Mobile slots are great, but we’d all get pretty bored if we were just meant to be enjoying base slot games the whole time. Luckily, with the advent of video, online and mobile slots, developers were in the enviable position of being able to add a whole new range of features into games to spice things up a little.
In this post we’ll run down the most prevalent kinds of special and bonus features, explore briefly how they work, and show how they all interrelate to each other. So read on to discover all about those features which make your playing even more interesting.
Mobile Slot Wilds
Arguably the most simple and straight forward feature symbols on any slot is the wilds. Wild is short for wildcard, basically they’re symbols that can be supplemented in place of any other given symbol to create a winning line. So say you have three of the same symbols – one on reel 1, one on reel 2, and one on reel 4, but you’re missing one on reel 3 – if there was to be a wild on reel 3, you could still get paid for that line.
Of course, it’s not just as simple as that. The majority of wilds will double or triple your winnings from a line win, but that’s not all they offer. You’ll probably also encounter the likes of sticky wilds and expanding wilds, which add whole new dimensions to the use of this feature.
A slot with sticky wilds generally also has a re-spin feature: when you successfully win a line on a re-spin slot you get another spin straight after for free. If the slot also features sticky wilds, any wilds which landed on your reels after the first spin will stay in place for the second, effectively increasing your chances of winning from new combinations.
Expanding wilds can prove even more beneficial than their sticky counterparts. Though the exact mechanism for expanding wilds differs from slot to slot, in essence they work in such a way that when one lands on any given reel, it’ll expand to fill that entire reel, creating a bunch new potential routes for winning lines.
Scatters
Scatter symbols do different things on different slots depending entirely upon the other special features on that slot. They’re basically all about triggering other special features, and usually don’t have any innate value of their own.
They’re called scatters, because they don’t need to appear along the same payline in order to function – usually if three or more scatters appear anywhere on your reels, they’ll trigger the bonus features of the slot. These could include any or all of the features mentioned below in this list. Scatters are usually the only symbol wilds can’t substitute. Check out the Guns N Roses slot for plenty of scatters!
Multipliers
Multipliers is a general term for a number of different features which all multiply the amount you win from a winning payline or a spin overall. Some multipliers work as symbols within the slot; if they happen to be part of or near a winning payline, the win is multiplied by the value shown on the multiplier.
Sometimes the multiplier is added as part of a extra spins round; your extra spins are multiplied by either a fixed value, or an increasing value for every win. It may also be that the multiplier for a round is decided in a mini game, for instance in a pick a card or pick a pot game, in which you have a number of hidden options and have to work out which hides the most beneficial multiplier.
The amount the value is multiplied by differs depending on the slot you’re playing, and the value of the multiplier in play. Typically you’ll find 2x, 5x and 10x multipliers, but much larger ones are not unheard of.
Extra Spins
Extra spins have been around about as long slots have, and there’s a million different ways they can work within a game. In their basics, they’re spins on the reels which cost you nothing, and allow you to have a chance of winning some cash without having to bet any of you own. That’s really the only thing all extra spins have in common.
Firstly, there’s a bunch of different ways to trigger them, whether it’s landing a certain number of scatter symbols, having a number of consecutive wins, or simply filling some bar or another on screen. Once you trigger them, the number you receive will differ depending on the slot and the terms of triggering them – it may be a fixed number, a variable number, and you may even be able to get extra extra spins or re-spins during the extra spins round.
You keep what you win from extra spins – unless they were awarded to you as some kind of casino bonus, the cash you win is not bonus cash, but real cash. For the ultimate slot with bunches of extra spins, check out the new When Pigs Fly from NetEnt — it’ll make your head dizzy!
Mini/Bonus Games
This is the most expansive sub-group beneath the special features umbrella. These are often where slots really set themselves apart, and there’s almost as many different kinds of mini or bonus games as there are slots which feature them.
Usually tied into the theme of the game, mini games can let you win cash, multipliers or extra spins, some requiring you to make decisions, others based entirely on luck. As mentioned under multipliers, one classic mini game is the pick a prize, where you’re presented with a number of options, which when chosen reveal what you’ve won.
Alternatively, there’s the chase style mini game, where you work your way round a course or up progressive steps, with a steadily increasing value of prize. Some may have some skill involved, like a symbol match or some kind of shooting game. The options for mini games is pretty much endless.
