Slot features
The modern video slots have a large number of different features and bonuses. But let's start with the simplest, those features that you can find even in some classic slots.
Jackpots as a slot feature
For many players, the main goal of the game in slots is the jackpot. A huge prize that gradually accumulates and grows with every bet made. Usually, up to 1% of the bets made is sent to the jackpot total prize pool and its value can reach tens of millions of dollars (these jackpots are available to everyone who plays particular slot machines). The probability of winning the jackpot is usually very small and the larger the jackpot, the higher the chance for players to win it. For some slots, the chance is less than 1 to 100 million, so you need a lot of luck to win. There are jackpots in both classic and modern video slots, but usually, no more than 10% of games have a jackpot.
Wild Symbol
The next feature, which is found in some classic slots and many modern video slots, is Wild symbols. The Wild symbol is a kind of joker - it replaces any other symbol (though, except for other special symbols such as bonus and Scatter). If you get a Wild symbol on the line + two symbols of the same value, then you have a winning combination of the three indicated symbols. Wild symbols sometimes have additional functionality. So, if there is a Wild symbol, the win on the line can be multiplied several times (from two or more, the more Wild symbols, the higher the coefficient), Wild is a symbol with multiplication. Sometimes the Wild symbol in the video slots makes all the symbols on the reel Wild as well.
In some jackpot slot machines, it is the line full of Wild symbols that give the right to receive a jackpot.
Rare additional features of the slot machines
A number of additional features are available in the so-called English fruit machines. Initially, these were classic fruit slots, now their versions can also be found online, and their functions are also used in the AWP slots class (Amusement with Prizes). The features are as follows:
- Nudge of the reels, while the drum moves one character down. Usually, “nudges” drop out randomly; there can be one or several of them. There are options when you cannot use the available boosts, but save them for the next round, get repeated boosts in the next round, or take a chance and increase/decrease the number of boosts.
- Hold any number of reels (Hold) - in the next Spin, only reels that are not held will rotate.
Scatter symbol
The Scatter feature unlikely to be found in classic slots, but such symbols are very common in video slots. Unlike the other symbols, Scatter works not on a single line in a row, but anywhere on the screen. Usually, three or more Scatters include a bonus - free spins (sometimes any winnings received with free spins increase by 2-5 times) or a bonus game. The more Scatter symbols, the more spins or winnings will be available to the player as the bonus. Drops of 2-3 or more scattered symbols are usually also paid as a winning combination.
Bonus Symbols
Bonus symbols work on the basis of the usual winning combination, but they do not directly give a monetary gain, but free spins (sometimes with multipliers of the initial bet) or a bonus game. Actually, bonus games can be very different. More often it is a “guessing game”. Such a bonus game usually called a Risk Game or Doubling Round. However, there are bonus games in some slots that require player’s skills and reactions (for example one of such slots is Hellboy slot).
Stacked symbols
In modern games, you can also find Stacked symbols - this is when the symbol is not contained in one cell but takes 2-3 cells on one reel or just a few identical symbols in a row. The most recent variety is giant symbols that can occupy several cells on several reels, for example, represent a square of 3x3 cells. There are games with an avalanche effect when the winning symbols on the lines disappear, and their place is replaced by new ones that can make up a new winning combination. There are variants of Sticky Wild symbols - they remain in place on the next Spin. Increasingly, modern slots offer various random effects: random Wild symbols, random bonus games, random cash amounts, and even random jackpots.
Autoplay feature
Not quite the feature of a game, but rather the possibility of game software - an automatic game (Autoplay). By pressing the Auto button, the player gets the opportunity to start automatic spins. You will not have to press the Spin button yourself; the program will do this for you. Depending on the software, you can choose the number of auto-spins, as well as other options for stopping auto-play, such as winning or losing a certain amount of money. It is clear that the game will also stop if you win the bonus round.
Huge quantity of pay lines
In modern video slots, winning combinations are taken into account on 9-100 lines simultaneously! There are also games where any sequence of identical symbols is paid from left to right, regardless of the line. Such slots are usually called 243 or 1024 Ways. However, you cannot choose the number of lines in such slots. In the standard slots, the player can choose the number of lines on which he wants to play (usually the “Lines” button is used for this). It is clear that with an increase in the number of lines, the chances of winning something in each spin increase, but more money is spent per Spin. In general, the used number of lines does not affect the payout percentage. There are other possibilities to adjust the amount of money invested - setting the face value of coins (usually the face value of the coins and the +/ - buttons are simply written, allowing to change the value of the coin in the range of $0.01- $5).
Of course, these are not all the features we have covered, there are a lot more slot features in the pokie games. However, the features described on this page are the most common among online slot games.