Wild symbols are powerful, chameleon-like symbols that can appear on the reels of online slot games. These special icons can help players form winning lines and appear in a range of different formats, including sticky, expanding, walking, stacked, and more. This guide focuses on two of the most common wild symbols: sticky and expanding wilds. Learn more about these wild symbols and how they work in online slots in Canada.
How Wilds Work
There are many types of online slot symbols, each triggering different effects when it appears on the reels. The core function of a wild symbol is that it substitutes for regular paying symbols, but doesn’t substitute for other bonus symbols in slots. This allows players to more easily complete winning symbol combinations, or potentially boost the value of those combinations if they consist of three or four symbols.
How and when these special symbols appear varies, depending on the slot game features. In some online slots, wild symbols can appear on any spin, while in other games, wild symbols can only appear during extra spins or other bonus features. How players engage with the game and take advantage of online slot tips and strategies will be affected by the types of wild symbols that appear in an online slot game.
Sticky Wilds Explained
The first of the two special wilds to be closely assessed in this guide is the sticky wild. When a sticky wild lands, it stays locked on its reel position for a set number of spins. This means that while it’s locked in place, it can keep substituting and helping the player form winning combinations. This means landing this special symbol once could potentially result in multiple wins.
A Few Online Slots With Sticky Wild Symbols
Here are a few examples of sticky wilds slots:
- Aloha! Christmas
- Dead or Alive
- Narcos
- Spinberry Wilds
- Wild West Gold
Expanding Wilds Explained
The second special wild featured in this guide is the expanding wild. An expanding wild is a symbol that stretches to cover the entire row or column on an online slot’s reels, instantly boosting the number of wild positions. While sticky wilds boost a player’s win potential over multiple spins, expanding wilds boost the player’s win potential for a single spin.
A Few Online Slots With Sticky Wild Symbols
Here are a few examples of expanding wilds slots:
- Crazy Cows
- Hollywood Queen
- Joker’s Royal Riches
- Red Hot Joker Cascade
- Water Warriors
Sticky Wilds vs. Expanding Wilds: Key Differences at a Glance
The slot features comparison below highlights the key differences between sticky and expanding wilds:
|
Sticky Wilds |
Expanding Wilds |
| Stay locked for a set number of spins | Disappear after re-spin or single spin |
| One symbol position per wild | Fills an entire column or row instantly |
| Potential payouts over multiple spins | Multiple potential wins over a single spin |
Other Types of Wild Symbols
There are many other types of wild bonus symbols in slots. These include:
Colossal Wilds
Colossal wilds appear as prominent symbols that cover multiple reels, typically in a 2×2 or 3×3 block format.
Multiplier Wilds
Multiplier wilds appear on online slot reels with varying multiplier values that boost the value of any payouts they’re a part of. The value of these multipliers can vary from 2x to 100x or more.
Walking Wilds
Walking wilds are wild symbols that move from one column to another as players spin the reels. Most games have these symbols move from the reel they appear on to the left until they leave the reels, but some have them randomly move left or right until they finally exit on either side. This game mechanic is sometimes combined with respins, allowing the player to experience a much higher win potential with extra spins until the symbols leave the reels.
