Smugglers Cove
By Pragmatic Play
Smuggler’s Cove is a simple 5 reel pirate-style slot from Pragmatic Play with a 10,000x maximum win and a high variance. Alongside high value pay symbols the game’s highlight is a Treasure Bonus feature where landing 5 or more gold coins anywhere on the reels triggers extra wins of up to 1,000x. This Scatter Pays feature is repeated in the free spins round where up to 20 free plays are awarded with an enhanced Treasure Bonus feature with a 10,000x maximum payout. Spins start at 20p.
| Game Name | Smugglers Cove |
|---|---|
| Developer | Pragmatic Play |
| Release Date | December 2021 |
| Rows | 3 |
| Reels | 5 |
| Paylines | 20 |
| RTP Rate | 96.50% | 95.50% | 94.50% |
| Max Win | 10,000x |
| Min Bet | £0.20 |
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Review Scorecard
What Our Reviewer Says …
A very basic pirate slot with very limited features but redeemed by high values in the paytable and the Scatter Pays Treasure Bonus feature
What We Like
- High value across the paytable incl. up to 100x for premiums
- Bright, colorful and optimistic production
- Wilds pay out 100x for 5 on a line
- Big 10,000x top payout in free spins round
- Pays for 3 coins in the free spins round too
What We Didn't Like
- Very basic gameplay can get boring
Theme and Design
Set Sail On The High Seas As You Treasure Hunt With Smugglers Cove
Smuggler’s Cove goes for a bright and upbeat production with primary colors everywhere, including bright blue skies and seas, and all in a cartoon illustration style. Elsewhere you'll see a few handsome buccaneers looking fetching in blue, red and green outfits, along with bright gold coins and skull and crossbones on the reels. The soundtrack has an optimistic upbeat feel, the perfect backdrop to heading out into the blue yonder in search of treasures. There’s nothing particularly original about it, but it certainly sets the scene nicely for your spins.
RTP and Variance
Smugglers Cove has 3 available RTP settings – 96.5%, 95.5% or 94.5%. Which you play at will be at the discretion of your slot site. You can check the RTP setting in the game by clicking the ‘I’ link in the bottom left corner of the screen and scrolling through until you see Return to Player.
This is also a high variance slot – rated 5/5 by Pragmatic Play themselves – so it will be unpredictable though it is capable of kicking out some big wins thanks to those high value paytable symbols and the Treasure Bonus described below.
Maximum Win
The maximum payout is 10,000x which is far short of that in Pragmatic Play’s highest paying slots but still a very competitive potential up there with similar games like Eye of the Storm (10,000x) and Gates of Valhalla (10,000x).
Symbols and Paytable
The High Paytable Values Are A Highlight Of The Paytable
This is a 5-reel slot with 3 rows and 20 fixed paylines. You will need to land 3 or more identical symbols on the reels from left to right, starting at the left most reel.
Its notable that the paytable has really good value in it. There are 8 symbols. The low value ones are the card suits, spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds. These are valued at from 0.4x for 3 diamonds up to 2.5x for 5 spades. The premiums are the four smuggler characters – in brown, blue, red and green. These are valued at from 0.5x for 3 brown up to 100x for 5 greens.
There is also a Wild symbol that looks like a gold coin. It will substitute for any other pay symbol to complete paylines and is valued at 5x, 10x or 100x for 3, 4 or 5 on a line.
Features and Gameplay
As far as gameplay goes, Smuggler’s Cove has an interesting mix of Scatter Pays and Free Spins to liven up your gameplay. In particular, the Scatter Pays feature, called Treasure Bonus, has some great value in it.
5 Or More Coins Unlocks The Treasure Bonus
The Coin Symbol is easy to spot – it’s a gold coin! They land anywhere and everywhere and if 5 or more drop on one spin then you are awarded an instant prize as follows:
- 5 coins – 1x win
- 6 coins – 2x win
- 7 coins – 5x win
- 8 coins – 20x win
- 9 coins – 50x win
- 10 coins – 100x win
- 11 coins – 100x win
- 12 coins – 500x win
- 13 coins - 500x win
- 14 coins - 500x win
- 15 coins – 1,000x win
To help here, Super Wild Coins and Super Coins come into play. These land only on reel 5. The Super Wild Coin is a wild so it will substitute for all other symbols to complete wins, but it comes with a multiplier too of 2x, 3x, 5x or 10x. This multiplier ONLY applies to the win from a Treasure Bonus.
The Super Coin behaves in the same way, but it doesn’t have Wild properties. In other words, it only comes with a multiplier to be applied to any win from the Treasure Bonus.
Free Spins With Enhanced Treasure Bonus Values
The free spins feature is simple. You just need to land 3 or more Bonus Symbols to unlock it. Then, you will be credited with a randomly chosen number of free spins – 8, 10, 12, 15 or 20.
The difference now is that you only need THREE Coin Symbols to drop on one spin to unlock a Treasure Bonus. And the awards are MUCH bigger!
- 3 coins – 1x win
- 4 coins – 2x win
- 5 coins – 5x win
- 6 coins – 20x win
- 7 coins – 50x win
- 8 coins – 100x win
- 9 coins – 500x win
- 10 coins – 1,000x win
- 11 coins – 1,000x win
- 12 coins – 2,500x win
- 13 coins – 2,500x win
- 14 coins – 2,500x win
- 15 coins – 10,000x win
Unfortunately, Super Coins are NOT valid during free spins, but you can trigger 8 more spins by landing 3 Bonus symbols again.
Final Verdict
Not every slot game needs to be a super-complex Nolimit City feature fest. And if you enjoy your slots with simple gameplay that is easy to follow then Smuggler’s Cove is a great option for you. The bold and upbeat production in this game is matched by very bold paytable values and instant wins from the Treasure Bonus. And that is all you need to know to enjoy it. The downside is, the buzz may wear off quite quickly as the action is relentlessly same-y. But for a quick hit and the chance to land a top value prize, Smuggler’s Cove ticks all the boxes.
Testing Notes
I played 200 spins on Smugglers Cove for free at Casumo Casino to test the game and this is what happened.
- Stake Size: £1
- Start balance: £100,000
- End balance: £99,900.50
- Biggest Win: 10.8x
- Free Spins Round: 2
- Session Time: 18 minutes 31 seconds
It may not offer the most exciting array of features, but Smuggler’s Cove’s relentlessly fast gameplay and simple mechanics made it fun over 200 spins. I counted 7 wins from the Treasure Bonus – 3 with 5 coins, 3 with 6 coins and 1 with 7 coins, but nothing with more than that. The haul was better when I unlocked the free spins round. The second time I collected 10 spins and triggered a 10.8x win. It was a lot easier to score wins, even small ones, when only 3 gold coins are needed.
So, not a bad session, though I feel the game would quickly lose its appeal if you played for much longer!
Who Made Smugglers Cove?
- Name: Pragmatic Play
- 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
