Charting New Waters – Pragmatic Play's New Treasure Island Live

Pragmatic Play has released quite a few exciting live game shows this year. This includes Snakes & Ladders Live and Vegas Ball Bonanza, which just got a new member in the studio’s growing portfolio --- the Treasure Island live entertainment game show. The release is deeply rooted in the adventurous spirit of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel "Treasure Island," and promises a thrilling experience given its many bonus features and state-of-the-art presentation. It came out on the 29^th of November, so if you like games like Evolution’s Funky Time or Playtech’s Jumanji, then here are the main highlights that may lure you in.

Gameplay Mechanics

Treasure Island is anchored around a massive 54-segment wheel, featuring Instant Win prizes and six alluring Bonus rounds, with two offering immediate payouts. While there is a live presenter and a real wheel of fortune, there are lots of RNG (Random Number Generator) elements and virtual graphics at further levels. Speaking of the wheel, the segments include three types of gems (Ruby, Emerald, Topaz) and various bonus rounds, each contributing to the game's excitement. Unique to this game is the fluid nature of multipliers, ranging between 1x and 50x, which are assigned to gem segments after betting closes.

Betting Options

The available bet spots are:

• Gems: Topaz, Emerald, and Ruby gems
• Instant Bonuses: Wild Collector and Great Scavenger
• Bonus Games: John Silver’s Loot, Ben’s Lost Marbles, Billy Bones’ Map and Captain Flint’s Treasure.

Bonus Rounds: A Pathway to Bigger Wins

Treasure Island shines in its bonus rounds. Here's a brief overview of each:

1. The Wild Collector and Great Scavenger Bonus Features: These rounds offer instant wins, calculated by adding gem values on the wheel section or from mini-slots.
2. Ben’s Lost Marbles Bonus Round: This uses computer-generated marbles in a bagatelle-style game, where the outcome is determined using RNG and is capped at 10,000x.
3. John Silver’s Loot: A Bingo Ball style machine draws up to 10 gem-coloured balls, which pay between 2x and 10,000x.
4. Billy Bones’s Map: Players pick tiles on a map, looking for hidden keys, with RNG determining the result. Pick three keys and you can win Treasure Island’s biggest payout of 15,450x.
5. Captain Flint’s Treasure: Players choose a path through levels of barrels, avoiding skulls for bigger payouts that can go as high as 15,000x.

Winning Potential and RTP

The game's RTP (Return to Player) ranges between 96.39% and 96.56%, distributed evenly across all game elements. Treasure Island is classified as a low-volatility game, offering frequent small wins, with larger wins primarily occurring in the bonus rounds.

Playing Strategies

While Treasure Island is easy to play, effective strategy revolves around bankroll management and a balanced approach to betting. The game, akin to a slot, offers various betting positions, including five that give instant wins and four that lead to bonus rounds. A crucial strategy involves participating in all game aspects to increase chances of substantial payouts, though these are less frequent.

Conclusion

Pragmatic Play's Treasure Island is a substantial addition to the company’s ambitious live casino product. Judging by the effort put into the studio and gameplay, it may well be this year’s biggest Pragmatic show game. However, not all reviews have been impressive so far. Something to note would be the low volatility that’s expressed in the frequent occurrence of bonus rounds that often lead to smaller wins. How small you ask? – You can preview recent wins by going into the game’s statistics, where wins of 50x and above don’t occur more than in 100 rounds. With that said, go and try it for yourself at one of the Pragmatic casinos and see how it stacks up against similar games like the Jumani and Funky Time slots.