Special Game Features

· Gamble Feature

A gamble feature or gamble button is a clickable option in some slots that activates when a payline is won. As the name suggests, by clicking, you’ll be gambling your winnings on a (usually) 50/50 chance of doubling your haul. Unfortunately, if you lose, everything you’ve just won is taken away.

· Fixed/Variable Paylines

We’ve touched on paylines already (see: Ways to Win) but a slot with fixed paylines means that you’ll be wagering on all of them at once with a single bet. This means that matching symbols count towards a winning combination wherever they land on a reel. Variable or adjustable paylines can be set by the player.

· Adjacent Ways

One thing that many new slots players may not be aware of is that winning combinations have to start on the first reel. In games supporting adjacent ways, they do not. This means that matching symbols on reels 2, 3, and 4 are just as valid as those on 1, 2, and 3.

· Cascading Reels

Cascading reels usually take the form of blocks that fall into the play area – before disappearing and being replaced in their entirety when the Spin button is pressed again. The lure of cascading reels is that they can produce more ‘spins’ per button press than in standard games. Playtech’s Cascading Cave is a prime example of this type of game.

· Cluster Pays

The ‘cluster pays’ feature allows players to find wins according to two rules, specifically, that matching symbols must appear next to each other and one of the four corners must be engaged, too. This can mean that winning combinations look more like Tetris pieces than straight or diagonal lines.

· Cascading Reels

Cascading reels usually take the form of blocks that fall into the play area – before disappearing and being replaced in their entirety when the Spin button is pressed again. The lure of cascading reels is that they can produce more ‘spins’ per button press than in standard games. Playtech’s Cascading Cave is a prime example of this type of game.

· Mystery Symbols

A mystery symbol adds a bit of excitement to slots gameplay by keeping its value and imagery a secret until the player involves it in a winning payline. If it triggers adjacent paylines when revealed, mystery symbols can produce a much larger winning combination from a single spin.

· Win Both Ways

Similar to adjacent ways, the Win Both Ways feature means that winning paylines now work from right to left as well as the standard left to right. The obvious value in Win Both Ways games is that it effectively doubles the number of paylines in play at any given time.

· Megaways 

Megaways slots have six reels with a changeable number of symbols on each one. With the number of possible symbols standing between two and seven, players get to play with a maximum of 100,000 paylines. Megaways can now be found in many different slots, such as Buffalo Blitz Megaways from Playtech.