Free Spins, Wilds, and More: Your Guide to Slot Features
Slot machines may seem simple on the surface, but beneath the colorful reels and flashing lights lie lots of interesting features that can change how the game is played.
Slot features are special mechanisms designed to keep the gameplay interesting, help boost your chances of winning, and add some novelty to your game.
Features like wilds, scatters, and multipliers are the bread and butter of most modern slot machines, but there's so much more to discover. By learning about these features, you can better appreciate the design of the games and the potential they offer for bigger wins.
With this in mind, let’s take it step by step and discuss the features you can find in your slot games.
Reel and Payline Systems
To understand slot features, you first need to understand the basics: reels and paylines. Slots are made up of vertical sections (reels) that spin to display symbols when you press the spin button.
Paylines are the lines that determine whether you’ve won, based on which symbols align. They vary in looks and shapes, ranging from the classic structures to wacky flashy patterns that can be difficult to determine first, like this:
There are two main types of paylines:
- Fixed Paylines: In these slots, the number of paylines is set, and you must bet on all of them. This ensures you have the best chance of hitting a winning combination.
- Adjustable Paylines: Here, you can choose how many paylines to bet on. Fewer paylines mean smaller bets but also lower chances of winning.
Newer slots can also feature Cluster Pays or Megaways, which break away from traditional paylines.
Cluster Pays require groups of matching symbols, while Megaways slots can offer hundreds of thousands of ways to win based on how many symbols land on each reel?. But more on that later (as well as in my other dedicated guides).
The Importance of Symbols
We can’t talk about a slot’s features without mentioning its symbols. Slot symbols are what define the theme and concept of a game, as well as their value. But to understand what can set a slot game apart from others, we must also take a look at more special symbols.
Wild Symbols: The Bases of Winning Combinations
Wild symbols are a staple feature in almost every slot machine, and they play an important role in boosting your chances of landing a winning combination. Simply put, wild symbols act as substitutes for other symbols on the reels (except for special symbols like scatters). This means if you’re one symbol short of a winning combination, a wild can step in to complete it.
Types of wild symbols include:
- Expanding Wilds: These stretch to cover an entire reel, increasing your chance of forming multiple winning combinations.
- Sticky Wilds: These stay in place for several spins, offering repeated chances to win.
- Multiplying Wilds: These not only substitute for other symbols but also multiply the payout by a certain factor.
For example
In a game where wilds multiply winnings by 2x, a $10 win would become a $20 win when a multiplying wild is part of the combination.
Scatter Symbols: The Gateway to Bonus Rounds
Scatter symbols are another exciting feature to look out for. Unlike regular symbols that need to align on a payline, scatters can appear anywhere on the reels and still trigger a bonus. Often, scatters are your ticket to free spins or bonus games, making them especially valuable.
For example
Landing three scatter symbols might unlock 10 free spins, allowing you to keep spinning without using your own money. In some games, scatters also come with multipliers that boost your total payout during free spin rounds.
Free Spins: Extending Your Gameplay
Free spins are one of the most common and beloved features in slot games. As the name suggests, free spins allow you to spin the reels without betting real money, while still having the opportunity to win real payouts. Free spins are often triggered by scatter symbols, but they can also be a bonus in themselves.
These can be coupled with other features, such as:
- Retriggers: You can win additional free spins within a free spin round, extending your gameplay.
- Multipliers: Some games apply multipliers to free spins, meaning all wins during the round are multiplied by a certain factor.
We could think about it like this
You might trigger 10 free spins with all wins during that round being multiplied by 3x. This means if you win $50 during a free spin, the multiplier would turn that into $150.
Sometimes, games have conditions for these free spins and/or similar combinations that may leave you scratching your head if you’re a beginner, like this:
Bonus Games and Mini-Games
Bonus rounds are a major draw for many players because they often offer the chance to win big. These rounds are typically triggered by specific symbol combinations (often scatters or bonus symbols) and transport you into a new game mode. Bonus rounds vary widely in design, ranging from simple pick-and-win games to complex mini-games.
