When it comes to the most popular online pokies in NZ, we expect there to be a few themed around pirates, hidden treasures, and adventures. That’s certainly the case with Adventures of Doubloon Island™, a wonderful co-creation by acclaimed software giant, Microgaming, and third-party provider, Triple Edge Studios. Their collaboration has resulted in typically superb graphics, pitch-perfect soundscapes, ultra-smooth gameplay, and inspired features – such as the HyperHold™ Bonus, Win Booster™, Stacked Wilds, and Free Spins.
What’s more, this pirate-themed delight has been adapted to suit all compatible devices, whether they be desktop, tablet or mobile – which means players can look forward to the same great looks and sounds regardless of the size of their screen.
So, where can one enjoy this exciting pokies game? Not so fast, me hearties! All will be revealed at the end of this review when we give our personal recommendation. Here’s a hint, though: It’s available at one of the best online casinos in NZ. Till then, let’s take a closer look at what this game has to offer.
Theme and Symbols
Powered by Microgaming and Triple Edge Studios, Adventures of Doubloon Island™ takes on the much-loved pirate theme, a favourite amongst online pokies fans in NZ. The game follows the epic adventures of fearless buccaneer Calypso and her cheerful band of pirates. Naturally, they’re on their way to uncover treasure that’s been hidden somewhere on a tropical island.
The game is played over 5 reels, 3 rows and 20 fixed paylines. The reels, which look like the parchment of an old map, are set against a tropical island background. While the soundtrack is surprisingly gentle to begin with, it certainly gets livelier whenever a bonus feature is activated.
The low-yielding symbols on the reels include different coloured gemstones shaped like hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades. Then we have the mischievous parrot, cutlasses, and a couple of gnarly looking pirates. The beautiful but deadly captain, Calypso, acts as the Wild symbol. She not only can appear stacked 3 symbols high but can replace all the standard symbols to help form winning combinations. The only symbol she cannot substitute for is the Scatter – represented by an overflowing treasure chest.
Exciting Feature
Now the Scatter symbol is integral to activating the coveted Free Spins feature. In achieving this, players must land 3, 4 or 5 of them. The number of activating Scatters will determine how many Free Spins are received. More specifically, 3 Scatters awards 10 Free Spins, while 4 and 5 Scatters award 15 and 20 Free Spins, respectively. If the player lands an additional 3, 4 or 5 Scatter symbols during the Free Spins feature, it will reactivate. What’s another advantage to playing the Free Spins feature? All the low-yielding symbols are removed from the reels, which means only the premium symbols appear – that means bigger possible payouts.
Next up we have the thrilling HyperHold™ Bonus. It’s activated by a symbol we haven’t mentioned yet – namely the HyperHold symbol, signified by a doubloon. There are two types of doubloons at play here, one is a gold coin while the other is a gold skull. The player must get 6-14 of these doubloons on a single spin, to trigger the HyperHold™ Bonus. Each doubloon can award either a cash prize or reveal one of four possible jackpots. All triggering doubloons are held in place and 3 respins are awarded to the player. Now, each respin has special reels with the HyperHold symbols held in place, as well as blank positions that are not held in place. Each unheld position spins independently and any additional doubloons that land will also be held in place. The feature suspends when there are no respins left or when 15 doubloons are being held on the reels. The HyperHold™ Bonus can trigger in both the base game and during Free Spins.
If the player selects to activate the Win Booster™ option for the HyperHold™ Bonus, a cash prize of 1-100 times the player’s stake can be awarded. If the Win Booster option is off, then the cash prize ranges from 1-50 times the player’s stake. If a cash prize isn’t revealed, then one of four possible jackpots will be. The biggest of the jackpots is the Mega, which awards an impressive 2000 times the player’s stake. The others, which include the Mini, Minor, and Major, awards 25, 100, and 500 times the player’s stake, respectively.
Where to Play
A February 2001 release, Adventures of Doubloon Island™ is a highly entertaining and potentially rewarding online and mobile casino pokies game for players in NZ. With the Win Booster™ option activated, the maximum and minimum bets are 75.00 and 0.15, respectively. If it’s off, the maximum and minimum bets are 50.00 and 0.10, respectively. Created by Microgaming and Triple Edge Studios, this game has appealing visuals, sound quality and features like Free Spins, HyperHold™, and more. As for where to play, our recommendation is JackpotCity Casino, one of the best online casinos in NZ. Launched in 1998, fully licensed and eCOGRA-certified for accountable conduct and fair gameplay, JackpotCity offers players more than just great games – it provides excellent banking options, 24/7 customer service, cutting-edge security measures, generous loyalty perks and more – all in a responsible gaming environment.