Slot machines were once associated with fruit symbols, bars, and bells, but nowadays, the variety of themes and features in modern video slots has led to the introduction of many interesting symbols, often referred to as special symbols. These are various themed images that have different functions in the game – they can substitute for other symbols, trigger free spins or bonus features, and many more.
Before looking into the feature-rich video slots found today online and in land-based casinos, we need to see how it all started. The evolution of slots and their symbols has begun more than a century ago and the slow modernizing of these games laid the foundations of today’s multi-billion gambling industry.
The Wild Symbol
In the 1970s, Las Vegas-based firm Fortune Coin Company pioneered the first video slot, which gave rise to multiple developments, including in the symbols that appeared on the reels. One of the first special symbols to be added to the classic slot games was the wild symbol. In can be found in most online slots today, although it comes in different forms and shapes, depending on the theme of the game.
Function
Separate Payout
Variety of Wilds
Function
Just like in card games, the wild symbols in slots function as substitutes for other images in winning combinations. This way, they help players complete paying combos more easily. While in most card games, the Jokers come as wild substitutes, slot wilds may be represented as different themed images.
As you can imagine, wilds increase players’ chances of winning, which is why these are the most anticipated symbols on the reels. And the more wilds on the screen, the better. Usually, they cannot replace other special symbols in winning combinations – these include various images that would trigger bonus features, free spins, etc.
Separate Payout
Apart from acting as Jokers, wild symbols might also form winning combinations on their own. In many slots, the top payout is given for three or more wilds that appear on an active payline. Some games even pay for two wilds lining up so players must always check the paytable before they start playing.
Variety of Wilds
Video slots have evolved a lot in the past decade and today, there are many types of wild symbols. They all function as substitutes in combinations but work in slightly different ways – some wilds appear only on particular reels, other wilds may act as both a replacement for other symbols and as bonus symbols.
There are also expanding wilds, which expand to cover an entire reel, sticky wilds, which remain on the reels for several spins, stacked wilds, landing in stacks of several symbols, etc. One of the most interesting types is the so-called walking wilds. They remain on the reels for a few spins but rather than standing on their initial position, they move from one reel to the next, until they finally disappear when reaching the last reel.
The Scatter Symbol
Another special symbol that can be found in many video slots is the scatter. Its name derives from the way it appears on the reels and pays out. Unlike the rest of the slot symbols, the scatters bring a payout even if they do no land on a fixed payline. Depending on the style and theme of the slot, the scatter symbol may be represented by various images.
How Scatters Pay Out
Triggering Free Spins
How Scatters Pay Out
The best thing about the scatter symbol is the way it pays out. It does not work in the conventional way where you need to get three or more symbols of the same kind on a payline in order 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 the wilds or of other high-paying symbols. However, as this symbol does not have to be a part of a payline, it is much easier to hit such a combo. The main function of the scatter, however, is very different from just simply bringing 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 also trigger the main bonus feature of the game. In most slots, this is a free spins feature, which may award players 3, 5, 10, or even more free rounds. These free spins are automatic and at the same bet level as the spin during which they were activated.
In some games, they trigger different types of special features such as bonus games that open in a separate screen and are not played with the original reels. These are often matching games, in which players need to match specific objects, or picking games, where players need to pick symbols and reveal the hidden treasures beneath them. The best scatter symbols are those that can appear and trigger a bonus feature within another feature. In some games, scatters can re-trigger free spins and bonus games indefinitely.
Additional Special Symbols
Expanding Symbols
Exploding Symbols and Cascading Reels
Split Symbols
Symbols with Mixed Function
Expanding Symbols
The digital nature of modern slots has made it possible for game developers to create various symbols with different functions and advantages. Along with the wilds, scatters, multipliers, and bonus symbols, there may be many other special symbols in slot games. They attract players by making the gameplay much more interesting and offering great chances of winning. One of the symbol types that can be seen right now is the expanding symbols.
The expanding effect was once reserved only for wilds – a wild would land on the reels, expand to two or more positions on the reels, and increasing the potential for winning. However, many software providers have used the same concept with regular symbols or with multipliers and bonus symbols. Players love games with this type of symbol as it always improves the odds.
Exploding Symbols and Cascading Reels
One of the most unique and exciting types of video slots is the cascading slot or the slot with cascading reels, to be more precise. These games do not feature the conventional reel structure where the reels would spin and different symbols would appear at random once the movement stops. In cascading slots, the reels do not spin – instead, the symbols fall from above the reels whenever we click the Spin button.
When the symbols land on a payline or in some other winning pattern (such as a cluster of several identical symbols), they explode, giving way to new symbols to fall from the top of the reel grid and replace them. If the new symbols form a winning combination, they also disappear and are replaced by another set of symbols. The cascading effect could be allowed only once per round but it may also continue until no new combination is hit.
As you can imagine, these types of games could be really spectacular, especially if the cascading reels and exploding symbols are paired with an interesting theme, good payouts, and even more special symbols and bonus features.
Split Symbols
Split symbols are recent and still rare development in the world of online video slots. As their name suggests, they can split into two or even three symbols when they land on the reels. This is an interesting feature that is found only in a handful of games. Whenever it is present, players have the chance to get 15-symbol combinations on a regular 5×3 slot.
While this sounds really great, players should know that the regular payouts in these games are not particularly high. If they are lucky enough to hit a 10 or 15-symbol combo, however, they can expect unusually high jackpot prizes.
Symbols with Mixed Function
Often, players look for modern video slots with a lot of special features and interesting symbols. But playing a feature-rich slot is not a guarantee for winning more frequently. There are many simpler slot games that have just a few symbols but are more profitable – in terms of both RTP and hit frequency.
Classic online slots, for instance, often have several regular symbols plus a single special symbol that has mixed functions – it is often both a multiplier and a wild substitute. In other games, there are scatters that act as both scatter and bonus symbols – they trigger the bonus feature of the game and pay out when three or more scatters land anywhere on the reels. The options here are endless and depend only on developers’ creativity.
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