Boom Pirates Review
Yahaaaaar! How do you like the idea of a game that has an absolutely incredible 10,007,696 ways to win? If that sounds good to you then climb aboard the ship and get spinning the reels of Pirate-themed slot Boom Pirates developed by Foxium and Microgaming.
This unique slot is played on a 9x6 game grid that initially starts off as a 5x4 grid, the game grid expands as players trigger winning combinations on the reels, unlocking more and more ways to win as you go.
Design
Boom Pirates is unlike anything we've seen before in terms of layout and design, but we absolutely love it! When Foxium were designing this game we think they had old school top-down games in mind, such as Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft series, as the scene behind the game grid looks quite reminiscent of that.
Low paying symbols are your standard royal deck, 10, J, Q, K, A and your high paying symbols are beautifully designed items, animals and characters you'd associate with the pirate life! There's a barrel of dynamite, a cannon, a parrot, a pirate named Ben and a pirate named Mary.
In terms of sound, the same music adventure-themed music is looped over and over again, it certainly fits the overall design and theme of the game, but it is quite annoying after a while, so you might want to hit that mute button eventually.
Gameplay
This is a strange game, but we're not complaining! The game is played on a 9x6 game grid with the vast majority of the symbols blocked out (players start with a 5x4 grid unlocked), as the game progresses more blocks are unlocked using the Wonderways system (which is similar to Megaways in that it sees more paylines open up).
In terms of navigating the game, as is usually the case all of the important buttons are on an action bar along the bottom of the game screen.
From left-to-right, you have a bonus buy button, a quick spin button, the spin button, the stake buttons (that allows players to place bets between 0.20 and 50), an autoplay button (that allows players to make 100 automated spins) and a Foxify button that increases the chances of triggering the Boom Pirates feature.
Win Potential
Medium/High volatility slot Boom Pirates has an average RTP of 96.19%, which we always like to see, but for a modern slot it does have quite a low maximum win potential, with players only able to win 3,800x their initial stake, which seems quite odd considering the game has a MASSIVE 10,077,696 ways to win. With over ten million paylines you think you might have some really big, life-changing payouts.
Our Verdict
Boom Pirates looks good and feels great to play with some genuinely exciting bonus features and mechanics to boot. However, it's genuinely hard to look at this slot as anything other than a huge missed opportunity. How can a game have 10,007,969 wonderways (ways to win) and only offer a max payout of 3,800x?
A keen sports bettor, Sam took his first foray into the world of online slots when Bonanza Megaways caught his eye, he’s never looked back since! He joined the team in 2019 and has developed an encyclopedic knowledge of online slots, he isn’t afraid to voice his honest opinion when reviewing new games, even if it does ruffle a few feathers.
Learn more about Sam here