First impressions of Skulls Up
As long-term fans of Quickspin pokies, we couldn’t wait to get started on spinning the reels of Skulls Up. And we weren’t disappointed, as the game is a real visual delight, packed with quirky details and amusing cartoon-style characters.
As waves lap gently at the shoreline, and huge tropical plants sway in the breeze, the reels take centre stage. The game’s symbols are depicted on wooden blocks, which drop into place with a pleasing sound, while the soundtrack is a rather jaunty steel band melody which works really well with the game’s theme.
Skulls Up RTP and Volatility
With an RTP of 96.26%, Skulls Up pays out $96.26 in cash prizes for every $100 spent on the game, although not necessarily to the same player. RTP is calculated over several weeks, involving hundreds of players, so naturally, some players will experience big wins, whereas others will walk away from the reels with nothing at all to show from their pokie-playing session
A better indication of whether or not the game is right for you is to check out its volatility. In the case of Skulls Up, the game has been classified as a high-volatility pokie game, making it unsuitable for low-risk players, unless they opt to play for free, here on our site. This is a game aimed primarily at the high rollers, who can afford to wait out the long, lean periods, in the hope of spinning up a major cash prize.
How to pay Skulls Up
There are no paylines across the reels of Skulls Up, as this is a 243 Ways to Win pokie game. So your only task, as the player, is to decide on the amount of your wager. Although this is a high-volatility pokie, the developers clearly want all types of players to be able to access the game, as the lowest wager is a very modest $0.10, rising to a maximum stake of $100.
There’s a highly useful Autoplay function, which lets you select up to 1,000 spins at your current wagering level - don’t panic if you see your bankroll dwindling too fast, as you can hit Spin during the feature to deactivate the feature and return manual controls back to you.
How to win at Skulls Up
Rather than matching up symbols across a payline, the 243 Ways mechanic of Skulls Up rewards players for simply matching symbols across adjacent reels. The first instance of a winning symbol must occur on reel 1, and provided that you spin up matching symbols in any position on at least reels 2 and 3, you’ll win a cash prize.
No Beard is the lady pirate captain, and the highest-paying symbol on the reels. Next in value come her crew members, Biggie and Smelly, followed by Wrench, the monkey, and a parrot called Biscuit. Lower-value symbols are represented by playing card symbols depicted in the form of wooden tokens.
Skulls Up bonus features and free spins
The game’s wild is a skull, which can represent any other symbol on the reels apart from the treasure chest scatter, and the Flaming Skull wild. But it’s the Flaming Skull which has the power to trigger the unique bonus feature, which can increase the number of Ways to Win up to an astonishing 1,944 Ways!
Whenever a Flaming Skull appears, in any position on the reels, the central three reels grow up to six symbols high, and a Skulls Up Respin is awarded. Every skull symbol which lands on the reels awards a further respin, with each one opening up a new space on the additional grid. The respins end when no further skulls appear on the reels, which then revert back to 243 Ways.
The treasure chest scatter only appears on the central three reels, but when you manage to land three in view, in any position, the Flaming Free Spins round is triggered, offering six free spins. Throughout the bonus feature, the Skulls Up Respins can be triggered, increasing the size of the playing grid. But unlike the respins in the base game, during the free spins, any unlocked reel positions stay unlocked throughout the feature. And even an ordinary skull wild will unlock new reel positions during the free spins round, so there are excellent opportunities for some very big wins!
Play Skulls Up for free
Because it’s such a high-volatility game, we strongly recommend that you try it out on our site for free, before you decide to wager any of your own money on it. That way, you can experiment with wagering strategies and trigger all the bonuses, so you know exactly what to expect.
And if you love what you see, why not check out some of our other pirate-themed games, such as the hugely popular Scruffy Scallywags pokies? We’ve got hundreds of games, all available to play completely free.
Skulls Up review and rating
We really enjoyed our gaming session at the reels of Skulls Up, which is hardly surprising, since Quickspin has such a great reputation for creating fun and entertaining pokies. We just advise caution, particularly for low-risk and low-stakes players, as the high volatility makes it easy for your bankroll to get swallowed up very quickly - unless you hit a winning streak, of course!
Skulls Up FAQs
About the Author
