Piranha Pays

Piranha Pays Slot Review

Slot Provider: Play n Go

RTP: 96.2% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 5,000x

Our Score: 8.0

Play at Grand Ivy Casino
QUICK LINKS: Game Information | Where To Play | Full Review | Testing Notes | Compare Slots | Tips For Players | About The Developer

WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Piranha Pays

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 27th February 2024

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Piranha Pays is a humorous slot game from Play n Go featuring an old man who buys a pet piranha that ends up out-growing his fish tank! This high variance slot plays on a 5×4 reel set which expands to 8 rows high with 50 paylines in the free spins round. Random multipliers up to 10x and instant win prizes of up to 20x are available in the base game. In the bonus round there are 4 stages of a trail to complete, and if you finish them all, you’ll trigger the 5,000x max payout.  Spins start at 10p.

Piranha Pays Game Information

  • RTP: 96.2% | 94.2% | 91.2% | 87.2% | 84.2%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 5,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: Up To 8
  • Paylines: Up To 50
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Theme: Fish
  • Features: Wilds, Random Multipliers, Free Spins, Expanding Wilds

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Piranha Pays

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

I played 250 spins on Piranha Pays on Play n Go’s test server prior to release to test the game. This is what happened.

  • Stake Size: £1
  • Start balance: £25,000
  • End balance: £24,970
  • Hit Rate: 15.6% (39 winning spins in 250)
  • Biggest Win: 100.2x
  • Free Spins Round: 2

It took 14 spins before I saw my first win in this session which had me wondering if the game was broken. That turned out to be the longest run with no wins but it was an early indicator of just how volatile Piranha Pays is. The overall hit rate came in at 15.6% which is tight. The base game rarely showed me anything, though a few random multipliers of 9x and more helped deliver the odd small to mid range payouts. I never saw a single ‘near miss’ mystery win.

Piranha Pays big win in free spins
On the way to a 100.2x win in free spins

But no problem because it seems the RTP in this slot is saved back for the free spins round. It triggered twice which isn’t bad over 250 spins. First time brought in a 100.2x win after I unlocked the 2nd level on the trail to give me 15 spins with a 2×2 piranha wild then triggered a big win with the top paying premium symbol.  The second time brought up a 36.1x win without any level-ups.

Overall this was a fun game, but it showed you really need to unlock that free spins round if you are going to score any decent-sized wins.

What We Liked

  • Four levels to trigger with expanding wild in free spins round
  • Random multipliers of up to 10x on ANY spin
  • Near miss prize of up to 20x when 2 scatters land
  • Play from just 10p
  • Funny theme and storyline with piranhas in the old man's fish tank!

What We Didn't like

  • Low RTP rate at some casinos
  • Only moderate max win value

Piranha Pays Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 8
  • RTP and Variance 8
  • Maximum Win 7
  • Symbols and Paytable 8
  • Features and Gameplay 9

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"An inventive and fun slot with bags of potential in the four-level free spins round, but one that can frustrate you along the way thanks to wicked volatility!"

Overall Score: 8.0

Theme & Design

Our Score 8

A Homely Setting But What’s That In The Fish Tank

Piranha Pays is a humorous slot game from Play n Go featuring an old man who buys a pet piranha. This high variance slot plays on a 5×4 reel set which expands to 8 rows high with 50 paylines in the free spins round. Random multipliers up to 10x and instant win prizes of up to 20x are available in the base game. In the bonus round there are 4 stages of a trail to complete, and if you finish them all, you’ll trigger the 5,000x max payout.

Piranha Pays by Play n Go
Piranha Pays – careful what you bring home from the pet shop!

RTP and Variance

Our Score 8

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

Piranha Pays has five available RTP settings – 96.2%, 94.2%, 91.2%, 87.2% and 84.2%. To avoid getting short-changed by playing at one of the lower rates – some slot sites really do run these games at less than 90% RTP – always check the game info screen before spending your money by hitting the ‘?’ under the reels and scrolling down until you here Return to Player.

I recommend playing at MrQ from Lindar Media where slots like this one consistently run at the maximum RTP.

This is one of Play n Go’s more volatile games with a high variance rating, so the win distribution will be uneven. Choose a sensible stake accordingly or you may get burned!

Maximum Win

Our Score 7

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

Piranha Pays comes in with a max payout of 5,000x which is somewhat disappointing for a high variance game. Play n Go have many other games with much higher max wins you can try including the excellent Kiss: Reels of Rock (50,000x). If you stick with this one then your max from a 10p bet would be £500.

