3 Cursed Chests

3 Cursed Chests Review

Usually, it's Hacksaw Gaming who is setting the trends or sticking to their own signature formulas, but here we are with 3 Cursed Chests, a slot where the name alone makes it obvious that this time it's them jumping onto the '3 pots' bandwagon. It's a format quite a few studios have explored by now, and evidently, Hacksaw decided not to stand aside and join the ranks with a creation of their own. Although they do it in style and bring their own vision to the gameplay concept, it's a release that is perhaps aimed at paving the way to a different kind of player audience rather than catering to the usual studio fanbase. There are several reasons for that, which I'll discuss in more detail in my 3 Cursed Chests slot review below.

Theme & Graphics

The 3 Cursed Chests slot machine goes for a pirate theme, and the presentation here is built to feel loud and punchy. The artwork goes for a modern cartoon look, with thick outlines, sharp colour contrast, and oversized props. It’s not the usual dark and gritty route some pirate slots take, and it doesn’t really resemble the usual style we’re used to seeing from Hacksaw Gaming either. Instead, the game utilizes a brighter, more playful energy that matches the arcade-ish pace of the format.

3 Cursed Chests Slot – Base Game

The main face of the game is captain Anne Bonny, a tough-looking lady with a big iron (really massive), positioned on the left side of the screen and basically acting as your companion during the session. In the background, we see her ship, The Red Revenge, with crimson sails and a black pirate flag. Up top, we get the three chests mentioned in the name, which act as special pots that trigger different bonus features.

Rules And Math

3 Cursed Chests uses a standard 5x3 reel layout, but the line structure is a bit unusual, with 17 paylines instead of a cleaner ‘classic’ number. Yes, Hacksaw does love to mess with grid settings. Wins follow the regular left-to-right rule – you need at least three matching symbols starting from the leftmost reel, and the payout scales up with longer combinations.

The paytable includes 10 symbols in total, split evenly into low and high tiers. The lower tier is made up of gemstones and crystal-style card suit icons, while the premium set features a beer mug, a bottle stuffed with treasure maps, a compass, a parrot, and captain Anne herself.

Five-of-a-kind combos of the low symbols pay up to 1.2x the stake, while the top tier reaches the 4x–8x range depending on which premium icon lands. Wilds substitute for all standard symbols to help extend combinations, and they can also form their own line wins, paying the same as the highest regular symbol.

Next, let’s talk math. The 3 Cursed Chests slot machine comes with four RTP configurations, which means the return rate can vary quite a lot depending on where you play. The available payback settings are 96.30%, 94.37%, 92.30%, and 86.29%. In other words, it’s one of those releases where checking the in-game info panel before playing actually matters.

On the risk side, Hacksaw labels the slot as medium volatility, and the stated hit rate sits at 47.29%. That means you can expect frequent returns. However, don’t expect them to be in line with the studio’s flagship releases. The 3 Cursed Chests maximum win is capped at 2,500x the bet.

Bonuses & Special Features

With 3 Cursed Chests, the core idea is familiar at first glance – three containers above the reels that you build up to access what they hold. The twist is that Hacksaw doesn’t treat them as a stackable set of modifiers. Only one chest feature can pop at a time, so the game doesn’t let you layer effects the way many other ‘3 pots’ releases do. This changes the rhythm a lot and makes the gameplay feel quite different.

Chest Features

Green, Red, and Blue Pot symbols can land during the base game, and each one charges the chest that matches its colour. Once a chest is charged, it has a chance to activate. As mentioned earlier, only one chest can activate per spin.

Green Chest – Cursed Wilds Respin

When the Green Chest activates, the game triggers a Cursed Wilds Respin. During this respin, any mix of regular paying symbols, Wilds, and Wild Multiplier symbols can land. The latter boost the value of any winning combination they are part of. If more than one Wild Multiplier lands in the same win, their values are combined. The possible values range from 2x up to 100x.

