To understand how to play John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches, treat it as a fixed-payline Pragmatic Play slot with a base game that settles immediately on each spin and a bonus flow that can change how wins accumulate through its free-spins expedition rules.

Start the round correctly: stake, paylines, and what “a spin” actually buys you

Before you spin, set your total bet using the on-screen stake controls. In this title, you are not choosing “ways”; you are buying participation across the game’s fixed set of paylines. That matters because the game evaluates each payline left to right, and a spin is settled as soon as the reels stop unless a bonus state is triggered.

Open the paytable to confirm three things that affect how you experience the game round-by-round:

• Which symbol is the Wild and what it substitutes for (typically any regular paying symbol, but not Scatters).
• Which symbol is the Scatter and the exact condition to enter free spins (commonly 3+ Scatters anywhere, but rely on the paytable for the precise threshold).
• Whether a gamble/double feature is offered on line wins in the base game, because this changes your interaction flow after a win.

If you want a clean first session, keep the interface in standard speed at first. Turbo and quick spin compress the animation but do not change the underlying settlement logic.

How to play John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches using the main controls

The practical interaction loop is simple, but the details come from when you are asked to make a decision.

1. Set your stake (the total bet for each spin).
2. Press Spin for a single round, or use Autoplay to run multiple rounds automatically.
3. Wait for reel stop and evaluation: the game checks paylines for matching symbol sequences left to right.
4. Resolve post-spin choices if they appear: some versions allow you to gamble a base-game win; bonus triggers bypass that choice and move straight into the feature.
5. Settlement: any win is added to your balance after the win sequence completes (or after you exit/finish any optional gamble step).

Autoplay adds an extra layer: you choose a number of spins, and in many jurisdictions you can also set limits (for example, stop on a single win, stop at a loss threshold, or stop if a bonus triggers). Those options are part of the platform’s compliance settings and can vary by casino.

The two moments that change the round: Wild substitution and the free-spins expedition

Most spins end in one of two outcomes: no win, or an immediate line win. The first “structural” mechanic that changes how a base spin behaves is the Wild: it substitutes to complete left-to-right line combinations, which can convert fragmented layouts into payable lines. That does not create a separate feature state; it still settles inside the same spin.

The second mechanic is the game’s expedition-style free-spins bonus. When the required number of Scatters land, the round stops being a normal spin and becomes a multi-spin feature with its own rules. Pragmatic Play’s John Hunter entries often make the bonus feel different by altering how Wilds behave and by using a feature multiplier that can step up during free spins (the exact behavior is shown in the bonus rules panel and paytable for this title).

How the free-spins rules affect volatility in practice

Free spins change your risk exposure because they concentrate a lot of outcome into a single trigger event. In normal play, wins are spread across independent spins. In the expedition, several spins are chained together under bonus-specific rules such as more impactful Wild behavior or a multiplier. The result is typically a wider spread of possible outcomes: many bonuses will pay modestly, while a smaller portion will produce outsized results when the bonus rules align with high-value symbol lines.

This is also why a session can feel “quiet” and then suddenly swing on a single feature: the game is designed to let part of the overall return be delivered through bonus-state payouts rather than steady base-game hits.

A scenario-based example round, from stake selection to settlement

Here is an example of how to play John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches through one complete cycle (base spin into bonus), focusing on what you actually click and what happens next.

1. You set a stake (for example, 0.50 total bet) using the plus/minus controls.
2. You hit Spin. The reels stop and you see two Scatters, plus a small line win involving mid-value symbols and a Wild that substitutes to complete the line.
3. Post-spin decision appears (if enabled): the game offers a gamble option for the base-game win. You decline it, so the win is credited and the round ends.
4. Next spin: you press Spin again. This time, Scatters land in a qualifying count. The base game does not offer the gamble prompt; instead, it transitions to the free-spins expedition automatically.
5. During free spins, each spin resolves under the bonus rules. You do not change stake inside the bonus. Wins add to a running feature total on-screen.
6. Bonus ends after the final free spin. The feature total is paid to your balance, and you return to the base game with your original stake settings intact.

That full chain, spin to feature to payout, is the real “unit” of play you should understand before you increase speed or rely heavily on Autoplay.

Where players misread the interface in this title

Two interface habits cause confusion for first-time players learning how to play John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches:

• Assuming paylines are adjustable: the game typically uses fixed lines, so changing stake changes total bet rather than changing how many lines you are playing.
• Mixing up base-game wins and feature-state wins: if a gamble option exists, it usually applies only to base-game wins. Once the free-spins expedition triggers, the game moves into a different state where that choice is not offered.

If you want a deeper mechanical breakdown of what the expedition changes (beyond the first-time control flow), see https://playstories.co/john-hunter-and-the-quest-for-bermuda-riches-how-it-works/.

Quick checklist before you press Autoplay

To play smoothly, confirm: your stake is where you want it, you understand the Scatter condition for free spins, and you know whether you want to use any gamble prompt when it appears. With that, how to play John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches becomes a repeatable loop: set stake, spin, resolve (or enter the expedition), collect settlement, and continue.

Explore more about John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches

• How to play
• How it works
• Common questions
• RTP analysis
• Strategy insights
• Fairness analysis