This game is part of the AGS “Pachinko Action” series, and as such, features a main bonus event that is essentially a pachinko game—the amusement-style game that involves pinballs falling through a pegboard to land in one of several pockets at the bottom of the display, in this case the tall top box of the slot.
As with all new games from AGS, the pachinko bonus offers the player a fair deal, in that nothing is predetermined. Special bonus events alter the amounts of the awards at the bottom of the display, but once the ball is launched, gravity is the determining factor for the award—there is as much a chance of the ball dropping into the highest award as the lowest.
Also like most new AGS games, Caribbean Pearls weaves multiple bonus features into its island theme. Mystery features in the base game include “Wilds Dropping.” A Mystery Wilds symbol on the third reel triggers a random number of wild symbols, which travel to spots across the reels for an enhanced wild win.
Second-screen features include the “Hyper Wild Super Spin,” in which 11 shells appear on the screen and the player is prompted to pick two. The symbols revealed are added to a special set of reels as stacking symbols for one “Super Spin,” in which wild symbols combine with stacked symbols for big wins. There also is a “Spinning Pearls Free Spin,” in which the player is prompted to choose one of three or more shell symbols on the reels. The symbols reveal either credit amounts or entry into the free-spin round, which begins with nine free games and can be retriggered.
There are two different bonuses using the big pachinko board. In “Shells on the Beach,” the player picks shells to reveal the prizes that are transferred to each pocket at the bottom of the display. One pocket on the display awards all of the numeric bonuses. The pachinko ball then drops—it is called “Free Fall Pachinko,” to indicate that gravity determines the prize.
The “Jackpot Drop” bonus, available at maximum bet only, is triggered with three or more pearl symbols on the reels. The pachinko ball then drops to award one of five levels of progressive jackpot.
Manufacturer: American Gaming Systems
Platform: Roadrunner
Format: Five-reel, 27-line or 30-line video slot
Denomination: .01, .02, .05
Max Bet: 200, 250
Top Award: Progressive; $1,000 or $2,000 reset
Hit Frequency: 27-line, 55%; 30-line, 56%
Theoretical Hold: 5.45%—14.48%