Common types of bonus games include:
- Pick-and-Win: Players choose from a set of objects, each hiding a cash prize or multiplier.
- Wheels of Fortune: A spinning wheel offers cash prizes, multipliers, or even jackpots.
- Interactive Games: These might involve players taking part in themed mini-games where their actions directly influence the prizes they can win.
Multipliers: Amplifying Your Wins
Multipliers do exactly what they sound like—they multiply your winnings. Whether they apply to the total win, a specific combination, or during a bonus round, multipliers are an exciting way to boost your payout.
For instance
If you win $50 on a spin and there’s a 2x multiplier in play, your prize is doubled to $100. Some games even offer multipliers as high as 10x or more during free spins or bonus rounds.
Cascading Reels and Respins: Second Chances at Winning
Cascading reels (sometimes called tumbling reels) are a popular feature in many modern slot games. When a winning combination is formed, the symbols involved disappear and are replaced by new symbols falling from above. This gives you the chance to form new winning combinations without needing to spin the reels again.
Similarly, respins give players a second shot at winning without placing a new bet. Respins can be triggered in a variety of ways, such as locking a wild symbol in place while the other reels spin again?.
Jackpots: The Ultimate Prize
Many players are drawn to slot machines for one reason: the chance to win a life-changing jackpot. There are two main types of jackpots:
- Fixed Jackpots: These offer a set prize, such as 10,000 coins.
- Progressive Jackpots: These grow over time as more players contribute to the prize pool. In some cases, multiple machines are linked, and the jackpot grows until one lucky player hits it?. The hype around progressive jackpots is based on the idea that they can reach into the millions, but the odds of winning are typically much lower than with fixed jackpots.
Bonus Buy Feature: Is It Worth the Cost?
Some slot games offer a feature called Bonus Buy, which allows players to purchase access to a bonus round rather than waiting for it to be triggered naturally. This option can be tempting, especially if you're eager to get to the most exciting part of the game, but it’s important to weigh the cost.
For example
if a game offers the Bonus Buy feature for $50, you’ll need to decide if you’re willing to spend that amount upfront in the hopes of winning more during the bonus round. While it might pay off, there’s also the chance that you won’t win enough to cover the cost?.
Unique and Exclusive Slot Features
Modern slot games are constantly evolving, and developers are always coming up with new ways to keep players engaged. Some unique features to look out for include:
- Hold-and-Win: Players can lock symbols in place while the rest of the reels respin, giving them a better chance to land winning combinations.
- Expanding Symbols: During a bonus round, certain symbols may expand to cover entire reels, increasing the chance of a big payout?.
Choosing a Slot Game: What to Keep In Mind
Choosing a slot game comes down to more than just the theme or graphics. To make the most of your gaming experience, you should also consider the slot’s features, and the best way to do this is by reading the game’s paytable!
The paytable is your holy book in terms of slot features, symbols, payouts, and everything else in-between.
Then, consider the game’s RTP and volatility. Though technically not part of the game’s features, you should still view them as key characteristics of a title.
Slot volatility shows how often you’re likely to win and how big those wins could be. High volatility means you’ll win less often, but the prizes will usually be bigger. Low volatility means you’ll win more frequently, but the payouts will generally be smaller. And in-between comes the medium volatility, which tries to strike a balance between the two.
Choose a level that is aligned with your budget and preference, and don’t forget to look for games with as high RTP as possible (we don’t want to damage our funds too badly, do we?)
Obviously, to be able to enjoy your slot game, it’s essential to at least have a basic understanding of its features.
For that, read the paytable, as it holds the key to precious info. Moreover, you can use our dedicated filter and sort through a wide range of slot games based on your preferred features.
Conclusion
We’ve reached the end of this crash course on slot features. Remember that, even if many titles can share the same features overall, some are unique additions to certain games and/or offer their own flavor, themes and vibes.
I encourage you to complete your understanding gained from this guide with my other guides that tackle the ins and outs of spinning reels down to the core. And then, by all means, use your demo play features to try whatever title catches your eye.
Page Contributors