If we turn a blind eye to the early-days BTG release,Tumblin’ Treasures, Pirate Pays Megaways is the crafty Aussies’ first stab at thebuccaneer genreafter their big break. We have to say that we expected a bit more swashbuckle, swagger and schwong from this effort, although the stats are nothing to sneeze at. What you get instead is a smooth-sailing and sturdy Bonanza-like experience, with a few twists inspired from other games.
The bottom sliding reel comes with a somewhat innovative Compass Wild, and it turns additional symbols wild in the random direction of the needle. A wholeDeal or No Dealstyle feature plays out before the progressive multiplier bonus round starts, and there is even an Enhanced version of it that you’ll trigger once in a while. The math model is solid as usual, but it’s about time Big Time Gaming slots showed some muscle when it comes to actualbig wins.
The premiums pay between 0.7 and 25 x your stake for 6 of a kind wins, and winning symbols are removed from the grid via theReaction mechanic. New and/or existing symbols will then drop down to fill the gaps, and this process goes on as long as you keep winning.
The bottom sliding reel adds an extra position to the 4 middle reels, and this is also where thespecial Compass Wildcan slide in. The compass needle spins to determine the direction of the wild transformation, which will be upwards, downwards, left or right (or north, south, east or west in nautical terms).All symbols in the chosen direction turn into Parrot Wilds, and the wilds step in for all regular pay symbols to help complete winning combos.
You trigger theKraken Bonus Roundby landing3+ regular scattersanywhereon reels 1 to 5. The Enhanced version of the feature is triggered by landing2+ regular scatters, plus apurple chest Megascatter on reel 6.
The Deal or No Deal-inspired pre-bonus gameplays out on a different screen, where the pirate ship fires cannons to gradually andrandomly remove 20 different outcomes. These consist of a number of spins combined with a starting multiplier. The best possible outcome is25 free spinswith ax10 starting multiplier, while the absolute worst outcome is6 free spinswith anx1 starting multiplier.
Up to 5 outcomes are removed by the cannons, and Kraken then makes you an offer based on the remaining outcomes. If you reject the offer, the cannons fire to remove more outcomes randomly, and you get a new offer from the Kraken. This offer can be better or worse, depending on what outcomes are left, and you get a randomized choice if only 2 outcomes remain.
If you triggered the Enhanced Bonus Round with help from the Megascatter on reel 6, the same Kraken pre-game plays out. The big difference is that the 10 lowest-tier outcomes are already removed up front.
Either way, the startingwin multiplierincreases by+1 per Reaction Win, and it does not reset and comes with no upper limit. You cannot land any megascatters during the feature, but you can win extra spins via scatters on the bottom sliding reel. Slide in3 or 4 scatters, and you’ll be awarded with+5 or +10 free spins, respectively.
Nothing very exciting happens until we trigger the Kraken Bonus Round at 1:27 into the 4:55-minute highlights video. We do get a compass wild pointing south, which basically means it has no transformative effect. Anyway, we rejected Kraken offers until we ended up with 15 free spins and an x2 starting multiplier, and you can see it all play out by hitting the play button below.
It’s not all that often we’re disappointed by BTG releases, but Pirate Pays Megaways didn’t quite live up to our expectations. It’s an overall solid effort, don’t get us wrong, but we feel that more polishing and tweaks could have produced a far better result. The buccaneering pirate vibe is missing when you just cruise along in calm waters staring at the stern all the time. It would also be more fun if the Compass Wild could land anywhere, and not only on the bottom sliding reel.
When it points south or into the edge, no effect comes from it, and it usually doesn’t do all that much damage even if transformations do happen. Another thing is that the main elements seem borrowed from Hacksaw’s Cash Compass and Blueprint’s Deal or No Deal range. The 15,500x base game potential seems far-fetched, not to speak of the un-capped104,400xmax win that’s supposedly possible in the progressive multiplier bonus round.
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Cons
Star Pirates Code- is a buccaneer-themed release from Reel Kingdom, and it comes with a similar Compass Wild feature. These can land on the 3 middle reels, and symbols turn wild in the direction the needle points (including diagonally). You then get a sticky wilds respin ala Starburst, and this can lead to payouts up to 2,500x your stake.
Cash Compass- is a Hacksaw Gaming title that revolves around the Compass symbol transformation feature. Land 5+ high-value compass symbols to trigger the base game transformation, and the feature triggers for any compass you land in the bonus round. You can win up to 7,400x your stake in this cluster pays grid slot.
Pirates Plenty Megaways- is the 3rd installment in Red Tiger’s pirate range, and you can play with up to 200,704 ways to win. This is done by unlocking the top sliding reel, which also gives you expanding wilds with up to x8 multipliers. The bonus round comes with an unlimited progressive multiplier, which can lead to payouts up to 10,489x your stake.