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 8

The games starts on a 5 reel and 4 row grid with 30 paylines to win across. Wins are triggered in the standard way by landing 3 or more identical symbols across paylines from left to right, starting at the left most reel. However, you can expand that grid to 5 rows, 6 rows, 7 rows or 8 rows, to give yourself 35, 40, 45 or 50 paylines in total. More on that in the next part.

Piranha Pays Paytable
Paytable with 20x for 5 top paying premiums

There is good value towards the top of the paytable and plenty of multipliers to boost your wins too. There are 9 symbols in all. The low payers are the cards, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. These are valued at from 0.1x for 3 Jacks up to 2x for 5 Aces. The premiums are the food items, biscuits, cakes, fried eggs, pies and ham. These are valued at from 0.3x for 5 biscuits up to 20x for 5 ham.

There are wilds too, represented by the sharp-toothed piranha fish in greens, blue, pinks and oranges. These substitute for any pay symbol to complete win ways.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 9

The gameplay here is simple. You have win multipliers, mystery instant wins and free spins. Here is how each feature works.

Win Multipliers Of Up To 10x 

The win multiplier appears in a jam jar above the reels, top right. It randomly activates to display a multiplier value on any spin in the base game and free spins rounds. The multiplier values may be 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x or 10x and apply to ALL wins on that spin.

Mystery Instant Win Of Up To 20x 

To trigger free spins you need to land 3 scatters. But if you get a near miss of two scatters without the third then a Mystery Instant Win may trigger instead. This will drop onto reel 5 to reveal a prize of 5x, 10x, 15x or 20x. That’s a nice bit of compensation!

Free Spins With Trail and Expanding Reels

The main even is the free spins round. And it’s a good one thanks to a trail feature and expanding reel set that takes the reel set up to 8 rows deep to give you 50 paylines.

Piranha Pays Free Spins Round
10 Free Spins in Piranha Pays

The round starts by landing 3 scatter symbols, represented by the food can symbol. Your 3 cans need to land on reel 1, 3 and 5. That gets you 10 spins. Once you the round begins you start on a free spins trail displayed above the reels, levelling up each time 3 more scatters are collected. You also get a piranha wild that remains on the reels, moving position with each spin and growing in size.

These are the four levels:

  • 1st Level – Extra 5 spins on 5 reels, 5 rows and 35 paylines, and a standard piranha wild at 1×1
  • 2nd Level – Extra 5 spins on 5 reels, 6 rows and 40 paylines, and a piranha wild at 2×2
  • 3rd Level – Extra 5 spins on 5 reels, 7 rows and 45 paylines, and a piranha wild at 3×3
  • 4th Level – Extra 5 spins on 5 reels, 8 rows and 50 paylines, and a piranha wild at 4×4
  • Landing 3 scatters at 4th Level – 5,000x max payout

The Final Verdict

Piranha Pays is a super little slot from Play n Go with fun production, albeit one with an obviously very dangerous bite. The RTP seems to be loaded onto the bonus round where wins can escalate nicely for those lucky enough to level-up a few times. With a 3×3 or even 4×4 wild on the reels, roaming on each spin, and nice value in the paytable, it’s easy to see how this one can push on towards its 5,000x max win. Enjoy, but beware of the dangers too!

Useful Tips When Playing Piranha Pays

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Make Sure You Play At The Optimum RTP

To give yourself the best chance of coming away with a positive balance make sure that you are playing at a casino that runs the game at the max RTP. If it is less than 96% you should look elsewhere.

2. Watch Out For Those Food Can Scatters

The testing session results suggest that all the good stuff will happen when those expanded reel sets and super-sized piranha wilds are in play. That means landing 3 scatters in the base game and then as many times as you can during free spins to advance on the trail.

3. Start At A Low Stake

The high volatility and low hit rate from testing suggest that this will be a super-tough slot to crack and one that can burn your balance very quickly. To avoid this exercise good bankroll management and keep your stake low relative to your overall balance. You can spin from just 10p.

4. Play At Recommended Slot Sites

We recommend the sites on this page because they are all licensed by the UK Gambling Commission which means they have been audited and tested to ensure they are safe, secure and fair. Never play at unlicensed sites.

Who Made Piranha Pays?

  • Name: Play n Go
  • Established: 1997
  • UK License: Remote 021725-R-304911-020
  • Total Games: 200 +
  • Known For: Grid slots, high variance slots, huge range of themes, styles and maths models
  • Popular Slots: Book of Dead, Reactoonz 1 and 2, Troll Hunters 2, Rise of Olympus
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