Drunken Sailor is a 5-reel slot by Hölle Games that takes players on a rewarding trip across the ocean. Seemingly named after the famous “Drunken Sailor” sea shanty, this slot boasts stunning theme-appropriate visuals and a fantastic selection of bonus mechanics. Moreover, players who prefer to have easy access to major bonus features like complimentary spins will be thrilled to learn that the option to purchase them is available in the form of the Buy Feature.
Given how mobile compatibility is an absolute must for many a casino devotee, it comes as no surprise that Drunken Sailor is powered by HTML5 and is, therefore, mobile-friendly. We should also emphasize that many gaming mavens will be able to play the slot in their native languages, given that Drunken Sailor is available in English, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Japanese, and French, among 30+ other options.
Drunken Sailor Slot Summary | |
Game Provider: Holle Games | Release Date: 2023 |
Game Type: Video Slot | Theme(s): Ship |
Reels: 5 | Wild Symbols: Yes |
Rows: 3 | Scatters: Yes |
Paylines: 10 fixed lines | Free Spins: 8 Free Spins |
Payout/RTP: 95.77% | Bonus Game: No |
Volatility Level: Medium | Progressive Jackpot: No |
Min Bet: 0.10 | Autoplay: Yes |
Max Bet: 100 | Max Win: 1000x |
Drunken Sailor Theme
Drunken Sailor pays homage to the Age of Sail when traveling across the globe was only possible by boarding a ship. The game’s backdrop is a gorgeous piece of art depicting wooden ships and barrels that are floating on the ocean’s surface. The symbols, too, are a perfect fit for the theme. Artworks of an anchor and a bottle of rum are among the illustrations featured, and even the card icons have been stylized with the theme in mind. The most iconic symbol is the Drunken Sailor Wild, which is at the core of this game’s theme, and gambling enthusiasts will even hear a rendition of the classic “Drunken Sailor” song while playing.
A nice touch that further elevates the game’s design is the map that serves as the reels’ background. As Drunken Sailor’s gold-rimmed card icons do not have their own background, they do not cover the said map. The wooden framing of the reel layout is the last design element of note, giving the game a rustic charm.
How Drunken Sailor Compares to Other Slot Games
While slots that are centered around ships and the ocean are not at all uncommon, the majority tend to star pirates, mermaids, marine life, and underwater monsters that might lurk in the ocean’s depths. In contrast, Drunken Sailor has opted to do away with these themes, and the game is, instead, centered around a rum-loving sailor aboard a wooden ship of days past.
In terms of its mechanics, Drunken Sailor has a standard 5×3 layout, and only its low-paying icons have minimum payouts of less than 1x the bet. Free spins and sticky wilds are the main bonus mechanics, ensuring that the game is on par with other slot products in terms of its features. Bonus buy is another aspect that gaming mavens will appreciate, along with the fact that there are two gamble game variants.
Drunken Sailor falls short when it comes to its RTP, however. Typical modern slots have an RTP of at least 96%, yet the RTP of Drunken Sailor is 95.77%. The game, therefore, has a house edge of 4.22% as opposed to the usual 4%.
More similar slots:
- Titanic by Bally Technologies
- Bells XL by Hölle Games
- Kingdoms Rise: Captain’s Treasure by Playtech
- Pirates Charm by Quickspin
Drunken Sailor Symbols and Payouts
Drunken Sailor’s layout features 5 reels and 3 rolls, and winning combinations can be formed on a total of 10 paylines. For a series of icons to grant a payout, it must start from the leftmost reel, and the symbols should be positioned on adjacent reels. Moreover, no fewer than 3 symbols can be a part of a winning combination unless the icon in question is the Drunken Sailor Wild, since 2 such icons can be matched and grant the player a payout of 1x.
The game’s low-value symbols are 10 through King, with 5-reel wins resulting in the player receiving their wagers times 10. The Ace is the icon with an average payout of 15 times the bet if 5 copies land on the grid, while the high-paying symbols that feature illustrations befitting of the ship theme have a max payout is 20x.
