Understanding the Various Types of Slot Machines

When you visit any floating or brick-and-mortar casino, you will realize that the largest casino floor space is occupied by slots. While by design slot machines cover big spaces, the mere fact that they rank as the most popular of all casino games also prompts casino operators to reserve the biggest space for slots.

Just as slot machines are highly popular in brick-and-mortar casinos, so too are the online slots. Perhaps the best indicator of this is the mere factor that at all top online casinos, the portfolio accommodating the highest number of games is the slots lobby. Having learnt this, the question, arises, why are slots very popular? Well, there are a plethora of reasons why this is the case. Let’s check out these reasons.

First, slots are super simple. It’s all a matter of pulling the lever (for mechanical slots) or clicking the Spin button (for online slots) to get the action going. This brings us to our second reason, which is, the slot’s accommodative nature. As slots are simple, they appeal to both casino beginners as well as pro players. Well, even more impressive is the fact that slots come in different types. This also reinforces the accommodative nature of slots as players are bound to select and play slots that best suits their preferences. For those who want to get a better understanding and appreciation of the different types of slots, just space a few moments of your time to check out this detailed guide.

Classic (Retro) Slots

In the early days, slots were pretty standard. They came in the form of single coin machines which required pennies as the only wagering option. In the same vein, they followed the same pattern in terms of the reel symbols used and the overall theme and incorporated features. The reel symbols used were fruit icons as well as royal symbols. Owing to this, classic slots also came to be known as fruit machines. Classic slots are also synonymous with featuring fewer bonus features – often, they come with special symbols only that is the wild and scatter. Moreover, as they were designed long back, they come with dated graphics.

3D Slots

Thanks to the significant advancements in game graphics, software developers nowadays have the option of designing highly realistic and immersive slots. This in turn ensures that players play eye-catching games with aesthetically pleasing graphics. Owing to their magnificent graphics, such games are known as 3D (high-resolution) slots.

Multi-Line (Megaways) Slots

As we said before, classic slots followed more of the same pattern. This in essence meant when it came to win lines, they all came with more of the same lines. Often, these either came as just solitary paylines or a high of 3 lines! As time progressed, software developers upped their game, and, in the process, they now design multi-line slots. Multi-line slots simply refer to games that come with 5 or more paylines. Some games reach as high as 100 paylines. In recent times, there have also been moves by game developers to design megaways games. Megaways games simply come with more lines. These may reach as high as 200,000!

All Ways Pays (Cluster Pays) Slots

The concept of paylines is something that has defined slots from time immemorial. When playing slots, players have always known that the objective is to pull the lever or click the Spin button and hope that identical symbols land on the same active payline. Game developers nowadays in designing innovative versions of slots chose not to incorporate paylines. Rather, there are now all-ways-pays slots – these slots don’t have defined paylines. To win when playing such games, players just need to land a defined number of symbols anywhere on the grid. The absence of paylines makes all-ways-pays slots great propositions as players win payouts for landing the required symbols anywhere on the grid.

Progressive (Jackpot) Slots

Slot machines of modern times do come with a plethora of bonus features. The bonus features are incorporated to ensure that players aren’t bored by the monotony of the base game. From time to time, they break the monotony of the base game and play some exciting bonus features. Amongst the bonus features that modern slots come with are jackpots. The jackpots generally come in two forms that is, the fixed jackpot and the progressive jackpot. The former is a prize which is constant meaning players before playing the game will know the prize they stand to win if they hit the jackpot. The latter is a dynamic prize that increases the more the game goes on.

Interactive Slots

In the wider igaming industry, there have been moves to bridge the gap between the atmosphere experienced in brick and mortar establishments and that experienced at online casinos. One of the strategies employed is coming up with live dealer casino games that allow players to play games in real time hence experiencing an atmosphere akin to that of brick-and-mortar casinos. On the slots front, game developers now design interactive slots. These slots are played in real-time and in stages. Players progress through various stages until they reach the last stage where the most impressive payouts await. Thanks to the interactive nature of these games, players even though playing online will feel like they are inside a land-based casino.

Virtual Reality Slots

Virtual Reality slots may take the shape and form of any of the slot types highlighted above. However, what makes them unique hence recognized as a unique slot type is that these games are played when a player is wearing a Virtual Reality (VR) headset. Thanks to this, upon initiating a gaming session playing these slots, players immerse themselves in the 3D world of the game they are playing.

Round Up

Slots come in different types. Some come with a limited number of paylines while others feature thousands of paylines. Others have a few bonus features while others incorporate lots of features including jackpots. Owing to this, players are spoiled for choice in choosing the slots to play. Simply go for the slots you most desire as you will find hundreds if not thousands of such games.