What Types of Features Can You Expect in Slots Games?
What Types of Features Can You Expect in Slots Games?
FIRST THE FACTS THEN THE FUN: The numbers don’t lie – slot win forms the lion’s share of rewards at casinos. Based on empirical data collected by UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) Center for Gaming Research, slot win from July through December 2024 amounted to $5,333,324,000 statewide, with total reported winnings of $7,847,192,000. On the Las Vegas Strip, slot win made up 57% of total win. Importantly, the Slot Win Delta percentage was positive, while the total win Delta percentage was negative.
Source: https://gaming.library.unlv.edu/reports/6_month_NV_24_12.pdf
We can gather important information from these numbers insofar as they indicate how significant slot machine games are to players and casinos. From humble beginnings in the late1800s, these one-arm bandits quickly evolved from rudimentary mechanical machines to digital gaming juggernauts. Slots feature prominently at casinos, social casinos, and online casinos. They are the bread and butter of operations and a staple for players. It’s the thematic gameplay, feature-rich entertainment, and mega winning potential that reels players in.
Multipliers
Few features are quite as exciting to slots players as multipliers. Look carefully at the video slot game you’re playing, you may notice things like X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, etc. These multipliers come in different forms, such as standalone multipliers as a fixed value, or increasing multipliers where successive wins unlock higher-level multipliers. A multiplier on its own has no value – you have to win something in order to see its value boost your winnings.
When you play one of your favorite cascading reels slot game attractions – Gates of Olympus, Sugar Rush, Candy Jar Clusters, Power of Merlin, etc – you have an opportunity to mint it in style. These games are usually jackpot rich, and nothing beefs up a jackpot more than a sizable multiplier. It’s always the best kept secret among the many available slot features. Some multipliers go all the way up to X100 or more. Keep your eyes on the maximum payouts per slot game, since nothing else will limit your winnings with multipliers.
Wild & Scatter Symbols
Have you ever played cards? If so, you know what jokers can do. They substitute for other cards to form winning hands. That’s what wilds are, except they substitute for many other symbols (not all) to form winning combinations. Wild symbols grant players a better chance of forming a winning combination. Watch them carefully – they can stretch upwards to fill entire reels. They can become sticky wilds and remain locked on screen while other cascading symbols fall into place. Wild symbols don’t substitute for bonus symbols and scatter symbols.
Scatter symbols are often associated with free spins. They are unique insofar as they can form anywhere on the slot grid. Players typically need to land at least three scatter symbols on the screen to activate a set number of free spins. The more scatter symbols you land, the more free spins you win. Scatters are also associated with bonus rounds. These bonus games open up a world of possibilities for slots players. Spin the wheel attractions, quick-pick selections, and bonus attractions beyond the present game are available – games within games.
Autoplay Functionality
Autoplay functionality is a boon in social casino games where there is no risk and maximum reward from automatic gameplay with your GC or SC budget. With autoplay, the same coin value applies to every new spin for a set number of games. It’s entirely possible to set the slot game to automatically spin 10 times, 20 times, 50 times, 100 times, 200 times+ until you stop it. It’s also possible to program the autoplay function to cancel when you hit a big win. Remember, this unique feature instantly stops for bonus rounds.
Reel Mechanics
Most of us never think about reel mechanics as a feature of a slot machine game. But, it’s actually a real thing! A traditional 5 x 3 grid on a classic slot game typically has a set number of horizontal pay lines. This could run anywhere from one to five, or more. When you get into the video slots, things get a little crazy. Sometimes, it’s a standard 20 payline slot game, but it could just as easily be a 100-ways to win slot or a Megaways slot that doesn’t require symbols to lineup on different reels for winnings to accrue.
These are some of the most fascinating features of slot machine games. They underscore how immersive and engaging these casino games are. Plus, it’s pretty clear why they account for upwards of 60% of all games at land-based casinos and online gaming sites alike!
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