Plunderin’ Pirates Hold and Win

Plunderin’ Pirates Hold and Win Overview

iSoftBet is currently on a bit of a mad one with their Hold and Win slots, producing game after game in an attempt to make the most of this current trend in online slots. This latest in the series takes the form of a classic pirate theme. However, that's about all that has changed in contrast to their previous products. That said, there are a few feature add-ons that make things a touch more original. Overall, if you have played one of these Hold and Win games, you'll know exactly what to expect here. The RTP for this game is 96%, and the max win is 880x the stake.

The features of this game are twofold. The first one brings a range of explosive modifiers into play, triggered randomly in the base game. These will either transform symbols, add wilds or add gold coins to the playing board to improve the value of your spins. The other main feature here is the plundering re-spins, which is called the hold and win bonus in other games. This feature is triggered when players land five or more of the golden coins on the board simultaneously. Do so, and the game will award you three re-spins on a new board that could see you win some big prizes. All features will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

Plunderin' Pirates, it will surprise you to learn, has a piratical theme with all the normal visual tropes we see in classic pirate movies. This includes a bearded captain, complete with eyepatch, pistol and tricolour. You'll also see the classic parrot companion, though he is a white cockatoo in this game rather than the classic macaw. In the bonus game, players will also see the sunken wreck of a pirate ship overflowing with chests full of booty. This theme definitely takes its inspiration from Pirate of The Caribbean rather than a more historically rigorous source. But that's fine, as it's all about entertainment value here.

The background for this slot in the base game is a misty night on the shores of some tropical island where a huge pirate ship has crept into the bay. If the films are believed, this ship, bursting with foul pirates, will soon erupt into life, shooting cannonballs into an unsuspecting town. However, all that is portrayed in the game is the quiet suspenseful wait in the shallow water of the dock. The picture changes for the bonus game, taking players underwater where we can now see a sunken ship laden with gold and haunted by the dead pirates who used to sail it.

The playing board has been designed to look like the stern of a great pirate ship made from sturdy timber beams.
The symbols for this game are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the J, Q, K and A in playing card royals. The A is the most valuable, worth 4x the stake for the top combination. On the other hand, the more valuable symbols are the parrot, the monkey, the female pirate and the male pirate. The male pirate is the most valuable symbol, worth 25x the stake. The specials finally are the crossbones wild and the golden coin special symbol.

Game Play

Plunderin' Pirates Hold and Win is played on a 5-reel, 3-6-row machine with 20 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three or more matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.
The betting range for Plunderin' Pirates Hold and Win is 20p to £20 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
Volatility for this slot is rated in the medium range. The return to player percentage for Plunderin' Pirates Hold and Win is 96%, which is average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 880x your stake.

Features

The first feature in this game is the explosive modifiers bonus. During the base game, random bombs may be chucked onto the reels, which represent modifiers. Some of these bombs add 3-5 wilds to the board; others upgrade all low-paying symbols to high-paying symbols. Finally, a third set adds 1-3 gold coins to the reels to help players trigger the bonus game.
The other feature here is the plunderin' re-spins triggered when players land five or more gold coins on the reels simultaneously. Do this, and three re-spins will be awarded to you on a new game board. If any new gold coins land in this new game, they will become sticky and replenish your re-spins to three. The feature comes to an end when all re-spins are exhausted or the board is full of coins. All the coin values are added up and paid out to you at the end of the feature in one lump sum. Coin values can be in the region of 1x to 100x the bet.

In addition to the gold coins, players may also land a group of other coins with different abilities. These are explained below:
Silver coins – collect the values from any gold coin symbol in view and open more positions for coins.
Green coins – increase the value of any adjacent coins connecting horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
Blue coins – unlocks up to 3 extra rows.
Purple coins – collects the values from any gold or silver coins in view and opens more positions for coins.

Conclusion

The positives here are that the game's visual aspect is sublime, and the features are interesting and novel. However, the negatives include the fact this game has a very poor win potential compared to its competitors. This revolves mainly around the game's woeful top payout, which is far below what one would expect of a game like this. It's a shame as the rest of the game holds up pretty well. Maybe this one is better played in demo mode.