Smuggler’s Cove

Well, shiver me timbers! It's only another pirate-themed slot! Pragmatic Play is offering players the chance to join in with the hunt for treasure in Smuggler's Cove, the online slot game where you'll be spinning the reels for cash prizes. But although there's a crew of fellow pirates to help you on your way, if you find the top swag of x10,000, you'll be wanting to keep it for yourself!

If you’ve played any online slots before, you will inevitably have seen pirate titles before. All of the big studios have released pirate-themed games because there’s nothing more than pirates love more than gold - very fitting when you’re playing for cash prizes! This isn’t the first pirate title that Pragmatic Play has released; some of their previous slots include Star Pirates Code, Pirate Gold and Pirate Gold Deluxe. If you enjoy the chance to set sail on the seven seas and leave landlubbers behind, you’ll find lots of other titles to play online at Bwin. 

Smuggler's Cove is your standard pirate slot, but it's perfectly executed - as you'd expect from Pragmatic. The grid is 5x3, and there are 20 fixed paylines with a min and max bet of 0.20 and 100.00. Volatility is at its maximum, so you won't find a regular flow of gold pieces coming your way. But if you can stick with it, there's a better chance of bigger prizes - plus the top payout of x10,000 to keep you motivated. 

The game is set on a deserted island - the clue is in the title of the game! - so you don’t need to worry if your sealegs are a bit wobbly. With the ocean in the background, blue skies and the pirate boat bobbing on the waves, you can focus on finding where X marks the spot! 

Stylised card suits make up the low pays in this slot, with golden symbols and pirate characters joining in for the premium wins. The latter makes any wins very rewarding, with between x10 and x100 available for landing a full line of five. 

The ship’s wheel is the wild and pays out the same as the top premium symbol, as well as substituting for any of the low or high pays. 

There are no colossal prize pots or innovative features, so if you're a regular player, you've probably seen these types of bonuses before - many times. But they're well-designed with smooth gameplay, so although they might not be new, there's plenty to keep would-be pirates happy while searching for the big wins. 

A golden coin is one of the scatters, and the more you land, the bigger your prize will be. You'll need a minimum of five coins to receive the first payout of x1, but a maximum of 15 coins will give you a very rewarding x1000. 

On reels 2-4, there is also a skull and crossbones scatter; land at least three to unlock the free spins bonus. There's a prize wheel to spin before you begin the bonus play, which will determine the number of free spins you receive. You could receive up to 20 free spins, plus there's the potential to collect a win multiplier too.  

During the free spins bonus, the coin scatters are worth substantially more. They still work in the same way, but the prizes escalate much more quickly. You'll need just three coins to win x1, but if you land the full 15 coins, you'll receive a whopping x10,000, the max payout for the game.  

The free spins bonus can be retriggered; land three more scatters during the feature, and you'll receive an extra eight free spins.

Some criticisms have been aimed at Smuggler's Cove because none of the features, or the design, is particularly original - and that's true. However, the coins plus the free spins mean there's always a good chance of triggering a boosted payout, and Pragmatic has expertly put together the whole slot. Therefore, even if there's nothing here that you haven't seen before, it's still an entertaining slot to play, which ticks all the right boxes for both new and experienced players alike.