3 Cursed Chests Slot – Cursed Wilds Respin

Red Chest – Cursed Coins Bonus

Activating the Red Chest starts the Cursed Coins Bonus sequence. This is a classic Hold & Win bonus. You get 3 respins on a special grid where only Coins can appear. These symbols stick to the grid until the feature ends when they land, and each carries a random cash value:

• Bronze Coins – 0.2x, 0.4x, 1x;
• Silver Coins – 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x;
• Gold Coins – 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x;
• Diamond Coins – 50x, 100x, 150x, 200x, 250x, 500x, 1000x.

Whenever any Coin symbol lands, the respins are refilled back to 3. The Cursed Coins Bonus ends once all lives are consumed or there are no more available positions left for new symbols.

3 Cursed Chests Slot – Cursed Coins Bonus

Blue Chest – Cursed FS Respin

When the Blue Chest activates, a Cursed FS Respin is triggered. In this mode, only special FS symbols can land. The outcome of this mini-game also determines the number of free spins you get as well as which bonus is awarded:

• 7+ FS symbols – awards the Treasure Cove bonus. In this mode, collecting 3 pots of the same color activates the corresponding feature.
• 6+ FS symbols & 1 FS Upgrade symbol – awards the Ghostly Gallows bonus. In this mode, chest features trigger each time a pot lands.

Treasure Cove Bonus

3 Cursed Chests Slot – Treasure Cove Bonus

The feature starts with 7 to 15 free spins. The bonus uses the same core mechanics as the base game. One rule that changes the flow is the activation guarantee – when the 3rd Pot symbol of a given colour lands during Treasure Cove, the corresponding chest is guaranteed to activate. Chests can still activate before the 3rd Pot symbol appears, and if that happens, the count resets, and another set of three Pot symbols of that colour is needed to secure the next guaranteed activation.

Extra free spins can also be awarded, and the amount depends on how many special symbols land during the Cursed FS Respin. Extra spins granted this way range from 2 to 10, and if an FS Upgrade symbol lands, it upgrades the round into the Ghostly Gallows bonus.

Ghostly Gallows Bonus

3 Cursed Chests Slot – Ghostly Gallows Bonus

This one also begins with 7 to 15 free spins. Just like Treasure Cove, it keeps the base game mechanics, but the key rule difference here is how quickly chests can fire. You are no longer collecting sets of three. In the Ghostly Gallows round, whenever a Pot symbol lands, it activates the corresponding chest feature right away. As in the other mode, you can get extra spins, with the number of FS symbols that land during the Cursed FS Respin, activated through the Blue Chest, determining how many are awarded. No further upgrades are possible, though.

3 Cursed Chests Free Play

Before putting any real money on the line, it makes sense to start with the 3 Cursed Chests demo. You can launch the 3 Cursed Chests free play version directly on SlotCatalog, so there’s no setup – just open it and the game runs in the browser right away. Demo mode lets you check how the chests charge and activate, see the bonus flow in practice, and get a feel for the pace without any financial risk.

Pros And Cons Of 3 Cursed Chests Slot

Final Thoughts

It’s not a conventional Hacksaw slot, and it’s clear they’re attempting to target a different player audience with this one – more casual players who like the ‘3 pots’ concept. It’s not really a format where you can mix and match multiple modifiers either. Instead, it’s done differently, with four distinct bonus rounds. I should note, though, that those rounds are quite barebones, and those who love Hacksaw games for elaborate features and layered mechanics won’t be exactly impressed.

Then there’s the math. You can appreciate the solid hit rate and medium volatility – another piece of evidence that the 3 Cursed Chests online slot aimed at a different segment of players than the existing Hacksaw fanbase – but I still feel the max win could’ve been a tad higher.

All in all, I cannot say I don’t like this game. I do, mostly due to the impeccable visuals and some creativity in terms of gameplay, but I don’t see regular Hacksaw enjoyers jumping aboard here.