PRAGMATIC PLAY
During the Golden Age of Piracy, which spanned from the 17th to the early 18th century, the action was centered in places like the lively yet unpredictable Caribbean seas. Taking a cue from this historical backdrop, Pragmatic Play brings us their adventurous slot game, Pirate Golden Age. This game keeps things simple during regular play, but spices things up with a bonus round where mystery symbols pop up on the reels and are gathered.
Pirate Golden Age features a standard setup with a 5-reel, 4-row grid and 20 fixed paylines. The backdrop sets the scene with a picturesque view of rugged mountains meeting crystal-clear waters, complete with a menacing skull figure on one side and some lively crabs scurrying about. It's quite visually appealing and sets the stage for excitement. However, the initial excitement fades quicker than a sailor's sobriety on shore leave.
Playable on mobile, tablet, or desktop devices, Pirate Golden Age accepts bets ranging from 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin, catering to a wide range of players. Prepare for an adventurous and highly volatile journey, as anything can happen on these reels. Following Pragmatic Play's standard, the game offers three different RTP settings, with the highest being 96.49%.
In Pirate Golden Age, regular wins occur when matching symbols align across the paylines, starting from the leftmost reel. There are 10 regular symbols in total, offering various payouts. Beginning with the lower-paying symbols, we have the J-A card royals, followed by higher-value icons like a bomb, an anchor, a parrot, and three pirate characters, which are the most lucrative. The royals pay out 1.5-3 times the bet for five of a kind, while the higher-value symbols reward players with 6.25 to 75 times the bet for a winning combination of five.
The skeleton wearing a pirate hat serves as the game's wild symbol, appearing on any reel to substitute for all symbols except the bonus symbol. If wilds form winning combinations on their own, they can award up to 75 times the bet for a line of five.
In Pirate Golden Age, the base game keeps things simple, but the real excitement kicks in with the free spins bonus round, which is triggered by landing 3 or more bonus symbols on the reels. Depending on how many bonus symbols you land—exactly 3, 4, or 5—you'll receive a payout of 2x, 20x, or 200x the bet, along with the awarded free spins.
During the free spins, a special golden skull mystery symbol appears on the reels. Whenever these mystery symbols land, they all transform into either the same type of regular pay symbols or wild symbols, adding to the thrill of the gameplay. After each spin, all mystery symbols are collected in a meter. At the end of every free spin, the collected mystery symbols are reintroduced onto the reels in random positions, potentially leading to more winning combinations. Additionally, if multiple mystery symbols end up in the same position, the one in that spot gets a multiplier equal to the number of mystery symbols present. These multipliers apply to all wins involving that symbol, and if more than one wild multiplier contributes to a win, their values are combined.
Furthermore, every time you collect 5 mystery symbols in the meter, you'll be awarded with an extra 1, 2, or 3 free spins, adding even more excitement and potential rewards to your gameplay experience.
Feature | Pirate Golden Age | Buccaneer's Bounty | Pirate's Plunder | Treasure Cove |
---|---|---|---|---|
Description | Pirate-themed slot | Pirate-themed slot | Pirate-themed slot | Pirate-themed slot |
RTP | (Hypothetical) | 95.6% | 95.8% | 96.0% |
Volatility | (Hypothetical) | Medium-high | Medium | High |
“Aztec Blaze” invites players to explore the ancient temples, lush jungles, and hidden treasures of the Aztec Empire. The game features intricate visuals, immersive sound effects, and thrilling gameplay. But what secrets lie within this slot? Let’s uncover its design and features.
When it comes to pirate-themed slots, they're quite common, so standing out requires something truly special. Games like Relax Gaming's Dead Man's Trail catch attention for their innovative features and high-quality design, seamlessly blending gaming elements with the adventurous theme. Then there are slots like Pirate Golden Age, which stand out for different reasons. How can I say this politely? Well, Pirate Golden Age was a bit underwhelming. The base game felt as dry as a pirate captain's mouth after a night of heavy drinking, and even the free spins didn't add much excitement. Sorry for the exaggeration.
Let's try to find some positives to balance things out, although it's a bit challenging. Pirate Golden Age is just... well, average. Even the music became irritating after a while, sounding like it was played by a drunken accordion player stumbling around. Maybe in another game, the music would be great, but here it just felt lackluster. There are other oddities too, like the collection feature, which seems unnecessary—why collect coins only to add them back on every spin? It would make more sense to shuffle them around the board, right?
Okay, onto the positives. The visuals are nice, and the pirate theme is well-executed. Players who love all things pirate-related might enjoy the abundance of brigands, bombs, and bones scattered throughout the game. And for those who enjoy mystery symbols (if such people exist), the free spins bonus round might offer some excitement, especially since it's relatively easy to trigger. However, don't expect huge payouts; the maximum win is only 3,000 times the bet, which isn't exactly a fortune.
To be fair, some free spins rounds went decently well, and some players might appreciate Pirate Golden Age's simplicity. But overall, it feels lacking and incomplete, as if something crucial is missing that could've added more excitement. Or just excitement in general. To put it dramatically, imagine embarking on a voyage to find treasure, gathering a crew, crossing the Atlantic with a tattered map in hand—only to find an empty chest at the end. That same disappointment isn't far off from the feeling after finishing a session of Pirate Golden Age.