Pirates Pub: Slot Overview

After a long day of raiding, pillaging, and roaming the seven seas, where does a less-than-respectable buccaneer go to rest their tired bones and knock back a pint or two? If Pragmatic Play gets to decide, the answer is a place called Pirates Pub. It did make us think whether a pirate-only pub would be the sort of joint you’d need to qualify for—maybe by handing over a stack of wanted posters, dressing the part, or loudly dropping “ARRR” at every opportunity. Luckily, the Pirates Pub slot is far more welcoming, letting players of all kinds step right in for a spin. Once you’re inside, keep an eye out for the free spins round, which first marks grid positions and then, in its second phase, adds wilds—some carrying multipliers.

Pirates Pub isn’t the grittiest pirate-themed slot we’ve come across. Rather than going dark and realistic, it takes a more laid-back, breezy approach. Most of the display is dominated by the game grid, while the pub setting itself only peeks through around the edges. So, if you’re after a slot that makes you feel sea spray in your face as a ship crashes through stormy waters on the way to sack Port Royale, Pirates Pub probably won’t be the one. This is a calmer, more casual ride—at least to begin with.

The main gameplay takes place on a grid of 5 reels, 3 rows, and 9 paylines, where wins come from landing 3 to 5 matching symbols across. It’s a highly volatile slot, showing 4.5 out of 5 lightning bolts for volatility on the paytable, and it’s available in three RTP versions, with 96.03% being the one you’ll want. On the highest RTP setting, the return dips slightly to 96% if you purchase free spins for 70 times the stake. Bets range from 9 p/c to $/€99, and that covers the key technical details.

One way to collect winnings in Pirates Pub is by landing at least three identical symbols on a payline on adjacent reels, starting from the left. Land five of a kind and you’ll receive 2.22 to 4.44 times the bet for the lower-value diamonds, hearts, clubs, and spades card suits, or 6.67 to 33.33 times the bet for five chopped fish, beer mugs, bottles, swords, hats, and coins. The Pirates Pub logo wild appears on all reels and substitutes for all paying symbols. If you manage a line of five wilds, it pays 55.56x the bet. Payouts are approximate because this is a 9-payline game with bet levels.

Pirates Pub: Slot Features

If you prefer slots with lots happening in the base game, Pirates Pub may feel a bit bare, since there aren’t any features during that part. Things only really kick off when 3, 4, or 5 wild symbols land in the base game and trigger the free spins feature.

Free Spins

Hitting 3 wilds grants 5, 6, 7, or 8 free spins, landing 4 wilds grants 8, 9, 10, or 11 free spins, and landing 5 wilds grants 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15 free spins. The amount of free spins is randomly awarded.

In the opening part of the free spins round, the wilds that started the feature highlight their grid positions. Whenever another wild lands, it marks the spot it lands on as well. If a wild lands on an already marked position, that mark is upgraded. This can happen for up to 5 upgrades. If 3, 4, or 5 wilds land at once, then a random number of free spins is awarded from the same values as in the base game.

After all free spins are played, the second stage of the round starts. At this point, 2, 3, 4, or 5 free spins are randomly awarded. In stage two, every marked position is filled with sticky wilds. Based on the upgrade level of each marked position, the sticky wild can carry a multiplier of up to x5. Sticky wilds do not substitute for the original wilds. If a win includes more than one multiplier, the multipliers are added together. Sticky wilds pay the same as standard wilds, and this second stage cannot be retriggered.

Pirates Pub: Slot Verdict

Pirates often get painted as wild, permanently tipsy troublemakers, always chasing the next shady jackpot, complete with parrot and peg leg. Realistically, they can’t all have been like that—how many parrots could there have been, really? And just as pirates surely came in different styles and personalities, pirate slots do too, which is great for players since it means there’s something for different tastes and moods.

So, if you’re looking for a cheerful, light-hearted pirate slot that doesn’t overload you with mechanics, Pirates Pub could be a decent match. Feature-wise, the base game offers nothing in particular, so it helps if you enjoy Pirates Pub’s upbeat theme, or you can bypass the base game entirely with the bonus buy to jump straight into free spins, where the excitement has more room to build. The idea of marked positions later turning into wilds is something we’ve seen from time to time; Wild Chapo from Relax Gaming is one lively example that came to mind, and it works perfectly well here too. Stage 2 adds up to 5 extra free spins, and multiplier wilds are always a welcome sight. At best, they can deliver wins of up to 5,000 times the bet.

After drifting back into harbour, Pirates Pub felt like a perfectly fine trip. It doesn’t really feel like a slot Pragmatic Play poured a huge amount of attention or budget into, though. The theme is bright but a bit thin, and while the features can deliver, they also come across as somewhat plain. Pirates Pub can show its teeth in the bonus round, but it’s not a crew we’d be eager to enlist with again anytime soon.