Introduction to 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win
3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win is a casino slot from Hacksaw Gaming, which takes you on a daring treasure hunt that tries something a bit new with the typical 3 Pot mechanic. In this game, we join the ship The Red Revenge and its captain, Anne Bonny, who was a real person around 300 years ago and, at the time, one of the most recognized pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy. In 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win, Anne Bonny has had us follow a forgotten treasure map to an unknown island, where souls have to be traded for riches. At first glance, the game may look like any other 3 Pots, or similar, mechanic, but Hacksaw Gaming decided not to go that route, as these 3 Feature Chests instead come with their own designated spins, be it with Coins, Wilds, or Free Spin Scatter Symbols, and cannot be mixed together. The Free Spins bonus games, which are named after Hacksaw’s previous pirate-themed releases Cursed Seas and Ghostly Hallows, then turn this up to eleven, and guarantee Chest triggers for more consistent bonuses and fun, with wins that go up to 2,500X the bet.
Join the infamous pirate Anne Bonny on a trip filled with cursed treasures, filled with Coins, Wilds, and bonus games. If you want to try the game out, then don’t miss out on the 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win demo.
Theme, Gameplay, & Payouts
3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win is a video slot from Hacksaw Gaming with 5 Reels, 3 Rows, and 17 Paylines. You can choose between making a Min.bet of 0.1 and a Max.bet of 100. 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win comes with a slightly higher-than-average RTP of 96.3% and medium volatility, coupled with a surprisingly low max win of 2,500X the bet.
The game opens up right after hitting land, as you and Anne Bonny open up the treasure map, which is the game’s playing grid, and start hunting for cursed treasure. As you continue searching for wins, you’ll find Pot Scatter Symbols, which will be the key to unlocking the Cursed Chests for various bonuses. You can play the game on most notepads, mobiles, and desktops.
The lower-paying symbols are various colored jewels, ranging from green, blue, purple, yellow, and red. Creating a win with 5 of the same symbols will pay out 1.2X the bet. The higher-paying symbols are a flagon of ale, a note in a bottle, a compass, a parrot, and Anne Bonny. Landing a win with 5 of the same symbols pays out 4X to 8X the bet.
Special Features & Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win?
You can win up to 2,500X the bet.
What features are available in the slot 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win?
The features are Wild Symbols, 3 Cursed Chest Bonuses, Free Spins, and Feature Buy.
Wild Symbols
Wild Symbols help create winning combinations by being able to substitute for all symbols except Scatter Symbols. Wild Symbols can only appear from the Green Wild Chest Respins bonus.
3 Cursed Chest Bonuses
3 Chests sit above the playing grid, and can randomly be triggered by landing a color corresponding Scatter Symbol on the playing grid, awarding that colored Chest’s bonus. Only one Chest can activate per spin, and the bonuses are as follows:
Green Chest = Awards a Cursed Wilds Respin, where you get a random amount of Wild and Wild Multipliers spread over the playing grid. The Wild Multipliers come with values ranging from 2X to 100X.
Red Chest = Awards a Cursed Coins Bonus, where you play on a specific playing grid filled with blanks, Bronze Coins, Silver Coins, Gold Coins, and Diamond Coins, with 3 spins that reset each time a Coin Symbol lands and sticks to the reels. The Coin values, from the lowest Bronze Coin to the highest Diamond Coin payout, range from 0.2X to 1,000X the bet.
Blue Chest = Awards a Cursed FS Respin, where you get one spin with only blanks, FS Symbols, and FS Upgrade Symbols. By landing 7 or more Scatter Symbols, you will be awarded the Treasure Cove Free Spins feature with 7-15 spins, or by landing 6 or more Scatter Symbols and 1 FS Upgrade Symbol, you will instead be awarded the GHostly Gallows Free Spins feature with 7-15 spins, depending on the amount of triggering Scatter Symbols.
Free Spins
There are two variants of the Free Spins bonus game, which can be awarded through the Blue Cursed Chest bonus, with 7-15 spins, depending on the number of triggering Scatter Symbols, and whether a FS Upgrade symbol is mixed in or not.
7+ Scatter Symbols = Awards the Treasure Cove bonus game, where every 3rd Pot Scatter Symbol of the same color lands, the corresponding Chest is guaranteed to activate.
7+ Scatter Symbols + 1 FS Upgrade Symbol = Awards teh Ghostly Gallows bonus game.
Feature Buy
The Feature Buy comes with options to help you trigger various bonuses in the game, for a price based on the current bet.
3X = Activates the Cursed FS FeatureSpins, making each spin have a higher chance of landing a Blue Pot Scatter Symbol, and 5 times more likely to trigger the Cursed FS Respins.
40X = Activates the 3 Cursed Chests FeatureSpins, making each spin guarantee that all 3 Pot Symbols land, and that 1 Chest triggers.
90X = Awards the Treasure Cove Free Spins bonus game.
200X = Awards the Ghostly Gallows Free Spins bonus game.
Final Thoughts on 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win
When we first started playing 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win, we felt a bit torn, not because the game is bad, as we actually kinda appreciate Hacksaw Gaming for trying something slightly different with the 3 Pot mechanic, but because the game feels very safe. From its vibrant colors, great visuals, and fun theme, even sporting a famous real-life pirate legend, the game hits quite a lot of boxes for us, and even references old pirate-themed games that we’ve previously enjoyed checking out. This, as well as how the gameplay loop is, makes the game feel like a great casual entry point into slots, but at the same time, it has fun enough spins to keep anyone around for just a few more bonuses. So with that said, let us discuss this gameplay loop in more depth.
A quick look at the stats, with its low max win of 2,500X the bet and medium volatility, can quickly be something that turns away high-risk, high-reward lovers. However, we think it can be worth sticking around, as, even though it’s quite simple, it offers multiple ways to hit solid wins and is quite balanced in terms of features. The titular 3 Cursed Chests are, of course, the main stars, where the Wild and Coin bonuses are probably the favorites, as they actually come with payouts. The outlier is the blue FS Respins, because it doesn’t directly lead to payouts, but we aren’t gonna turn away a bonus game with guaranteed bonus triggers, which leads to more consistent payouts, through the previously mentioned Chest Bonuses.
All in all, the gameplay loop feels great through and through, and the changes to the 3 Pot mechanics feel interesting and different enough from other 3 Pot-centric games. But at the same time, the game in general feels too safe with not-so-exciting stats and maybe too one-dimensional features, where even minor changes could be enough to push the game into greatness. But, as it stands, we believe that 3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win is a great game with consistent features for casuals, and an entry point for new slot lovers.
3 Cursed Chests: Hold & Win is a slot that takes the 3 Pot mechanic and turns it into 3 types of mini-bonus games with solid prizes.
