Fishin’ Frenzy Christmas

Fishin' Frenzy Christmas: Slot Overview

Picture in your minds a typical white Christmas; how many fishing rods and pails of fish guts are sprinkled about the scene? None? Same, but that hasn't stopped developer Blueprint Gaming from creating Fishin' Frenzy Christmas, a seasonal slot with an angling element. Not that we really needed to spell it out. A name like Fishin' Frenzy Christmas is pretty self-explanatory, and being a Christmas slot is often an indicator a clone is on the way. However, Fishin' Frenzy Christmas isn't an exact clone, but it is essentially Fishin' Frenzy The Big Splash with an attached Festive Fishing feature.

Players find themselves at sea when taking on Fishin' Frenzy Christmas, but somewhere like the Arctic Sea for a change. To get into the mood of the season, more ice than usual appears on the screen, as does a smattering of Christmas lighting. As such, if you're in the mood for a warm, traditional, sitting around the fireplace opening gifts Christmas slot experience, this ain't it. Fishin' Frenzy Christmas evokes a colder, more desolate, lonelier sensation, which might suit those looking for some solitary special me time on the day.

Fishin' Frenzy Christmas has been classically set up where a 5-reel, 3-row game board with 10 paylines is where the action takes place. Players may select a stake of 10 c to $/€100, keeping in mind no ante bet or feature buy is available. Beneath the surface hums a medium volatile math model powering out a default RTP value of 95%.

Whilst collecting cash symbols is arguably the most fun to be had in a game like this, line wins are also there to help keep users afloat. Particularly in the base game, since cash collecting only occurs in free spins. Fishin' Frenzy Christmas has ten regular paying symbols, which are 10 to A card ranks, fish (fish are the default cash symbols), rings, rods, and pelicans. Hitting a line of 5 matching royals triggers a payout of 5 to 10 times the bet, whereas a 5-matching high pay line awards 20 to 200 times the bet. Fisherman symbols are wild, so they replace any regular pay symbol but are only present on the reels during free spins. Wilds have the same payout value as the pelican if making wins of itself.

Fishin' Frenzy Christmas: Slot Features

Fishin' Frenzy Christmas basically offers the same features as those found in Fishin' Frenzy The Big Splash but with an additional extra named Festive Fishing.

Festive Fishing

On any spin, each fish in view is added to the net above the reels. When the net animates, players get the chance to Pick a Fish, triggering one of the following:

• Free spins - 10, 15, 20 spins.
• Cash Collect - collects all the fish in view.
• Cash Streak - awards a spinning streak on fish symbols before collecting all fish in view.
• Extra Fish - adds extra fish in view, guaranteeing a fish reel win.

Free Spins

Landing 3, 4, or 5 boat scatters in the base game awards 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. Before the free spins round begins, players enter the Pick A Fish feature. Clicking on a fish reveals a free spins upgrade:

• A Cash Tag may be added to one of the high pay symbols.
• +Fish – extra fish are added to the reels.
• +Fisherman – extra Fishermen are added to the reels.
• +Collect – cash values are collected multiple times.
• Re-Spin – all non-Cash and non-Fisherman symbols get respun. Reels continue respinning until the win is no longer improved.
• +Games – additional free spins are awarded.

During free spins, the Fisherman symbol appears on the reels. When the Fisherman lands at the same time as fish symbols or any premium symbols with a Cash Tag attached, he collects and awards their values. Fisherman symbols get collected when they land, too. When 2, 6, or 10 Fisherman symbols have been collected, players get another pick from the Pick A Fish feature. When 4, 8, or 12 Fisherman symbols have been collected, +10 free spins are retriggered each time, as well as a multiplier of x2, x3, or x10 for the retriggered free spins, respectively. The multiplier applies to collected Cash symbol values. Any retriggered spins are played when the current set of free spins ends.

Fishin' Frenzy Christmas: Slot Verdict

Considering how long the Fishin' Frenzy phenomenon has been motoring along and the popularity of Christmas slots, it is a wonder it took so long for Fishin' Frenzy Christmas to materialise. Ah well, it's here now, and it functions just about exactly the way one might expect it to, springing few surprises, few interesting new things to check out, reel in, haul in, whatever. It's been built off the bones of Fishin' Frenzy The Big Splash, with a new-ish Festive Fishing feature to go with the sparse Christmas decor.

In other words, unless you really really like fishing and really really like Christmas slots and must try all of them, then Fishin' Frenzy Christmas is one that is easy to leave off the list. In fact, you might be excused for recoiling over the release of another 'friggin' fishing slot'. It's not so bad when the game in question brings something new, like actually innovative, to the table, but red hats and snow didn't really cut it. For sure, Fishin' Frenzy Christmas has the Festive Fishing feature tagged on as well, but not sure if that justifies much hype or excitement. The extra feature prevents Fishin' Frenzy Christmas from being a straight reskin of Fishin' Frenzy The Big Splash, but still. As for winning potential, the same max exposure applies here as it does to a lot of Blueprint Gaming slots, to the order of 2,500x.

And so ends the review of yet another in a long line of Fishin' Frenzy slots. An okay yet somewhat bland surplus-to-requirements release of a game that a lot of gamblers will probably know if they are interested in or not simply by reading the title.