Wild Pirates Slot Machine
Wild Pirates is a non-progressive Spielo video slot with 9 fixed paylines. No prizes for guessing the theme of this title: it’s all about rowdy, rumbustious seamen terrorising the oceans! Across 5 reels, you’ll come across all sorts of piratic totems, from anchors and muskets to weatherbeaten flags and eyepatch-wearing skulls. The question is, will your journey on the high seas be a fortuitous one and can this compete with Spielo's other Pirate titles like Burning Ocean?
Embarking on an Adventure
Wild Pirates is a medium-variance game that lets you stake between one and ten credits per payline. Coin denominations, meanwhile, go from 0.01 to 1. If you prefer to play in autoplay mode, you’ll be glad to know that you can set the reels to spin 5, 10, 25, 50 or 100 times, necessitating no player input. At maximum bet, the game boasts a jackpot of 50,000. There are also plenty of solid amounts to be won: 20,000, 10,000, 7,500, 6,000.
Wild Pirates won’t win any awards for innovation, at least from a visual standpoint, but that doesn’t mean it’s been poorly designed; rather, that it can’t compete with the photorealistic graphics of some other games. The two-dimensional symbols populating the reels have been sketched by an illustrator, giving the game a storybook feel. Nonetheless, they are bright in colour and certainly draw the eye.
The reel grid itself, constructed in the 5x3 format, features columns that are separated from one another by a line of rope. Icons include a musket, an anchor, a steering wheel, a wooden pirate ship with many sails, a skull imposed upon a pair of crossed swords and a cannon. There’s also a wooden treasure chest and a triumvirate of swashbuckling pirates, one of whom bears a striking resemblance to the most famous pirate of all, Captain Hook.
Hunting for Treasure
As you might expect, the fabled treasure chest is the best-paying icon in the game, furnishing players with 50,000 for five in a row and 10,000 for four in a row. It pays 1,500 for three and 80 for two. It’s worth mentioning, actually, that you don’t need to hit three matching symbols to win a pay-out; just two will suffice.
Next in the pay hierarchy is the pirate ship, paying 20,000 for five, 7,500 for four, 500 for three and 40 for two. You can view the full pay-table by clicking the orange Paytable button at the foot of the screen.
As you spin the reels, a jaunty tune plays, but in between spins, the audio effects include the crashing of waves and the sound of movement on the decks. This contributes to the gamer’s overall sense of immersion.
Pirate Girl’s Wild
Pirates are usually male, but in Wild Pirates, the one to watch out for is the attractive female brunette. The rather lasciviously attired pirate acts as wild, and as such can substitute for the other symbols to help you form wins. There are a few exceptions, though. She cannot, for instance, replace the bonus map, the free spins and the bonus cannon symbols.
If a player hits two or more cannon icons, he will get a chance to play the Broadside Bonus Game. The mini game is essentially a shooting game, whereby you must aim your cannon at a pirate ship. You’ll win up to 1,500 per hit and are given five shots in total. It takes three hits to sink the ship, so you can potentially scoop 4,500 during the bonus.
Gamers fortunate enough to land the bonus map symbol are in for a treat. Every time you find one of these, you’ll win bonus points. A tab occupies the lower left corner of the grid, keeping track of your total. You must collect 1,000 bonus points in order to complete the treasure map and play the Treasure Island Bonus Game. The sooner you find the treasure, the more credits you’ll win. The top pay-out is 10,000.
Furthermore, a free spins symbol, represented by a flag with a skull and crossbones, grants – what else? – free spins. Land three icons to win eight free spins, four to get 20 and five to win 100. All free spins come with a 2x multiplier attached!
Pirates Gone Wild
It’s not easy finding fault with Wild Pirates. OK, you can nitpick about the graphics, which don’t exactly jump out of the screen – but that’s about it. This slot is entertaining from first spin to last, with three separate bonus features to keep you coming back for more.
