Slot machine symbols
With the huge variety of online slot machines, a lot of fun in-game bonus features and free spins can be fun, each one slightly different from the other one. On this page we are going to guide you through some of the most common slot machine symbols there are and how they might change from game to game.
The most common features that you will ever hear about is the famous term free spins, this is used to describe that whilst spinning on a slot machine you have a chance of winning extra spins that you will not need to pay for! It is very common that with these extra spins comes with even more additional slot machine features, such as higher win-rate, and multipliers.
Slot machine symbols meaning
What is the difference between slot symbols? The symbols on the slots are rotating on the reels, with different patterns. In the old slot machines, the symbols were, as usual, fruits that are still used today in the symbolism of many slot machines. In addition to the fruit symbols, the most commonly used symbols are the countries familiar from the deck of cards – the pot, the square, the cross and the heart.
All slot games have certain basic symbols that, when combined, allow the player to grab the winnings according to the game-specific paytable. In most cases, three of the same symbols on a given payline entitle you to win, and if there are more than three of the same symbols on one payline, the payout increases.
The basic symbols of slot games differ in value, as some symbols pay higher wins than others, and thus low-value symbols appear more often on reels than high-pay symbols. The paytable for each slot game shows the value of each symbol, and the winnings of the combinations.
The special symbols differ from the basic symbols in that they can substitute for other symbols, increase winning odds, activate free spins or launch in-game bonus features. Not all games may have special symbols, but today’s modern casino games contain them almost without exception.
Scatter symbols
There is a lot of sense to why these bonus symbols are called scatter symbols, the main reason is because no matter where they are located on the slot machine, as long as there are enough of them, they will reward you! In many of today’s online slots, scatter symbols aren’t only paying you out with cash winnings, they are also utilized as a way for customers to reach additional features in a slot machine, such as free spins or other bonus features.
To get a better understanding of how scatter symbols are used in slot machines and why you will want to be looking for them so much, make sure to look into our reviews of slots that does have scatter symbols in them, such as: Tower Quest, Wild North, Gonzo’s Quest, Raging Rhino, Zeus 1000 and Montezuma!
Wild symbols
With wild symbols you have one more thing to look out, not only the static symbols in the slot that might pay out when they form patterns from left to right, but if you end up with a few wild symbols in the middle of everything, it might open up a whole avalanche of payouts!
The wild symbol works the same on all slots in general, there might be additional features to the wild symbol in some slots but the general understanding is that it can act as any and all other symbol that is in the slot machine at the same time, this usually excludes special symbols that gives frees pins or activates other slot machine features. So if you end up with a combination where you have the correct symbol on position 1 and 3 on a pay line, if a wild symbol is on position 2 then this pay line will be considered a slot winning combination.
In some slots, wilds might have additional features, it might double your winnings, or it might even expand and cover an entire reel of the slot machine!
Bonus symbols
Slot machine bonus symbols usually have only one purpose – and that is to activate bonus features. Today’s modern slot games often include a variety of bonus features that may involve a variety of missions or choices that, when completed, allow the player to hit huge wins.
Bonus symbols act as activators for these special functions – just as Scatters act as activators for free slot games. Sometimes bonus symbols can seem to act as substitutes for Scatters, and activate free spins, but in the majority of slot games, bonus symbols activate other bonus features.
To activate the bonus feature, a player usually needs at least three bonus symbols, but the exact number always depends on the game. Bonus functions can be, for example, selection bonuses, where the player must select, for example, treasure chests to reveal their prize. In some games, the bonus symbol can activate the wheel of fortune again, allowing the player to spin the prize wheel.
Like the Wild and Scatter symbols, the bonus symbols are often marked with the word “Bonus” and differ in appearance from other symbols in the game. You can check what is the bonus symbol for your favorite game by reading the game instructions.
Slot Machine gambling features
Some slots offers a very fun functionality that is usually referred to as the gamble feature, this feature is usually outside of the slot machines normal functionality and is only inside the slot for you to be able to multiply your winnings after you have won something from the slot. PlaynGo, a UK-certified slot machine provider, offers this gamble feature on almost all of their slot machines.
After you have won anything inside the actual slot, you get to choose whether you wish to keep your winnings, or try to multiply your winnings with a risk of losing it all! The gamble features comes in a couple of different varieties, below is a short breakdown of the most common ones.
- Choosing color or suit of a card.
In this gamble feature it starts with a card being turned down, and then you have to guess either if it’s a red or black card, or what suit the card has. If you choose correct on color your initial winnings from the slot machine are doubled, if you choose correct suit your winnings are quadrupled. - Choosing one of 3 or 4 symbols.
This one is very simple, before you enter the gambling feature, you get to choose if you want to try to double or triple your winnings. If you choose the double feature, you are presented with 4 different symbols, 2 of these symbols will double your winnings, and the other 2 will take your winnings away from you. The same goes for the triple feature, however you will only be presented with 3 symbols, and only one of them are correct and will triple your winnings. The symbols in these gambling features are usually taken from the actual slot machine, usually a high winning distinct symbol that you easily recognize.
Free spins, the most common slot machine feature!
Free spins have 2 meanings in online casinos, the first meaning is that the casino site itself might want to give you some extra value to start off with when you register with them, or they might have an ongoing campaign that gives you free spins at a certain slot when you have reached a requirement set up by the casino site. If you are interested in this type of free spins, check out our listed casino sites to see where you can get as many free spins as possible!
The second meaning of free spins are the ones that you win by yourself when playing a slot machine, if you look at Hook’s Heroes, one of NetEnt’s user friendly and fun online slot machines, this slot offers this feature, to trigger it you need to get 3 or more special symbols on the slot machines 5 reels. When you trigger free spins on Hook’s Heroes, you get to choose between three different slot machine features:
- Fairy feature – 2-5 symbols will occur on random positions to that substitutes any other symbol. These symbols are called wild symbols, which is a general term when it comes to slot machines. If you pick this feature, you get 7 free spins.
- Mermaid feature – All your winnings are multiplied 2x. If your winning combinations on the reels contains 2 or less wild symbols, your winnings are multiplied by 4x. Picking this feature gives you 10 free spins along with it.
- Pirate feature – Usually, winning combinations are from left to right, on active pay lines in the game, however when this feature is activated, it doesn’t matter where in the slot machine the symbols are, as long as they are visible they create a winning combination. This feature comes with 15 free spins.
Apart from Hook’s Heroes being a very entertaining slot machine from one of the most attractive slot machine providers today, it also gives you the ability to choose a bonus feature that you think fits your play style. As you can understand, this is just one of the many different ways that free spins work in different slots. The great thing with free spins is that there is almost always an additional treat to it, such as wilds and multipliers.
Want to know more about slot machines?
The above presented slot machine features are just some of the many slot machine features that you will encounter while playing slot machines, and we really hope that you are going to have a great time playing! If you wish to get an even better understanding of slot machines and ensure you get the desired feeling and best odds of winning, make sure to check out our detailed reviews of online slot machine providers such as NetEnt, PlaynGo and Williams Interactive (now SG)!