewer than 3 identical symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1, over 5 fixed pay lines.
The highest-paying symbol falls to the Skull Book, followed by the Hat, Chalice, Potion, and A, K, Q, & J card ranks. When a 3-of-a-kind winning combination is created, a fixed payout between 0.2x and 6x your bet is awarded. Lastly, Wild Symbols appear only in the base game, substituting for all symbols except Pumpkin & Collector Vault symbols.
Pumpkin Symbols
Throughout each session, special Pumpkin symbols can appear on reels 1 & 3 only. When they appear in view, they will each display a random Cash or Jackpot Prize as follows:
- Cash Prizes: Between 2x and 10x your bet
- Jackpot Prizes: Mini (25x), Minor (50x), Mega (100x), Grand (1,000x)
Collector Vault
Another symbol available throughout base game spins is the Collector Vault, present on reel 2 only. Once in view, the Collector Vault will collect all Cash or Jackpot Prizes from Pumpkin symbols in the same spin or subsequent spins after it appears.
If multiple Collector Vaults appear on reel 2 in the same spin, each one will collect each visible Cash or Jackpot Prize independently. When the value of Cash or Jackpot Prizes is too large to display, it will be shortened to 2 decimal places.
Grinning Harvest Bonus
The Hold & Win Bonus is triggered when Pumpkin symbols land on reels 1 & 3, plus a Collector Vault on reel 2 in the base game, awarding 3 Respins. Once active, each Pumpkin symbol is collected before the first Respin begins.
Throughout Respins, only Pumpkin & Collector Vaults can appear on the reels. The triggering Collector Vault will remain fixed in its position until the end of the Hold & Win Bonus. When a new Pumpkin or Collector Vault hits, it will reset the Respins Meter to 3.
Additionally, the Big Pumpkin above the reels transforms into a Big Skull during the Hold & Win Bonus, causing an Extra Row to activate. This additional row displays Multipliers, Skulls, & Non-paying (spider web) symbols.
Multipliers between x2 and x5 are applied to symbols directly below them on the reels. If a Multiplier appears directly above a Collector Vault, it will add its value to it before it collects any Pumpkin symbols.
Alternatively, having a set of Skull symbols in a row will trigger the Big Skull, awarding a random Multiplier between x3 and x9 to all Pumpkin & Collector Vault symbols in view. Lastly, Spider Web symbols act as non-paying symbols on the reels.
Bonus Buy
Players outside the UK may enter the Hold & Win Bonus by purchasing it from the Bonus Buy tab for 150x your bet. The maximum win potential of Grinning Harvest is 15,000x your bet. If a single session exceeds this, the current mode ends, and the player returns to the base game with the qualifying amount (96.32%).
Our Honest Verdict
As the seasons change, so too do the available games within the iGaming industry. Christmas, Halloween, & Easter are three heavily celebrated events each year, which give providers a chance to immerse players in their favourite holiday events all year round.
With an already impressive selection of Halloween slots on the iGaming market just this year, can we possibly swallow another?
From a design perspective, Grinning Harvest offers the bare minimum – you’ve got a traditional Halloween setting of deep purple colouring, fog, crooked trees, and a flock of bats flying overhead, paired with haunting soundscapes, but nothing out of the ordinary, unfortunately.
Unlike a traditional slot, Trusty Gaming has opted for a 3-reel format, which is quite risky in its own right. What we mean by this is that the average player may feel more inclined to play 5-reel slots due to the extra benefits of having the extra reels, pay lines, plus, there’s more wiggle room for features & mechanics.
Despite our reservations, Trusty Gaming has created a spooktacular Halloween slot with light-hearted features and an interesting Hold & Win Bonus. While it’s not on the same wavelength as ELK Studios’ Toro 7s, it’s a fine addition to their growing portfolio, with an opportunity for players to cash in on 15,000x their bet.
All in all, Grinning Harvest has its moments of thrill and excitement, but it’s not quite the hair-raising instalment we hope for in a Halloween release; however, it’s a definite step in the right direction for the studio.
*The images found in this slot review are currently from Demo Play. On average, our reviews are written prior to the initial release date and before real play is available.
