Shifting Seas (Thunderkick) – Review & Demo Play

Shifting Seas Slot Overview

Shifting Seas from Thunderkick is a pirate-themed slot built around a shifting reel set. It starts on six reels in a 4-4-3-3-2-2 layout and pays for adjacent matches from the left. Wins trigger Shift Win and Avalanches, letting reels grow up to seven rows and reach 117,649 ways. Stakes range from 10p to £100 per spin. The maths is high volatility. RTP uses selectable profiles, with a 96.15% default and lower versions at 94.18%, 92.13%, or 90.16%. The stated max win lands at 15,000x.

Shifting Seas Slot Information

The paytable opens with 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A as lower paying tiles, worth about 0.5x to 0.8x your bet for six of a kind. Premiums are the parrot, buccaneer in pink, pirate in green, and the purple captain, paying roughly 1x to 1.8x for six. The treasure chest sits on top at 5x for six. Wilds share the chest’s value and substitute for regular symbols. Wins land on three or more matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from the left.

The pirate ship acts as the scatter. There are three colour-coded special wild symbols that carry extra effects: Rush in purple, Surge in green, and Shift in blue. These special wilds are armed during any win that uses them, or when they are shifted off the game area. Their modifiers queue if you load more than one, then they fire in sequence on the next cascade cycle, adding variety to the base game as the grid grows.

Shifting Seas Symbols and Paytable

Symbol	Quantity	Payout
	Wild
	6	x5
	Wild
	6	x5
	Wild
	6	x5
	Wild
	6	x5
	6	x5
	5	x2.5
	4	x2
	3	x1
	6	x1.8
	5	x1.2
	4	x0.8
	3	x0.5
	6	x1.4
	5	x0.9
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.4
	6	x1.2
	5	x0.8
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.4
	6	x1
	5	x0.7
	4	x0.5
	3	x0.4
	6	x0.8
	5	x0.6
	4	x0.4
	3	x0.3
	6	x0.7
	5	x0.5
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.2
	6	x0.7
	5	x0.5
	4	x0.3
	3	x0.2
	6	x0.5
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.2
	3	x0.1
	6	x0.5
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.2
	3	x0.1
	6	x0.5
	5	x0.4
	4	x0.2
	3	x0.1
	Scatter

Shifting Seas Slot Features

Shift Win triggers each time a winning combination lands. The right-most reel is removed, and a fresh reel is added on the left side. Each new reel increases the reel height by one symbol, up to seven. This progressive build can push the ways count to 117,649. Shift Wins can also eject symbols off the right edge, which matters for bonus and feature triggers, so even small connections can set up bigger outcomes across the following drops.

The Avalanche mechanic runs alongside Shift Win. Symbols used in a win are removed, and new or existing ones fall down to fill gaps. The process repeats while new pay way wins keep arriving. The two systems work hand in hand, creating long sequences where the grid expands, reels march to the right, and more positions open for premiums, wilds, and feature carriers. It feels fluid and can turn one small hit into a rolling series.

Special Wilds bring three modifiers when triggered. One awards an extra reel shift that also clones the previous left-most reel onto the new one. Symbol Rush randomly transforms four to eight positions into a matching symbol. Wild Surge converts one to three random positions into wilds. If multiple modifiers are loaded, they play in a fixed order. The mix keeps base game spins lively, and the cloning effect can set up stacked hits on the expanded left side.

Free Spins Bonus in Shifting Seas

You trigger the bonus by Shift Winning the pirate ship scatter off the right edge. That grants eight free spins, with +4 spins each time you repeat the trick during the round. A Wild Reel can appear with an x1 multiplier and walks one reel to the right after each Shift Win. If it moves off the grid, it returns on the far left, the multiplier increases by +1, and you gain +1 extra spin. It can span up to seven positions but counts as a single pay way.

Shifting Seas Slot Verdict

I rate Shifting Seas as an original take on dynamic reels with strong interplay between Shift Win, Avalanches, and the Wild Reel. The base game can throw solid bursts, and the 15,000x figure sets the bar, at least in theory. Getting to the bonus can be a somewhat frustrating sea voyage, though there are plenty of teasers. RTP comes with adjustable ranges, so check the version. For me, the growing grid and special wild queue carry the show when it gets going.