Slot machines were once associated with fruit symbols, bars, and bells, but today the variety of themes and features in modern video slots has introduced many interesting symbols, often referred to as special symbols. These themed images have different functions in the game: they can substitute for other symbols, trigger free spins or bonus features, and more.
Before we look into the feature-rich video slots available online and in land-based casinos today, we need to see how it all started. The evolution of slots and their symbols began more than a century ago, and the gradual modernization of these games laid the foundation for today’s multi-billion-dollar gambling industry.
Standard Symbols in Slots
1Playing Card Symbols
Although fruit machines often come to mind when we think of the oldest casino games, they are actually a later development. Gambling began with table games like poker, roulette, and blackjack, and the first gambling machines had more in common with poker than with today’s slots.
The earliest machines, which became popular in American bars in the late 19th century, featured five moving reels and playing-card faces as symbols. Players would insert a nickel into the coin slot, pull the lever and wait for the reels to reveal a poker hand. The better the hand, the bigger the prize. Because these machines lacked an automatic payout mechanism, players typically received a free drink from the bar owner.
In the decades that followed, the machines were upgraded, but the card symbols remained. Even today, many online video slots still use card faces as their low-paying symbols.
2The Liberty Bell Slot Symbols
In 1895, Charles Fey, a car mechanic in San Francisco, created the first gaming machine that paid out coins. A few years later he introduced the Liberty Bell slot machine, which quickly became the most popular gaming device of its era. It featured three spinning reels with symbols painted on each one: a diamond, spade, heart and a cracked Liberty Bell.
The top payout was awarded when three bells appeared in a row, giving players 10 nickels. Soon these machines were installed in bars throughout the United States. Fey produced several variations of the Liberty Bell and later invented the first Draw Poker machine.
3Fruit and Bar Symbols
At the start of the 20th century, gambling machines were incredibly popular. In 1907, arcade machine manufacturer Herbert Mills introduced the Operator Bell. The machine was almost identical to Fey’s original creation, but Mills was the first to add fruit symbols to the game. The reels showed lemons, plums, oranges and cherries, each matching a gum flavor that could be won as a prize.
In addition, the manufacturer added an image of a stick of Bell-Fruit gum, which later became known as the Bar symbol. During the next few decades, slot machines featured many combinations of these images, but the most enduring symbols remained the fruits, card faces, the Liberty Bell, the Bar, the Lucky 7 and the horseshoe.
Watch Why Do Slot Machines Use Fruit Reel Symbols?
The Wild Symbol
In the 1970s, Las Vegas-based firm Fortune Coin Company pioneered the first video slot, laying the groundwork for many innovations, including new reel symbols. One of the earliest special symbols introduced into classic slot games was the wild symbol. It can be found in most online slots today, though it appears in various forms and shapes depending on each game’s theme.
Function
Separate Payout
Variety of WildsFunction
Just like in card games, wild symbols in slots function as substitutes for other images in winning combinations. This helps players complete winning combos more easily. While Jokers serve as wild substitutes in most card games, slot wilds can be represented by various themed images.
As you can imagine, wilds increase players’ chances of winning, which is why they are the most anticipated symbols on the reels. The more wilds appear on the screen, the better. Usually, they cannot replace other special symbols in winning combinations, which include various images that trigger bonus features, free spins, and similar rewards.
Separate Payout
Apart from acting as Jokers, wild symbols can also form winning combinations on their own. In many slots, the top payout is awarded for three or more wilds that land on an active payline. Some games even pay for just two wilds lining up, so players should always check the paytable before they start playing.
Variety of Wilds
Video slots have evolved significantly over the past decade, and today there are many types of wild symbols. They all function as substitutes within combinations but work in slightly different ways. Some wilds appear only on particular reels, while others can act as both replacements for standard symbols and as bonus symbols.
There are also expanding wilds, which cover an entire reel; sticky wilds, which remain on the reels for several spins; and stacked wilds, which land in stacks of multiple symbols. One of the most interesting variations is the walking wild. These stay on the reels for a few spins, but instead of remaining in their original position they move from one reel to the next until they finally disappear after reaching the last reel.
The Scatter Symbol
Another special symbol found in many video slots is the scatter. Its name comes from the way it appears on the reels and pays out. Unlike most slot symbols, scatters award a payout even if they do not land on a fixed payline. Depending on a slot’s style and theme, the scatter symbol may be represented by different images.
How Scatters Pay Out
Triggering Free SpinsHow Scatters Pay Out
The best thing about the scatter symbol is how it pays out. It does not follow the conventional rule that requires three or more identical symbols on a payline to win. With these special symbols, players receive a payout when three, four, or five scatters land anywhere on the reels.
Typically, the scatter payout is lower than that of wilds or other high-paying symbols. However, because this symbol does not need to be part of a payline, forming such a combo is much easier. The main function of the scatter, though, goes beyond delivering easy payouts. It is usually used to activate a special feature such as a free spins round.
