Online slots occasionally feature crabs, the aquatic variety, not the itching kind. Though less common than bison, they have carved out a place in gaming. NetEnt’s Crab Trap is unlikely to change that tendency, as they rarely star in massive slots. Classic example: Crab Trap. Charming, basic, mid-volatile, crab gather, and small max win. If this sounds good, let’s bring in something other than fish.
Crab Trap’s base game takes set near the water, where a large fish hangs from a beam adjacent to a 6-reel gaming panel. Crabs are usually captured from the sea. Each reel has 4 rows and calculates winnings using scatter payouts instead of paylines or ways. Crab Trap, like other fish or crab slots, is brilliantly graphiced and has a happy soundtrack.
The medium volatile math model behind Crab Trap yields a 96.07% default return to player. As a scatter pays slot, players win when 7 identical low pays, 6 identical mids, or 5 identical high pays appear anywhere on the board. This results in pay, but no cascading or tumbling. To acquire the crab nippin’, bet 10 p/c to £/€400 or use the bonus purchase to leap right into the crab pond. If you change the bet, Trap frames on the reels disappear, but they return if you return to the prior stake.
Low payouts are J to A card ranks, medium pays are starfish and a pail of water, and high pays are floats and boots at Crab Trap. Fine symbols but nothing special. As for values, a 7 low pay symbol cluster is worth 1 times the bet, up to 8 times for a 10+ cluster, a 6 OAK mid pay cluster is worth 1 times, up to 8 times for a 9+ cluster, and a 5 OAK high pay cluster awards 0.4x, up to 10 times. Wilds are absent from Crab Trap, but boats and crabs remain.
Crab Trap Slot Features
Crab Trap contains two boat emblems, Red and Blue, which trigger trap frames and respins. Also check for free spins and purchase.
Respins
The main game and free spins include the Blue Boat symbol on all reels. Each Blue Boat adds a Trap frame at its place and 1 to 5 to random positions without Trap frames. The Red Boat symbol appears on reel 4 in basic game and reel 3 in free spins. In basic game, it rewards a Respin when there are at least 5 Trap frames on the reels. A Respin is also granted when all reels have Blue Boat and Trap frames. When a Blue Boat and Red Boat land simultaneously, Trap frames are added before a Respin. During Respins, only crab victories are rewarded, not scatter wins.
Single Crab symbols can occur everywhere on the reels, 2×2 enormous Crab icons on reels 1-2 and 4-5, and 3×3 on reels 1-3 and 4-6. Colossal Crab symbols may appear fully or partly. Single crabs are worth 1, 2, 5, or 10 times the stake, 2×2 giant crabs 10x, 20x, 50x, or 100x, and 3×3 100x, 200x, 500x, or 1,000x.
Crab symbols lock in place if they land on a Trap during a Respin or on the spins that triggered it. Another Respin is rewarded if this happens. Even without full trap frames, Colossal Crabs lock in. After no Crabs land on Trap frames, respins finish. Crab symbols in Trap frames win according to their values. Colossal Crabs shatter into single crabs for 1 to 10 times the stake if not entirely framed. Half-visible enormous crabs become 2, 3, or 6 crab symbols. Reels are cleared of trap frames using crabs. Crab-free trap frames stay on the grid.
Free Spins
Getting 3, 4, 5, or 6+ scatter symbols in the main game delivers 5, 7, 10, or 15 free spins. For every 3 scatter symbols gathered in the free spins round, players get 1 more spin. Any Trap frames from the triggering spin are carried to free spins. If both are active on the same spin, repsins play first. Red Boats provide a Respin in free spins, however Traps are not eliminated. Pre-free spin repsin play. All Trap frames remove from the reels after free spins, and 4 arrive on the grid when the game resumes.
Purchase Feature
Players may buy 6 free spins for 50x their bet. When buying free spins, the RTP stays the same and all main game Trap frames are kept. Ten random Trap frames are added to the reels, and when free spins stop, the stored frames return.
Crab Trap Slot Review
That was a lot of restrictions for a simple crab-catching slot. The goal is for the Blue Boat to add as many Trap frames as possible to the reels, then hit a Red Boat to activate the Respin function. Then strike as many Crab symbols (larger is better) in Trap-framed spots. If Crabs are captured, players earn treasure after Respins. Free spins work similarly, although Trap frames aren’t eliminated after a Respins sequence. This framework has rules and small print to control the game. A crucial criterion is that enormous crabs will not pay their full potential until they are totally visible and covered by trap frames. If not, they become 1×1 Crab symbols with lower values.
This makes it tougher to catch huge crabs, thus Crab Trap is not a good slot. With a top gain of 1,191 times the stake, this crab fishing enterprise may not be the most profitable. As demonstrated in ‘Deadliest Catch’, those brave souls would never risk the Bering Sea for such riches. Naturally, Crab Trap doesn’t compare to rough-seas crab fishing. Crab Trap seems to target risk-reward gamblers who favor ‘lighter’ games.
I imagined a barefoot fisherman sleeping by the sea with a thread attached to their big toe to catch fish. Relaxed, easygoing. If crab gambling seems fun, Crab Trap may work. Lobster Bob’s Crazy Crab Shack from Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom may be better for keeping things crabby while increasing the rewards.
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