3 Cursed Chests

3 Cursed Chests: Slot Overview

Casino game maker Hacksaw Gaming might have forged a well-deserved reputation for innovation and pushing online slots in new and exciting directions, but it's also a business-minded studio with an eye on current trends. Evidence for this is the release of 3 Cursed Chests, a slot that places three pots near its reels, each one capable of triggering a different feature. The gameplay is a little different, though, in that only one feature can be active at once, meaning there is no mixing and matching of modifiers as there often can be. All of the features are easy to learn, and each contributes to an experience which caters to a different sort of gambler than might usually take on a Hacksaw Gaming production.

A moment of minor cognitive dissonance occurred when 3 Cursed Chests appeared on the screen. One side of the brain knew a Hacksaw Gaming show was about to begin, the other side felt like a 4ThePlayer piece had just loaded. This occurred partly because of 3 Cursed Chests' title, partly because of the visually loud graphical art style the studio has used. Hacksaw Gaming has really gotten into the buccaneering spirit, as well, celebrating the moment with a poem on the paytable. From there, players meet Anne Bonny, a pirate lady with an enormous pistol, and her ship, The Red Revenge, and later a ghost. 3 Cursed Chests is a pirating adventure that's bright, vibrant, and drenched in salty sea water.

To get the ship sailing, players may choose a stake from as low as $/€0.05 to as high as $/€400 per spin. Filling the sails is a medium volatile math model, producing an RTP of 96.3%, with three lower return values also designed for various markets. A 5x3 grid has been supplied to conduct the action on, where 17 paylines evaluate combinations of regular paying symbols.

Five gem stones shaped as a circle and playing card suits make up 3 Cursed Chests' low pay symbols, awarding 1.2x for a 5-of-a-kind combination. Then there are five images of buccaneering, such as mugs, bottles, compasses, parrots and pirates as the premium symbols. Landing 5 matching high pay symbols awards 4x to 8x the bet. Five wilds in a win also pay 8x the bet.

3 Cursed Chests: Slot Features

A Green, Red and Blue chest sits above the reels. When Green, Red, and Blue Pot symbols land, they charge the chest of the same colour. When a Chest is charged, there is a chance it is activated at the end of the spin. Only one Chest can activate per spin.

• Green Chest: When activated, a Cursed Wilds Respin triggers, where any pay symbols, wilds, or wild multipliers may land. Wilds substitute for paying symbols, while wild multipliers also multiply wins they are part of by x2 to x100. Multipliers are added together first if more than one is part of the same win.
• Red Chest: When activated, a Cursed Coins Bonus sequence occurs with 3 free spins that reset when a new Coin lands. Coins are sticky and have a value of 0.2x to 1,000x the bet. When spins run out or all positions are filled, the sequence ends.
• Blue Chest: When activated, a Cursed FS Respin is triggered, where only dead symbols and FS scatters can land. Landing at least 7 FS scatters awards the Treasure Cove bonus. Landing at least 6 FS scatters and 1 FS Upgrade awards the Ghostly Gallows bonus. The number of free spins awarded is determined by the number of landed FS symbols.

Treasure Cove

The Treasure Cover bonus keeps the base game mechanics. In addition, when the third Pot of the same colour lands, it guarantees to activate the corresponding Chest, though Chests can activate before the third Pot symbol lands. In this case, the count resets. When activated, the Cursed Coins Bonus counts as one free spin. The number of FS symbols that land during Cursed FS Respins determines the number of extra free spins awarded in this bonus. If an FS Upgrade lands, the round upgrades to Ghostly Gallows. When upgraded, the existing free spins and awarded free spins transfer to the new bonus.

Ghostly Gallows

The rules of Ghostly Gallows mostly follow Treasure Cove, except that when a Pot symbol lands, it activates the corresponding Chest on that spin.

Feature Buys

3 Cursed Chests' feature buys include Cursed FS FeatureSpins at 3x, giving each spin a higher chance of landing a Blue Pot and is 5 times more likely to trigger the Cursed FS Respin. For 40x, 3 Cursed Chests FeatureSpins guarantee all 3 Pot symbols land and that 1 Chest triggers. Gamblers may also buy their way into Treasure Cove for 90x or Ghostly Gallows for 200x the stake.

3 Cursed Chests: Slot Verdict

3 Cursed Chests is a game that came with a share of surprises, as many, if not more, of them happening off the reels as on it. First off, Hacksaw Gaming is more of a leader than a follower in the gambling world, so it was slightly surprising to see them do a three-pot game. Though, then again, every other studio and its parrot seems to have leapt on this bandwagon of late. Deviating from the norm, 3 Cursed Chests is not a game which triggers a bonus round with 1-3 active modifiers depending on the pot trigger. Hacksaw Gaming has pulled the concept in a slightly different direction in this regard. It is also unusual to see such a (relatively) low potential, medium volatile slot come from the team, though when considering all of 3 Cursed Chests' elements, who the game may be aimed at and appreciated by becomes clearer.

As for features, the most common pot trigger by far was the Red Chest triggering the Cursed Coins Bonus feature. It's a fairly dry hold & win round suited to gamblers who just want to land Coins, blanks, and nothing else. Fair enough, the Coin values can be high, but there is nothing else to be aware of, no special symbols or anything. All that's required is to watch Coins rack up before reaping the bounty at the end. Interestingly, 3 Cursed Chests is not the most bountiful of slots Hacksaw Gaming has ever designed in terms of max multiplier.

Winning potential is capped at 2,500x the stake, reinforcing the impression that 3 Cursed Chests is a slot made for the mid ground. Players who are drawn to three pot games who want the action to be pacey and basic should find a place to swagger around here. Other gamblers, those more used to Hacksaw Gaming titles boasting much larger winning potential, more elaborate features, and more cutting maths, may find 3 Cursed Chests a tad on the blunt side.