Yo ho ho and a playfield full of plunder — Stern’s 2006 Pirates of the Caribbean rides the wave of the Disney film franchise, designed by the great Dennis Nordman with Kevin O’Connor art and a treasure chest toy front and center. Weighing a hefty 254 pounds with its legs, it’s a big, handsome machine that turns the swashbuckling blockbuster into a multiball-rich adventure with a satisfying broadside-and-ship structure at its core.
The strategy rewards a player who manages the multiballs and the feeds. When adding balls for Tortuga multiball, short-plunge manually for a good feed rather than letting the auto-plunger fire wildly into the top lanes — a small bit of control that pays off. The big scores come from stacking Tortuga multiball with the Heart (Chest) multiball and maxing the jackpot value via the compass award, a combination that turns the playfield into a points bonanza. Shoot the green standups to light the compass award at the center shot, and complete parley at the upper-right sinkhole to light a ball-saver on an outlane, completing it again to protect both — invaluable insurance on a draining machine. There’s even a satisfying ship mechanic where completing a vessel with a broadside brings the next ship’s sails down in a single shot.
The super skill shot is a treat for the precise: a light plunge to the left treasure lane, with a “super duper” bonus if the ball then rolls through the right lane. Pirates of the Caribbean is bright, big, and built for high-seas spectacle, a crowd-pleasing Stern that rewards the player who learns to stack its multiballs. Light the compass, stack the chests, and fire your broadsides. The treasure belongs to the bold buccaneer.