Redbeard & Co Slots
Bridging the gap between Octopus Gaming’s incredibly simplistic classic slots and their ultra-advanced next-gen video slots, there is Redbeard & Co – a 5 reel, 20 payline game that, despite showing a few signs of scurvy in its old age, still packs a decent pirate-themed punch.
Indeed, although the graphics in Redbeard & Co are no match for the likes of Aladdin’s Treasure, the game does include enough features and bonuses to keep veteran players interested, while the fact that it pays out for virtually any two matching symbols makes it popular with beginners too.
Plundering The Paylines
With 20 adjustable paylines and a bet per line that can be set anywhere between $0.01 and $5, Redbeard & Co is a game that can be played for just $0.20 with the maximum number of lines enabled, making it the perfect title for those new to Octopus Gaming to find their sea legs on.
As mentioned above, payouts are awarded for matching any pair of symbols – save for tens and jacks, the game’s two lowest value icons – from left to right, meaning most spins will yield multiple winning paylines to ensure that your bankroll goes further. The jackpot, meanwhile, is a staggering 8,000x your line bet which is awarded whenever Captain Redbeard himself appears across all 5 reels.
One nice touch about the way payouts are calculated in Redbeard & Co is that a little menu pops up by your prize amount that breaks down exactly where your profits have come from – and this is especially handy for players who struggle to keep up with which payline is which during their spins.
Treasure Island
Played out on an desert island background that features palm trees, treasure chest and skeletons, Redbeard & Co’s five wooden reels are adorned with symbols depicting Captain Redbeard and his motley crew of pirates, as well as the ubiquitous lower value ace-through-ten playing card symbols.
With a pirate ship, a parrot and a chest filled with gold completing the line-up of symbols, Redbeard & Co has a pretty consistent visual theme; and the game’s graphics are further enhanced by the presence of several off-reel animations, including pirates swinging into view when a win is triggered.
Sound-wise, the background music – although wholly appropriate for a pirate-themed slot – is a little short, meaning it quickly gets repetitive and will probably have you reaching for the mute button before long. The sound effects, however, are unique to the game and include a nice range of parrot squawks, sea shanties and general ship ambience, making the overall audio reasonably satisfying.
One slight gripe that we have with the presentation of Redbeard & Co is the speed – or lack thereof – at which the reels spin. The icons take an age to fall into place, and with players unable to skip animations in free spin mode, this is further exacerbated when you have to sit through 10 turns!
Pop Up Pirates
In addition to the parrot symbol, which acts as a wild and can be substituted for all other regular icon to complete winning paylines, Redbeard & Co also includes two bonus features. The first is a free spins game that is triggered whenever three or more treasure chest symbols arrive anywhere on the 5 reels, while the second is a pick game that is activated by lining up three pirate ships.
Dealing with the free spins bonus first, players receive 10, 15 or 20 free games (depending on how many chest symbols they find), but unfortunately there is no multiplier present during this feature. This means that payouts are often low and, as we explained, the round takes awhile to complete.
The second feature comes around quite rarely given players must match pirate ship symbols on the first three reels, but when it does, they can win anything up to 3,975x their bet amount. Once activated, players are moved to an animated mini-game in which they must choose one of five pirates to toss a bomb to. If it explodes in the pirate’s hand, they win a prize amount and pick again.
A Swashbuckling Adventure
Although Redbeard & Co has clearly seen better days, it’s easy to appreciate just how impressive this slot would have been when first released. The bonus rounds and additional animations would – at the time – have given the game an incredibly high-tech feel, and though the latter probably won’t impress players any more, the payouts awarded by the former just might keep them on board.