Finally, we have the Drunken Sailor Wild. This symbol is the most generous, as the reward for landing 5 copies is 50x the bet, and it also serves as the slot’s Wild. The game’s other special icon is the Ship Scatter, which transports players to the Free Spins feature.
Drunken Sailor Winning Combinations and Payouts | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Symbols | 2 Matches | 3 Matches | 4 Matches | 5 Matches |
Drunken Sailor Wild | 1x | 5x | 20x | 50x |
Green Dress Character | – | 2x | 5x | 20x |
Ship’s Wheel | – | 2x | 5x | 20x |
Bottle of Rum | – | 2x | 5x | 20x |
Anchor | – | 2x | 5x | 20x |
Ace | – | 1x | 4x | 15x |
King | – | 0.5x | 3x | 10x |
Queen | – | 0.5x | 3x | 10x |
Jack | – | 0.5x | 3x | 10x |
10 | – | 0.5x | 3x | 10x |
Bonus Features Overview
Drunken Sailor’s crown jewel is its Free Spins Feature, which is won when three Ship Scatters land on the reels. The free spins can be purchased via the Buy Feature, which is how the player can purchase the Free Spins mode without waiting for RNG to dictate when three scatters will land on the reels.
When a player is treated to a win, they can choose to risk the said win and improve their rewards. Two flavors of gamble games are included in Drunken Sailor, as is characteristic of Hölle Games’ slots, with the first one being a traditional Card Gamble. Here, gambling enthusiasts can wager on a card suit, which could quadruple their win, or the color, which may double their winnings. Making the correct guess will grant the player their reward and allow them to, once again, wager their wins or collect them and go back to the base game. Being wrong, however, will result in the player losing their stake and being sent back to the base game automatically. The Ladder Gamble’s outcomes are almost the same, except the gameplay is far more simple: you wager on whether the wager will climb up the ladder and be doubled. Like the card color gamble, this is a 50/50 bet.
Wilds and Scatters
The drunken captain himself plays the role of the Wild, substituting for the rest of the game’s icons with one exception: the Scatter. The Scatter is a special icon that will reward the player with the Free Spins feature if three copies appear on the reels. Scatters can only land on the first, third, and fifth reels, and they are base game-exclusive symbols.
Speaking of the Free Spins mechanic, the Wilds gain a special characteristic when they appear while the complimentary spins are underway—they become sticky. In other words, they remain in their position until that instance of the free spins is over.
Free Spins
Complimentary spins are among the most beloved mechanics that enhance modern slots, and we were pleased to see that the developers of Drunken Sailor have included a Free Spins bonus mode in the slot’s gameplay loop. As mentioned above, accessing the Free Spins feature is a matter of seeing 3 or more Scatters appear on the reels. This can happen based on luck, or the player may also choose to purchase them.
Regardless, once the Free Spins feature is triggered, the given player gets 8 complimentary games. If one happens to see a Wild land on a cell, they are in luck, as this Wild will not influence the outcome of that spin alone. Instead, it will keep its position and only leave the reels once the Free Spins feature is over.
Pros & Cons of Drunken Sailor
- The quality of Drunken Sailor’s artwork is great
- Free Spins are available
- The classic Hölle Games Ladder Gamble is included in the slot
- The RTP of 95.77% is lower than the industry average of 96%
- Drunken Sailor has only 10 paylines
- No progressive jackpots
Drunken Sailor FAQs
- Does the game have a demo version?
- Yes, casino enthusiasts who wish to try out the game without wagering real money have the option to do just that. The demo is essentially indistinguishable from the paid version, with the exception that wagers are not made with real funds, of course. All features, including the gamble mini-games, are available.
- Can the free spins be retriggered?
- No, it is not possible to retrigger this feature. The Ship Scatter is a base game-exclusive symbol, so you will always play through 8 complimentary games whenever you access the Free Spins feature.
- Does it matter which version of the gamble feature I play?
- If you wish to place riskier bets that can grant you your stake times 4, then going with the Card gamble will be your only option, as it allows you to wager on the suit of a card. If you enjoy 50/50 bets, however, both games are viable. You can go with the Card Gamble and wager on red or black or pick the Ladder Gamble to place a stake on whether the win will be doubled.