Pirate Pays Megaways: Slot Overview

Ahoy, avast, or whatever else you need to set sail on a pirate-flavoured slot called Pirate Pays Megaways from developer Big Time Gaming. Most players will know just how well-worn this theme is, so with it being a BTG release, it was fair to wonder what the studio would bring to the table. As it happens, not a great deal more than you might anticipate, both in how the theme is presented and in the feature set, which will feel familiar from other titles. Even so, Pirate Pays can still align to deliver some eye-catching moments, so let’s get a little salty, a little sunburnt, do some plundering, maybe charm a governor or two, and chase treasure across the Spanish Main.

We’re assuming it’s the Spanish Main. There’s nothing in the documentation that outright states this is where Pirate Pays Megaways takes place, but it’s a famous hotspot for European privateering, so it fits well enough. The scene is a classic Caribbean setup, with a 6 + 1 reel set positioned in front of a ship cutting through a bright blue sea, surrounded by sunny skies and island scenery. It doesn’t scream “pirate” at first glance, and honestly, it never fully does. Still, the visuals are cheerful, so there’s plenty of reason to stay optimistic about the voyage ahead.

With every spin, up to 7 symbols can land on each of the 6 reels in the main grid, while 4 symbols appear on the extra horizontal reel. As a result, the Megaways count shifts from spin to spin, ranging from 324 to 117,649. On the maths side, this is a highly volatile slot with a strong theoretical return of 96.23%. Pirate Pays Megaways runs on any device, and bets can be set from 20 p/c to $/€20 spin. That’s not a huge spread for high rollers, but the game’s upside is enormous, as we’ll cover shortly.

The symbol set leans nautical without going all-in on pirate clichés – from low to high you’ve got 9-A card royals, then four jewel symbols adorned with gold wheels, anchors, swords, and Krakens. When a winning line is made using 6 premium symbols, payouts come in at 0.7 to 25 times their stake.

Pirate Pays Megaways: Slot Features

The feature set in Pirate Pays Megaways isn’t particularly groundbreaking, even with a bit of renaming, and it centres on reactions, wild compasses, and a Kraken Bonus Round.

Any winning combination activates the reaction mechanic, removing the winning symbols from the reels and dropping new ones into the empty spaces. If fresh wins are formed, the reaction continues, stopping only when no further combinations appear.

Exclusive to the 4-position lower reel is the wild compass symbol. When it lands, the compass needle spins to reveal a direction of North, South, East, or West. Similar to Cash Compass from Hacksaw Gaming, every position in the chosen direction is transformed into wild bird symbols. Wilds can substitute for all symbols except scatters.

There are two types of scatters – regular gold chest scatters on reels 1-5 and purple chest Megascatters on reel 6. Landing at least 3 regular scatters triggers the Kraken Bonus Round. Hitting at least 2 regular scatters + a purple chest scatter instead activates the Enhanced Bonus Round.

If you’ve played Deal or No Deal, you’ll recognise the setup, as the pre-bonus sequence follows a very similar concept. In the Kraken Bonus Round, 20 different prize outcomes are displayed, and one outcome is removed for each triggering scatter beyond 3. Each outcome shows a starting win multiplier and a number of free spins. After that, canons eliminate up to 5 outcomes. The Kraken then presents a free spins offer that players can accept or reject. Rejecting it means the canons keep removing outcomes until an offer is taken or only two outcomes remain. With just two left, players open one of two chests to receive an outcome, and the free spins begin.

When the Enhanced Bonus Round is triggered, the same sequence plays out, except the lowest 10 outcomes are removed from the list right at the start.

During free spins, the awarded win multiplier increases by +1 after every reaction without limit. The Megascatter symbol does not appear in the bonus; however, regular scatters can land on the bottom reel – hitting 3 or 4 scatters grants an extra +5 or +10 free spins, respectively.

Pirate Pays Megaways: Slot Verdict

It’s a solid game without quite reaching standout territory, and given Pirate Pays Megaways comes from BTG, it’s difficult not to hope for a little more. The pirate theme is as familiar as they come, which isn’t a problem in itself, but BTG hasn’t really stamped its identity on it. For most of the session you’re essentially looking at the stern of a ship, which doesn’t add much in terms of pirate atmosphere. There isn’t even a single skull & crossbones to be found, leaving things feeling somewhat generic. This could just as easily be a Spanish galleon hauling silver to King Philip II as a Dutch fluyt leaving Curacao. It doesn’t really capture the sense of a ruthless crew chasing riches at any cost, so Pirate Pays Megaways isn’t the best pick if you want full-throttle buccaneering vibes.

That said, Pirate Pays is worth a look if you want a dependable Megaways slot built around familiar core mechanics with a couple of extra touches. Of those extras, the compass wilds often proved genuinely helpful for connecting more symbols and improving hit potential. The headline feature, though, the Kraken Bonus Round, carries a very clear Deal or No Deal feel. In fact, it’s remarkably close, which was unexpected, as Big Time Gaming doesn’t usually borrow so openly from someone else’s concept. The resemblance even extends to accepting or rejecting the banker-like offers; in this case, the Kraken’s. As with DOND, it can be easy to turn down early offers while bigger rewards remain in play. In testing, the result was typically better than a x1 starting multiplier, though the number of free spins varied wildly. Sometimes it landed perfectly, other times less so, making the Kraken Bonus as tense as a full-on DOND-style round.

What will likely boost Pirate Pays Megaways’ appeal for many is the win potential. In the base game, the top prize reaches 15,500x the bet, which is strong, but it’s dwarfed by the Kraken Bonus Round where 104,400x can be achieved. Also worth pointing out is that the max win is uncapped, meaning there’s a possibility it could climb even higher.

Overall, Pirate Pays Megaways is as dependable as you’d expect from Big Time Gaming. It delivers a respectable RTP, huge potential, and smooth performance. The features aren’t as original as they could have been and the pirate theme is fairly restrained, but if you’re hunting for a big-potential game, you’re unlikely to regret stepping aboard.