Pirate Kingdom Megaways slot review (Iron Dog Studios)
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Iron Dog Studio is a small and new game provider, trying to get a foot on the ground with the powerful Megaways engine
Iron Dog Studio went for a cartoonish theme, full of grubby pirates, muscular shipmates, cannonballs and plenty of other symbols.
Maybe we were skeptical beforehand, as Iron Dog Studio did not have any experience yet with developing Megaways slots.
We were glad to see that our fears turned out to be completely unfounded: Pirate Kingdom Megaways is an exciting video slot. The theme might appear a bit childish but is also entertaining. What’s more, the bonus round can be very lucrative.
The game has more than sufficient original elements, and even the most critical Megaways fan will be positively surprised.
Bets start at $€ 0.20. The maximum bet is $€ 20 per spin.
What are the theoretical RTP, the variance and the maximum win of the Pirate Kingdom Megaways Slot?
The RTP is 96.20% and around the RTP of an average online slot).
The maximum win is an incredible $€800,000 (0.8 million), which boils down to a win of 40,000x the total bet.
The variance of Pirate Kingdom Megaways must be high, and it is not a surprise that the maximum bet is limited to $€20. The exposure for casinos would otherwise be too high.
As the variance is high, it is not strange for you to bag wins of 1,000x the total bet or even more than that.
Gameplay and features of the Pirate Kingdom Megaways slot
Pirate Kingdom Megaways works like any other Megaways slot. It has:
- 6 reels with rows of up to 7 symbols high
- up to 117,649 Megaways (calculated as 7x7x7x7x7x7)
- Winning symbols that disappear and are replaced by new symbols that “tumble down.” This phenomenon is called the “Avalanche” mechanism. As long as you have winning combinations, you get additional tumbles.
Symbols and payouts
You get a prize for most symbols if you have three symbols on a payline (starting from the 1st reel).
With the main pirate, though, you already get a win with two symbols. It is no surprise that this sea warrior is also the most lucrative symbol: if you get a 6-of-a-kind, you get paid out 500 coins, equivalent to 25 x the total bet.
The other symbols are not as lucrative. That doesn’t say much, though. Because of the wilds, progressive multipliers, stacked symbols and the enormous amount of paylines, it is also possible to get some fantastic wins with “lower” symbols.
There are regular wilds and x2 wilds. The latter yield you a multiplier of x2 if the wild is part of a winning combo. There is a maximum of three x2 wilds, so potentially a multiplier of x8.
Free spins bonus
You can buy the free spins bonus via the Buy a Bonus option, which we explain further below.
You can also activate the free spins via the base game. To get to that stage, you need to have at least four winning tumbles (4 consecutive winning combinations from 1 spin) in a row. Four tumbles yield 6 free spins, 5 tumbles 10, 6 tumbles 12, and 7 successive tumbles are award 14 free spins (the maximum amount of free spins you can get).
During the free spins, several boosters are active, which makes the free spins bonus even more interesting compared to most other Megaways slots.
These are the extra boosters you can win:
- A reel of 7 symbols becomes sticky and gives you a +1 additional multiplier for the remaining free spins. The reel will also have 7 symbols for the remaining free spins, thereby enlarging the playing field.
- A winning combination leads to a +1 extra multiplier for the remaining free spins.
- Every four consecutive winning tumbles yields you +2 free spins.
- After that, each winning tumble gets you another +2 free spins.
You can earn up to +14 extra free spins, but the fantastic news is that the multiplier is unlimited!
If you manage to spin multiple reels with 7 symbols on the first reels, you can imagine that your balance will increase like a rocket when you get consecutive tumbles.
It can be incredibly pleasing when you have some sticky reels of symbols with a high multiplier and still have some 8 spins left.
Obviously, it can’t always be party time. The Pirate Kingdom Megaways free spins bonus is hugely erratic but one of the most fun and thrilling of all the Megaways slots we’ve ever played.
Buy a Bonus feature
The Buy a Bonus feature is a very popular option with many Megaways slots.
Iron Dog Studios has been smart enough to include a Buy a Bonus option in their first Megaways slot.
What’s more, the Pirate Kingdom Megaways slot allows you to choose between 6 different Buy a Bonus features.
If you choose not to have a locked reel (a reel that is sticky with 7 symbols), you have the following three options:
- 6 free spins, no locked reels. Cost: 30x the bet. RTP 95.9%
- 8 free spins, no locked reels. Cost: 50x the bet. RTP 95.81%
- 10 free spins, no locked reels. Cost: 90x the bet. RTP 96.00%
If you choose not to have one locked reel, you have the following three options:
- 6 free spins, 1 locked reel. Cost: 50x the bet. RTP 96.12%
- 8 free spins, 1 locked reel. Cost: 80x the bet. RTP 96.00%
- 10 free spins, 1 locked reel. Cost: 130x the bet. RTP 96.07%
It costs something, but then you really get something.
Surveyed results of the Buy a Bonus Feature
We studied the outcomes of the Buy a Bonus Feature (6 free spins, 1 locked reel) by playing this bet 50 times. We made bets of $€100 each with play money.
Playing slots with play money should create the same results as when you would have played the slot with real money. It is prohibited for slot providers to use different (or better RTP’s) when playing in practice mode.
We staked a total amount of € 5,000 (50 bets of $€100 each) and ended up with $€ 3,573.80. The total loss after 50 Bonus rounds amounted to $€ 1,426.20.
This resulted in a payout % of 71.5% (well below the theoretical RTP of 96.12%).
The top 3 most massive wins were $€ 404.00, $€ 313.20 and $€ 288.60.
Only in 8 cases (out of 50 bets) was the payout over $€ 100 (what is staked).
It is clear that the Buy a Bonus feature with Pirate Kingdom Megaways is highly volatile. Based on what we see here, we expect that once in a couple of hundred bonus sessions, that this slot pays out a win of say $€ 1,000 or $€ 2,000 or more than that.
Our verdict on Pirate Kingdom Megaways
We love this first Megaways release of Iron Dog Studio. In one word: excellent!
You need some luck with the free spins bonus. But if you get it, the wins can be enormous.
The sticky reels with 7 symbols are a great find: apart from the extra multipliers, they make sure that the playing field is enlarged, thereby increasing the number of Megaways.
And everyone knows the more ways to win, the more likely it is that you will win something extreme. It makes the slot more thrilling. Don’t be surprised if you land a win of some 2,000x the bet out of the blue. Or even 5,000x the stake.
4 out of 5 stars.