Triggering Free Spins
Whenever three or more scatter images appear anywhere on the reels, they trigger the game’s main bonus feature. In most slots, this is a free spins feature that may award players 3, 5, 10, or even more free rounds. These free spins play automatically and use the same bet level as the spin that activated them.
In some games, scatters trigger other types of special features, such as bonus games that open on a separate screen and are not played on the original reels. These are often matching games, where players must match specific objects, or picking games, where players choose symbols to reveal hidden prizes. The best scatter symbols can appear and trigger a bonus feature within another feature. In some games, scatters can re-trigger free spins and bonus games indefinitely.
Bonus Symbols and Multipliers
Bonus Symbols
Multipliers
In Bonus Rounds
Many video slots also feature bonus symbols, which are once again different pictures or images, depending on the game’s theme. As you can see, they are very similar to scatters, but unlike scatters, they must land on a specific payline to activate a bonus game or another special feature.
In most video slots, bonus symbols do not create separate winning combinations. When three or more of these symbols land on an active payline, they trigger the corresponding bonus feature. As explained above, the mechanics of bonus games vary greatly from one title to another. They may or may not be retriggered.
View more...Multipliers are exciting yet rare slot symbols, and they do exactly what their name suggests: they multiply the winnings from the current round. A symbol that doubles the wins is usually represented as “a 2x multiplier”; if it triples the winnings, it is “a 3x multiplier”, etc. Players can often receive up to a 5x multiplier, but in some games multipliers can reach 15x or even 20x.
Another interesting point is that, while in many slots regular symbols may act as multipliers, boosting the payout for a given combination, other games feature dedicated multiplier symbols or wild multipliers.
View more...When launching a video slot that offers plenty of special symbols, players should first take a careful look at its paytable. In many online and land-based slots, the bonus games and free spins include their own special symbols. For instance, multipliers often appear only during a special feature. In other games, wilds and scatters are active only in the base game and cannot be landed once a special feature has been triggered.
View more...Additional Special Symbols
Expanding Symbols
Exploding Symbols and Cascading Reels
Split Symbols
Symbols with Mixed FunctionExpanding Symbols
The digital nature of modern slots allows game developers to create a variety of symbols with different functions and advantages. Along with wilds, scatters, multipliers, and bonus symbols, many other special symbols can appear in slot games. They attract players by making gameplay more engaging and offering better chances of winning. One such type is the expanding symbol.
The expanding effect was once reserved only for wilds. A wild would land on the reels, expand to cover two or more positions, and increase the potential for winning. However, many software providers now apply the same concept to regular symbols, multipliers, and bonus symbols. Players love games with this feature because it consistently improves the odds.
Exploding Symbols and Cascading Reels
One of the most unique and exciting varieties of video slots is the cascading slot, or more precisely, the slot with cascading reels. These games do not use the conventional reel structure where the reels spin and stop to reveal random symbols. In cascading slots, the reels do not spin; instead, symbols fall from above the reel grid whenever you click the Spin button.
When symbols land on a payline or form another winning pattern (such as a cluster of identical symbols), they explode, allowing new symbols to fall from the top of the grid and replace them. If the new symbols create another winning combination, they also disappear and are replaced by yet another set of symbols. The cascading effect might occur only once per round, but it can also continue until no new combination appears.
As you can imagine, these games can be truly spectacular, especially when cascading reels and exploding symbols are paired with an engaging theme, strong payouts, and additional special symbols and bonus features.
Split Symbols
Split symbols are a recent and still rare development in online video slots. As the name suggests, they can split into two or even three symbols when they land on the reels. This interesting feature is found in only a handful of games. When it is present, players have the chance to form 15-symbol combinations on a standard 5×3 slot.
While this sounds enticing, players should know that regular payouts in these games are not particularly high. However, if they are lucky enough to hit a 10- or 15-symbol combo, they can expect unusually large jackpot prizes.
Symbols with Mixed Function
Many players seek modern video slots with numerous special features and intriguing symbols. However, playing a feature-rich slot is not a guarantee of more frequent wins. Plenty of simpler slot games include just a few symbols yet prove more profitable in terms of both RTP and hit frequency.
Classic online slots, for example, often have several regular symbols plus a single special symbol with mixed functions. It is often both a multiplier and a wild substitute. In other games, scatters act as both scatter and bonus symbols, triggering the game’s bonus feature and paying out when three or more scatters land anywhere on the reels. The possibilities are endless and depend solely on developers’ creativity.
Ask a Question. Get an Answer.
Have a question about this topic? Ask an expert at info@supercasinosites.com
Find the answers of questions people asked so far:
What is the difference between Scatter and Bonus symbols in slots?
Scatter symbols are similar to Bonus icons in slots because they generally serve the same purpose. When a certain number of Scatters land anywhere on the reels, they usually award a payout and activate one of the slot’s special features. Most Scatter features grant free spins, but they can also unlock other bonus games. Scatter payouts are unique because the symbols do not have to appear on a specific payline or in an exact formation. Bonus symbols can likewise activate extra features, improving players’ chances of winning additional payouts. The key difference is that Bonus symbols typically do not award a standalone payout and often need to land on designated reels or positions to trigger a feature.