Ship of Dreams

With their newest game, the German game company Merkur pays homage to the great ship Titanic in all its pre-disaster splendor. Classic in both theme and design, this five-reel, three-line slot keeps things simple: fans of old-school slot play need to look no further.

Theme

The elegance of the Gilded Age is everywhere in this Ship of dreams. Gaming symbols include a white-haired captain in spiffy, formal dress, a beautiful early-twentieth century-model automobile, the great ship itself, and the massive diamond, the Heart of the Ocean, made famous by the 1997 film directed by James Cameron. A glamorous socialite standing on deck with a feather in her hat acts as the wild symbol, and lower-value symbols shimmer in jewel-tones. On winning combinations, tiles light up with animated motion sequences. The setting and background, unchanged from base play to bonus rounds, show the deck of the ship, with nautical details visible to the attentive player.

Betting Options, Functions and Features

The simplicity of design is lovely in gameplay and on the open ocean, and Ship of Dreams offers both. Somewhat counter-intuitively, the spin button looks like a large, red stop sign, but aside from that, the user interface is straightforward and largely intuitive.

Across many of Merkur’s games, one betting factor is a near-constant, and it’s one that matches nicely with a tiered class system of the Titanic itself: there is a larger-than-normal difference between what the potential rewards of playing with a smaller bankroll and a larger one. Players who prefer a larger bet size get better chances of winning than those who opt for smaller ones. This is an advantage for some players and liability for others.

Our take

Ship of Dreams is a great gaming choice for beginners and purists alike. There are some drawbacks to this title – it’s available on fewer platforms than some other slots, and doesn’t offer the variety of mini-games and presentations that some other titles do – but the overall game experience is a positive one. Furthermore, in a gaming world filled with generalized, vaguely ethnic themes, the specificity of the famous gilded age ocean liner is a breath of fresh air.