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Pirate Bonanza Review
Arrr, hoist the sails and brace yerself matey, cos Pirate Bonanza be a treasure-filled voyage where scatterin’ riches and swashbucklin’ wins await on the high seas! Yes, this excellent 6 x 6 slot from Backseat Gaming is a real fun one – so much so it makes us want to talk in pirate!
It reminds us of both Le Bandit and Sugar Rush at times. This is mainly due to the cascade feature combined with the fact that whenever a symbol explodes, it leaves behind a highlight on the grid. Then if you land a Cannon symbol on the same spin, those highlights will turn into multipliers. This is all pretty similar to Le Bandit’s Rainbow and Coins system, and a bit like Sugar Rush’s multiplier system.
Unlike these two other titles we mention, Pirate Bonanza is a pays anywhere slot. But basically it’s really entertaining, and has helped put Backseat Gaming on the (treasure) map. Of course, there’s a free spins round too, plus plenty of options for buying the bonus.
Pros
- Pirate Bonanza looks and sounds great with its immersive theme
- The highlighted squares mechanic is fun and will keep players engaged
- Plenty of options to buy the bonuses/add an ante bet
- Medium/high volatility will please those who don’t want extreme variance
- Even beginners should get to grips with the flow quickly
Cons
- Bonus game isn’t that much different from base game
- Load the Cannons bonus round doesn’t always pay off
- Spinning into the Fire at Will bonus round is unlikely
Gameplay
How To Play
- Choose your bet size and start spinning.
- You’ll want to land 8 or more of the same symbols anywhere on the grid. Winning symbols explode, leave a highlight on their square, and are replaced in a tumbling format.
- When a Cannon symbol lands on the same spin as any highlighted squares, the squares will turn into Multiplier Bombs, of which there are four types. Three types are additive, i.e. 2x and 10x become 12x, whereas the other type is multiplicative, i.e. 2x and 10x become 20x. This multiplication affects the win total from that spin. You can click on-screen to skip the tallying animations.
- Landing 4 Bonus Scatter symbols takes you to the Load the Cannons free spins round. You get 10 spins (retriggers possible) and the aim is the same as the base game, but Cannons are more plentiful.
- Landing 5 Bonus Scatter symbols takes you to the Fire at Will free spins round. Here you still get 10 spins (retriggers possible), but the Cannons are more plentiful, and any highlights remain on squares for the duration of the round.
Bonus Symbols
- Bonus Scatter symbol: Landing 4 or 5 of these in the base game will take you to the bonus round. Landing 3 in the bonus round will retrigger 5 more free spins.
- Cannon symbol: Landing one of these on the same spin as any highlighted squares will mean bombs get added to those squares at the end of the spin. It’s how you unlock multipliers and potentially win big.
- Multiplier Bombs: These can be additive or multiplicative.
- Low-Value Bombs: Additive. Will have one of the following values: 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x.
- Medium-Value Bombs: Additive. Will have one of the following values: 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x.
- High-Value Bombs: Additive. Will have one of the following values: 50x, 75x, 100x.
- Golden Multiplier Bombs: Multiplicative. Will have one of the following values: 2x, 3x, 5x, 10x.
Bonus Features
- Load the Cannons: Spinning into this free spins round requires you to land 4 Bonus Scatter symbols naturally. You’ll get 10 free spins and a higher chance of landing Cannons. You can also buy into it with 100x your wager.
- Fire at Will: Spinning into this second free spins round requires you to land 5 Bonus Scatter symbols naturally. You’ll get 10 free spins, a higher chance of landing Cannons, and any highlights will remain until the end of the round, rather than just the end of the spin. You can also buy into it with 500x your wager.
- BonusHunt FeatureSpins: This is an ante bet that means each spin is 5 times more likely to trigger the free spins. It ups your wager by 3x.
- Broadside FeatureSpins: For 50x your wager, this guarantees a Cannon symbol will land on every spin along with at least one win.
- Hit frequency: Comes in at 26.95%.
- Max win: Average amount at 10,000x.
Sweepsplays Verdict
- Overall, this is a great, high RTP slot from Backseat Gaming. The pirate theme is well done and immersive, even down to the sounds of the creaking ropes on the ship.
- It does ape Le Bandit a lot, but it’s obviously with Hacksaw’s blessing when you consider this game was made with the Hacksaw OpenRGS system.
- Unlike Le Bandit, where you can just rely on getting a Rainbow, in Pirate Bonanza you can’t just rely on landing the Cannon. You have to also get a decent tumble for the multipliers to work their magic here.
- With three buy the bonus options and an ante bet too, there are plenty of ways for you to find your preferred rhythm.
- And importantly, there is the potential for big wins. For what it’s worth, we landed a 1500x on our third ever spin in our trial session.
