Perhaps inspired by the famous Pirates of the Caribbean blockbusters of 2003 and 2006, this exceptionally created game, with sharp and crisp symbols and artistic background sounds, can attract your ghostly-buccaneer-ish curiosity.
The four sea rovers’ characters are meticulously detailed, rich in colour and contrast. The other pirate-themed symbols and the background scenes are just as expertly crafted and deserve praise for the efforts put into them.
This is a really cool game to look at, to admire, and best of all, a cool game to play. You can almost feel the splashes of saltwater flying in your face as you spin the reels and see the winnings coming your way in sea waves.
The slot comes with Medium-High Volatility and a default setting of RTP at 95.28% (i.e. under the industry average index). Please note that the pirates game is a clone/re-skin of Victorious slot (2011- also from NetEnt).
Personal testers’ opinion about Ghost Pirates slot (Review and recommendations from the testers’ team)
Regarding the base game
We can say that Ghost Pirates is not a bad slot at all, but the Victorious slot has become much more popular among players and remains loved all along. The prize pool of the “plundering at the seas” game is divided equally between the usual spins and the bonus Free Spins feature.
Like many other slots, this one often teases the players by almost giving the right amount of Scatters on the right reels. Despite the higher number of lines, it teases so often that you feel the need to play on and on until you finally land the three consecutive Scatters from the leftmost reel.
At the same time, it puts 5 Scatters in the usual spins and in the bonus one, which can result in quite large winnings.
A separate advantage is that NetEnt experts did not change the frequency of the re-triggering feature. Like in Victorious, the Ghost Pirates slot often activates re-triggers, including 5 in the bonus game, resulting in mega payouts.
Despite the multi ways, which create myriad winning combinations, the slot is quite bad at keeping the balance (seemingly slightly better than Victorious, though). Still, given a choice, we prefer Victorious, as we had already many successful sessions there.
Regarding the bonus game
As with the usual spins here, too, we see a lack of huge win possibilities. The game doesn’t have an impressive paytable (anyone can admit- it is low), which makes the bonus round no better. We see that if no Free Spins were triggered for 100-150 spins during our sessions of analyzing the slot behaviour, it meant that the slot was not performing well, and we need to move on to the next slot.
If Free Spins were often triggered, but with small payouts, we can advise you not to be in a hurry leaving the game; usually, the slot is still compressed and can issue a few good bonus games in a row. Generally, if you are not a big fan of neither pirates nor ghosts, we think Victorious is the better choice even considering the bonus round.
NetEnt announced the following probabilities
- The total percentage of the return (RTP) in the slot is 96.9%. Of these: 66.4% in the usual and 30.5% in the bonus free spins feature.
- The probability of any winning is 42.6% in the usual spins, and 45.3% in the free spins feature.
- The probability of triggering the bonus (3 or more scatter symbols) is 0.68%.
- The probability of re-trigger is 1.43%.
- The maximum winning in the usual spins with a bet of 1 coin per pay line is 7500 coins—22500 coins – during free spins. The total winning is 45750 coins.
Hidden parameters and settings of the Ghost Pirates slot (data from testing)
- The frequency of falling of the bonus is statistically every 138th spin (0.72%). Note that this number shows the triggering and does not show how many scatter symbols will be involved. Same for retriggering of the feature.
- The probability of a hit (any winning) is 41,12%. Here you will see a lot of small winnings.
- The distribution of the winnings is 50% in the main game and 50% in the bonus feature. Note that this number differs significantly from Netent’s official numbers (66% / 30%).
- The maximum payout during the tests was 395x. This is a good result for the slot with a 6.71 volatility rating.
- The average winning from the bonus was 71x. This is a high number above the middle line. Players would see 10-20x very rear here.
- Volatility is 6.71 out of 20 (from average to high). The maximum winning potential of the Ghost Pirates slot can be released in the free spins feature via 243 lines. Usually, the player needs to catch several retriggers or hit a line hit (with the wild) of top symbols).
- The rating of the slot machine for the wagering is 5.56 out of 10. Not bad, not good – depending on the current “mood” of the slot.
- RTP of 95.28% and doesn’t allow getting a positive mathematical expectation of winning at the casino.
- All metrics are not too bad, but also not perfect – somewhere in the middle, and can lead you to the treasures buried under the sea depending on the current “mood” of the slot.
Slot’s symbols and features
- The slot has a 3×5 playing field.
- The game is flexible – enabling 3, 9, 27, 81, or 243 pay lines is possible.
- High-valued symbols are Peggy Rotten and One-eyed Ed.
- Medium-valued symbols are Mad Monkey and Polly.
- Low-valued is the regular pirate attributes.
- The Scatter symbols are paid and must appear in succession from the leftmost reel to trigger the Free Spins bonus round.
- 3 Scatters – 15 Free Spins
- 4 Scatters – 20 Free Spin
- 5 Scatters – 25 Free Spins
- Wild symbols substitute for all symbols, even for Scatter symbols.
Free Spins
To launch Free Spins, you need to collect at least 3 Scatter symbols in a row from left to right. During the bonus Free Spins, all payouts are multiplied by 3. The maximum winning in the Free Spins bonus mode is 45750 coins. The Free Spins feature can be re-triggered.
Settings
- Provider – NetEnt
- Payment lines – 243 ways
- Volatility – from Average to High
- Hit rate – 42.55%
- Default range of bets – 0.10 to 62.50 CAD
- Playing field – 5х3
- The maximum winning is – 1500x the total bet
- Bonuses – Wilds, Scatters, Free Spins with Multipliers
- Free Spins – Yes (plus possible re-trigger)
- RTP – variable per winways – between 95.28% (for 3 ways) and 96.88% (for 243 ways)
How to win at the Ghost Pirates slot? (Conclusion)
Once again, we will remind you to examine the game (and all its functionalities) in DEMO mode before starting to play for real money. We recommend this slot for real and bonus money but for short sessions only.
- Make 30-60 spins to check the frequency of winnings.
- The slot should trigger Free Spins at the start of the session; if it doesn’t, there is no use in going on with the session.
For the bonus hunters deciding to play long sessions, our recommendations are completely neutral. In case you choose to play with real money at the Ghost Pirates slot machine:
- We recommend always enabling the 243 lines because RTP will be the highest this way.
- If you have had several bonus rounds but were poorly paid, it is advisable to keep on playing; the next few will likely have good payouts.
