The digital nature of modern online slots enables them to include game mechanics that would be impossible in mechanical slot machines. Special symbols are one example. Other examples include bonus mechanics and non-linear paylines. Understanding how special symbols work is important when picking a slot title and crucial for developing slot game strategies.
The Most Common Slot Symbols
Slot machines are filled with basic symbols that pay cash prizes when they’re aligned along a payline. To make these symbols more captivating, they’ll frequently be designed according to the slot’s theme. For instance, by representing historical landmarks in a slot with an ancient civilization theme.
The many types of slot special symbols are designed to break the monotony of spinning round after round. Being lucky enough to land a line of special symbols can mean any number of things, from an instant payout to a minigame round.
Scatters
Scatters derive their name from the fact that they can be scattered across the reels and still trigger a feature, instead of having to align like a typical payline. Having three or more scatters appear at once is often enough to activate a bonus round.
Wilds
Wilds are special slot symbol types that fill the gaps in paylines. They can usually substitute for any other symbol, except scatters or bonus symbols, and are great for connecting two strings of basic symbols. There are a number of different types of wild symbols:
- Normal wilds: Function like a wild card, substituting for any other symbol.
- Expanding wilds: Cover the entire reel, potentially connecting multiple paylines at once.
- Multiplier wilds: Act as wilds while also applying a multiplier to the payout.
Jackpots
As the name suggests, these symbols appear in jackpot slots and can trigger a large payout. In online slot games with several tiers of jackpots, there can be different ways to win these rewards. For instance, the more jackpot symbols are lined up, the larger the prize, or collecting a certain number of jackpot symbols will result in a jackpot reward.
For example, while lining up three jackpot symbols may trigger a Minor jackpot, lining up five of them may trigger a Mega jackpot. Or players may receive a win for landing three of the same type of jackpot symbol in a bonus feature.
The payout of a jackpot varies from one game to another. Some slot machines offer flat jackpots, others scale the jackpot to the player’s bet, while others award progressive jackpots that grow and grow as more players wager and spin.
Bonus Symbols
The phrase “slot bonus symbols” casts a wide net as it essentially refers to any type of symbol that doesn’t deliver a payout. That said, “bonus symbols” often refers specifically to symbols that trigger bonus features — game mechanics that involve more than just spinning reels.
The various types of online slots each feature their own style of bonus round. In-person slot machines typically offer only extra spins because of their mechanical limitations, while online slots might include growing multipliers, pick’em style bonuses, or even minigames connected to the slot’s theme.
Where To Find More Info on Symbols
Every slot machine has pages that contain all the information relevant to playing the game. One of these pages is called the paytable. This is effectively a slot game symbols guide, listing every symbol players may come across on the reels of that particular machine. Common symbols like scatters or wilds will be among these, along with any unique symbols that are exclusive to that particular slot title.
Paytables are also key to using online slots tips since they list important stats like the game’s return to player (RTP) rate and volatility level. Before risking real money on a slot machine, it’s recommended that players do some basic research and spend a couple of minutes on a game’s paytable to understand the different symbols.
