Smugglers Cove Slot Review 2021

Smugglers Cove from Pragmatic Play takes us seaward to find all of the doubloons in their latest pirate instalment!

Pragmatic Play needs no introduction as the name behind some of the most timeless slots around, like The Dog House, Gems Bonanza and Fruit Party….but is it us or does Pragmatic seem to have a ‘b-tier’ slots list riddled with titles that just seems like they’re rushed off of the conveyor belt?

It’s fair enough to say that not every title from every provider is their best, but Pragmatic does seem to have a release schedule that is much busier than others. Does Pragmatic Play have more resource, or are they just rushing titles out, and is Smugglers Cove rushed?

Let’s set sail and find out.

Smugglers Cove Theme

Pragmatic Play has traded in their fishing rods for eye patches and wooden legs in Smugglers Cove. Pirate themes are seen quite often in slot games, so what makes Smugglers Cove stand out from the rest?

When you first load up Smugglers Cove, the graphics and layout are the first to catch your eye. We’ve all been disappointed one time or another when we’ve loaded up a slot and been greeted by terrible graphics and messy layouts, but Smugglers Cove isn’t one to disappoint.

The background in Smugglers Cove shows a sandy beach with a deep-blue sea that stretches for miles. In the right corner you can see a Cave that is no doubt filled with unclaimed treasure, and to the left, a crab that looks like he’s up to no good can be seen sitting on a rock, waiting to nab your hard-earned wins.

If you’re a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean, you may notice that the music playing throughout sounds eerily similar to the tune in the movie, whether that was purposely done or just a coincidence is anyone’s guess. The music is dramatic and exciting, which is exactly what you would expect to hear in a slot game that has a Pirate theme. Sound effects are on point and tie in nicely with the theme.

Smugglers Cove certainly looks the part, but will gameplay be equally as impressive? Let’s walk the plank and find out!

Smugglers Cove Betting and Symbols

Smugglers Cove has a variety of betting options for players to choose from. For players who prefer a lower stake, the minimum bet available is £/€0.20 (£/€0.25 Ante Bet) per spin. For players who prefer a higher stake, the maximum bet available is £/€100 (£/€125 Ante Bet) per spin, with plenty of other options in between the two.

The highest paying regular symbols in Smugglers Cove fall to four Pirate symbols. The Green Pirate has the highest pay value, followed by the Red, Blue and Brown Pirates. Lower paying symbols fall to Spades, Hearts, Clubs and Diamonds.

Wild symbols substitute for all symbols except Scatters.

Smugglers Cove Base Game and Features

Smugglers Cove is a 5 reel slot with 20 fixed paylines. In order to form a win, you will need to connect 3 or more of the same symbols from left to right, starting from the left-most reel.

Like most other Pragmatic Play slots of late, you can change your stake for increased chances of certain features using something called an Ante Bet.

Ante Bet

Players have the option to activate the Ante Bet feature. If you decide to activate the Ante Bet feature, this will increase your current bet by 25%.

With the Ante Bet feature active, you have an increased chance of landing Coin symbols and winning Treasure Bonus prizes. The Ante Bet feature can be de-activated at any time.

Treasure Bonus

During any random spin in the base game, you have the chance to get your hands on one of the Treasure Bonus prizes. To do this you will need to land 5 or more Coin symbols in any position on the reels. All Treasure Bonus prizes can be seen on the left side of the screen.

The more Coin symbols that land, the bigger the Treasure Bonus!

• 5 Coin symbols – Awards 1x your bet.
• 6 Coin Symbols – Awards 2x your bet.
• 7 Coin symbols – Awards 5x your bet.
• 8 Coin symbols – Awards 20x your bet.
• 9 Coin symbols – Awards 50x your bet.
• 10 Coin symbols – Awards 100x your bet.
• 11 Coin symbols – Awards 100x your bet.
• 12 Coin symbols – Awards 500x your bet.
• 13 Coin symbols – Awards 500x your bet.
• 14 Coin symbols – Awards 500x your bet.
• 15 Coin symbols – Awards 1,000x your bet.

Super Coin and Super Wild Coin symbols can land randomly on reel 5.

The Super Coin symbol has a random Multiplier of 2x, 3x, 5x or 10x, which is applied to the Treasure Bonus for the current spin.

The Super Wild Coin symbol has a random Multiplier of 2x, 3x, 5x or 10x and also acts as a Wild symbol, which substitutes for all symbols except Scatters.

Smugglers Cove Free Spins

Landing 3 Scatters on reels 2, 3 and 4, triggers the Free Spins round.

Before Free Spins can commence, you must first spin the Wheel to determine how many Free Spins will be awarded. The wheel offers 8, 10, 12, 15 or 20 Free Spins.

Not only is the Treasure Bonus feature available in the base game, but it also remains active during Free Spins, but the Treasure Bonus prizes are on a much bigger scale!

Land 3 or more Coin symbols to be awarded a Treasure Bonus prize.

• 3 Coin Symbols – Awards 1x your bet.
• 4 Coin symbols – Awards 2x your bet.
• 5 Coin symbols – Awards 5x your bet.
• 6 Coin symbols – Awards 20x your bet.
• 7 Coin symbols –  Awards 50x your bet.
• 8 Coin symbols – Awards 100x your bet.
• 9 Coin symbols – Awards 500x your bet.
• 10 Coin symbols – Awards 1,000x your bet.
• 11 Coin symbols – Awards 1,000x your bet.
• 12 Coin symbols – Awards 2,500x your bet.
• 13 Coin symbols – Awards 2,500x your bet.
• 14 Coin symbols – Awards 2,500x your bet.
• 15 Coin symbols – Awards 10,000x your bet.

Super Coin and Super Wild Coin symbols are not present in the Free Spins round.

Landing an additional 3 Scatters on the reels, awards +8 Free Spins. If the maximum win capacity of 10,000x is reached during Free Spins or Treasure Bonus feature, all remaining Free Spins are forfeited and the Free Spins round comes to an end.

Smugglers Cove Our Verdict

Smugglers Cove will be a quick fix for those looking for a bucaneer adventure, and a surprisingly good one at that.

Smugglers Cove is relatively tame, and even dull sometimes during the Base Game, but Free Spins offers significant potential with new and improved treasure bonus prizes! Surprisingly, it also looks like Pragmatic Play has stepped outside of their comfort zone when it comes to statistics. Smugglers Cove is capable of pay outs of up to 10,000x, which is double than what they usually are.

We know that Pragmatic has given us slots with big win potential before, but at this point its sort of a running joke considering how many of their slots settle for 5,000x.

Smugglers Cove comes with a few different RTP variants, with 96.50%, 95.50%, & 94.50% versions, so if you’re a player that likes to make sure they’re getting the best version, then make sure you check before you play because this will vary by casino.

Overall, we don’t think Smugglers Cove stands out as an ‘A-list’ game, and we don’t suspect it’ll gain notoriety as a timeless slot like others in the Pragmatic catalogue has, but it’s not bad at all.