Online Slots

Some of the most noticeable aspects of a casino are the slots machines.  These interesting machines, usually arranged in rows, really make a casino complete.  They embody the element of a casino that makes it so attractive to people: the idea of turning your whole life around with just pure luck.  Indeed, with a slots machine, just getting the right combination in a slots game could possibly make you a millionaire.  However, one should never forget that slots were called “one-armed bandits” as well.  They were called one-armed because traditional slots machines were operated through a lever on one side.  Pull the lever and the reels would spin.  They were called bandits because a person could lose all his money by playing slots, by forever believing that their lucky strike would be the next, only to realize later that his wallet has become empty.

What are Slots Games?

Slots is essentially a game of chance where the player has to pull a lever or push a button to get a set of reels spinning.  The reels would spin and gradually slow down until they come to a halt.  Then, any pattern on the activated paylines would be taken note of.  If there is a winning pattern, then the player will win a designated amount of coins.  Of course, the most coveted pattern is the one that would give the jackpot.  These days, slot machines still have the old lever but its use is optional.  You may merely push a button to get the reels spinning.  Or, in the more advanced machines, you could activate a machine using a touchscreen button.

Traditional slots games usually have a fruity theme.  In fact, in Britain, slots machines were called fruit machines.  But of course, as the years advanced, more and more themes were being incorporated into this game.  These days, slots games have any theme you can think of, from aliens to basketball players.  Nowadays, you don’t even have to go to a real casino in order to play slots.  Most people just play slots games through the internet, in online casinos.  These video slots games have the biggest variety of themes and also have a lot of bonuses and mini-games built into them.

Kinds of Slots

Single-payline Slots – This is perhaps the simplest type of slots game.  In fact, it’s the first one that came out when slots were first invented.  With single-payline slots, you usually get three reels and one winning payline, the one at the middle.  Basically, what you’re looking for in a single-payline slots machine is to line up the same symbols on the winning payline.  If you line up the jackpot symbols, then you will win the jackpot.

Multi-payline Slots – As video slots games became more popular, so too did mult-payline slots.  Video slots games can have as little as 9 active paylines to a hundred active paylines.  This actually gives the player a much bigger chance at winning.  Of course, you’ll win only if you activate the said paylines and doing so would usually cost some money.  Some video slot games even go so far as to require that you bet the maximum amount in order to have a shot at the big jackpot.  Therefore, these multi-payline slots, which are usually video slots instead of the actual slots machine with moving parts, have the widest betting range.  You can get the reels of multi-payline slots spinning with just a single penny or you can bet as high as several hundred dollars.  Of course, the payout would depend on how much you actually bet.

Types of Slots Bonuses

Several slots games have also incorporated bonuses into their games in order to make things more interesting and in order to make the offers more enticing to potential players.  Basically, one can avail of the bonuses in a slots game by getting certain symbols on the paylines.

Wild Symbol ­– one symbol that is commonly found in slots games in order to award bonuses is the wild symbol.  You can usually exchange the wild symbol for any other symbol in the game in order to form a winning combination.  However, you usually can’t exchange them for the other symbols that give bonuses such as the scatter symbols.  Sometimes, Wild Symbols also play the role of multiplier and any amount you win from using the wild symbol in a winning combination would be multiplied by a certain number, usually 2.

Scatter Symbol – commonly, scatter symbols act as multipliers.  The more scatter symbols you get on your screen, the bigger the multiplier will be.  The actual size of the multiplier would depend upon the game and its developer.  Some developers choose to use scatter symbols as awarders of free spins.  Again, the more scatter symbols you get on your screen, the more free spins you also get.  And any winnings that you get on these free spins are usually multiplied by 2 or by 3, depending on the game.  Usually, you don’t need to get the scatter symbols on a single payline.  They are usually valid as long as they appear on the screen.  Sometimes, scatter symbols are also used to activate the bonus game.  Although usually, developers would give this duty to a separate symbol.

Bonus Game Symbol – because slots games are mainly just computer games these days, developers have been able to incorporate different mini-games into the slots game itself.  Getting the bonus game symbol on your screen would take you to a whole new screen where you get to play a simple mini-game.  Usually, this mini-game is in congruence to the slots machine’s theme.  For example, if the game’s theme is Egyptian, then expect to see a mini-game that involves pyramids or pharaohs.  Mini-games are usually games of luck as well.  The most common mini-games are the ones where you have to choose between several different windows or items, some would hold a prize while others would hold a trap.  Any prizes you get would be yours, provided that you don’t step on a trap.  It’s usually a matter of quitting while you’re ahead.