Pirate Golden Age

Pirate Golden Age Slot Review

Slot Provider: Pragmatic Play

RTP: 96.49% | Variance: High | Maximum Win: 3,000x

Our Score: 6.6

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About Pirate Golden Age

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 14th September 2022

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.

Pirate Golden Age is a high variance slot from Pragmatic Play with the chance to plunder prizes of up to 3,000x across 5 reels with the help of Free Spins and Golden Skull Mystery Symbols.  The base game is all about landing wilds as singles and in stacks to complete win lines, but it’s the free spins round where things get interesting. Mystery symbols are collected cumulatively after each spin and added back onto the reels with multipliers if they double up on one position. This can lead to epic wins, particularly if the round re-triggers.

It’s all simple, no frills, high-risk gambling in this simple but fun slot from October 2022.

Pirate Golden Age Game Information

  • RTP: 96.49%
  • Variance: High
  • Maximum Win: 3,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 3
  • Paylines: 20
  • Minimum Stake: £0.20
  • Theme: Pirates
  • Features: Wilds, Free Spins, Mystery Symbols, Mystery Symbol Meter, Multipliers

What We Liked

  • A good slot if you like simple gameplay
  • High value premium symbols at 75x
  • Build multipliers in free spins round
  • Trigger extra free spins
  • Cool tropical island setting

What We Didn't like

  • Basic gameplay with few features
  • Very low max win for high risk

Pirate Golden Age Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 7
  • RTP and Variance 7
  • Maximum Win 5
  • Symbols and Paytable 7
  • Features and Gameplay 7

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A simple high risk slot with fun, but limited features and an underwhelming jackpot!"

Overall Score: 6.6

Theme & Design

Our Score 7

The action in Pirate Golden Age takes place on a Caribbean Beach with azure blue waters and golden sands overlooked by high, rocky cliffs. It looks like the sort of place you might wash up onto after your ship is wrecked in a storm. A huge skull carved into the rock protruding from the cliff face gives a slightly sinister feel to an otherwise idyllic scene and adds a dash of Pirates of the Caribbean to proceedings, though overall the vibe is upbeat. Even the soundtrack has a cheery sea shanty ring to it.

RTP and Variance

Our Score 7

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.

Pirate Golden Age has three available RTP settings: 96.49%, 95.29% or 94.34%. The optimum setting of 96.49% is just above average but your casino may choose to run the game at one of the lower settings. We verified the RTP at five UK slot sites to find out what setting the game was on. This is what we found:

Not for the first time in our research we found that MrQ from Lindar Media is the only slot site to run a game at its optimum RTP setting. We recommend you play here for the best value on your wagering.

Of course, Pirate Golden Age is also a highly volatile game, rated 5/5 on Pragmatic Play’s own scale. That means high risk for potentially high reward. There will be little to speak of in the base game but it’s all about unlocking the free spins round.

Maximum Win

Our Score 5

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.  

The top payout available on Pirate Golden Age is just 3,000x. That makes it one of the meanest of Pragmatic’s recent high variance releases. Most high variance games from this developer are capped at 10,000x max wins so this is a very disappointing potential. Want bigger wins? Then check out our guide to Pragmatic’s top 10 highest payout slots.

Explore Games With Similar RTP, Variance and Maximum Win

Like the numbers? Here are some more games you might want to try.

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Magician’s SecretsPragmatic Play96.5%High5,000xPlay Here
Panda’s Fortune 2Pragmatic Play96.51%High5,000xPlay Here
Hot FiestaPragmatic Play96.56%High5,000xPlay Here

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 7

Pirate Golden Age is a 5 reel and 3 row slot with 20 active payline in play on all spins. To trigger a win you will need to land at least 3 identical symbols from left to right across one of those paylines, starting on the left most reel.

Pirate Golden Age Paytable
The Paytable in Pirate Golden Age

 

There are 10 symbols in all with some really good values at the top end of the table. Low value symbols are the cards, Jack through to Ace. Their values range from 1.5x to 3x your bet for five on a line. And there are 6 premiums – the bomb, the anchor, the parrot and the 3 pirate characters wielding cutlasses and revolvers. The highest paying pirate triggers an impressive 75x for five on a payline.

There are also Wilds represented by the skeleton in the 3-pointed hat. These sub in for all other symbols and also pay 75x for five on a payline. And finally, look out for the Pirate Golden Age bonus symbol – it triggers the free spins round when 3 or more land on a spin.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 7

Pirate Golden Age is a really simple slot. In fact, there are NO extra features in the base game. It’s just about hitting paylines and triggering free spins.

Free Spins and Golden Skull Mystery Symbols

To hit that bonus round you’ll need three or more scatters to land at the same time. Once there, a new MYSTERY symbol is added to the reels in the form of the Golden Skull. Now keep an eye on these because when they land they ALL transform into one of the same symbol – which will be either a pay symbol or a wild.

And there is more … Mystery symbols will be COLLECTED in a meter at the side of the reels. That’s important because after every free spin, the total number of accumulated mystery symbols will be added BACK onto the reels.

Pirate Golden Age Bonus Round
The Bonus Round in Pirate Golden Age

Of course, more mystery symbols on the reels gives you more chance of winning. And where they are dropped onto an existing mystery symbol, a multiplier or 1x is added. These can keep accumulating – so, if 3 mystery symbols are on one position, then a 3x multiplier is applied to any win that includes that position.

Finally, you can extend the round further because every 5 mystery symbols collected in the meter gets you an extra 1, 2 or 3 more spins, decided at random.

The Final Verdict

Pirate Golden Age showed itself to be a fun little slot for a while though one which has a distinctly retro and unsophisticated feel about it when compared to modern complex games from the likes of Nolimit City and Relax Gaming. The gameplay is very basic. Wins with wilds are regular enough in the base game which keeps things interesting before the free spins round drops, but it’s really all about hitting that bonus if you want to get the most out of Pirate Golden Age. And that ain’t easy! Also, if you aiming for the big money, the 3,000x max win pales in comparison to other pirate slots like Dead Man’s Trail which runs at a 50,000x for example.

So, in summary, a pretty average game and there are definitely bigger, better games on the market right now!

Compare Pirate Golden Age With Similar Slots Picked By Us

Here are more games like Pirate Golden Age compared on configuration and features. Click through to read a review of each one.

Slot GameProviderThemeMin. StakeMax. RTPVariancePaylinesTop PayoutJackpot
Relax GamingPirates£0.1096.29%High4050,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayAncient Egypt£0.1096.71%High1010,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayPirates£0.2096.5%High2010,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayNorse£0.2096.46%High1010,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayRetro£0.1096.47%High205,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayAncient Greece£0.2096.54%High205,000xNo
Pragmatic PlayLuxury£0.2096.5%High206,442xNo
Pragmatic PlayAnimals£0.2096.06%High209,000xNo

Who Made Pirate Golden Age?

  • Name: Pragmatic Play
  • Established: 2015
  • UK License: Remote 046683-R-325951-014
  • Total Games: 500 +
  • Known For: Wide range of themes and styles, live casino including gameshow formats, and bingo
  • Popular Slots: Fruit Party, Dog House Megaways, Big Bass Bonanza, Release the Kraken
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