They are by far the most popular casino game both online and in brick and mortar casinos.
Another thing to note, is that slots players are by far the most eclectic of the casino gamers.
Unlike other games, slots have the most diverse array of players, with very personal gaming preferences.
And they know what we like, and find new ways to max out our engagement with player-centric titles.
But arguably the biggest selling point of any casino is its games collection.
The games library must have it all, catering to the needs of virtually every slots player.
Then, there are the new titles that continuously hit the shelves.
We are talking about slots with special features, or combinations of features.
Every day developers are looking for new ideas to make more player-centric games.
They can use many different tools, including special symbols, different mechanics, and bonus games.
Innovative Mechanics
Theoriginal slot machine mechanicsincluded reels, simple symbols, and fixed paylines.
You win when you land asequence of matching symbols across one of the paylines.
However, nowadays there are so many more types of mechanics that developers use.
Slots developers look for ways to combine different types of features, or create new types of mechanics.
Wild symbols substitute for any other symbol to create a winning combination.
Though there are numerous ways that wilds can appear in a game.
Expanding wilds will cover an entire column, and help to build numerous paylines.
Another popular mechanic is cluster pays, or ways pays.
Landing enough adjacent symbols can pay out.
If you win, you might win again if another winning line forms with the replaced symbols.
And what happens if you win again?
Those symbols will cascade off the reels, allowing more symbols to take their place.
Bonus Games
Another crucial part of slots play is bonus games and respins.
Bonus rounds can be triggered when you meet the necessary conditions.
In most games, this is when you land enough scatter symbols across the grid after a spin.
However, there are also games with meters that you fill up through gameplay.
Once they are filled, you trigger a bonus round.
The bonus round can either be a complimentary game, within the slot.
The principle is that when you have triggered this round, you don’t stake any more money.
The majority of slots have bonus rounds, but they are not all built the same.
For instance, you may play a game that doesn’t have a bonus game involving reels and symbols.
Instead, it may have a simple picking game or another jot down of game to keep you busy.
Others may have one fixed jackpot that you play to win.
Then, there are progressives, in which the jackpot prize constantly increases.
Every time a player spins the reels, a portion of their stake is fed to the pot.
There are standalone progressives, in which the pot grows when someone plays that specific game.
When someone wins the jackpot, the pot is reset to its starting value and begins building again.
Jackpot games draw huge attention at casinos.
The best ones create engagement with not only jackpot hunters but other players too.
you’ve got the option to still have fun even if you don’t win the jackpot.
Funnily enough, a lot of novice players head to regular slots with no jackpot.
The best jackpot slots are anyway.
Developers have used countless themes, based on historical civilisations, nature, fantasy, and virtually everything else.
Though there are countless more.
The most famous of which, arguably, is theRich Wilde adventure slots series.
It all started with Rich Wilde and the Aztec Symbols, released back in 2013.
Since then, Play’n GO has gone on to produce numerous games to expand the series.
Book of Dead, Tome of Madness, and the Amulet of Dead.
There are numerous slots series, and they don’t necessarily stick to a specific character or theme.
It could even be out of asuperstitionthat those games bring the most luck.
Some of the bigger providers can even link up numerous games and create multi-link progressives.
Or, they have the resources to release new games on a regular basis.
You may have heard of some of the following software providers.
To meet all their requirements, they have to have a tremendous volume of games.
But that is not all.
The top online casinos useAI technologyto work out the preferences of each of their users.
The hardest part is not in finding out which games are the hottest.
But instead figuring out which of the latest slots on the market would do best in their library.
A lot of casinos have themes or specific niches to stand out.
For instance, an Ancient Egyptian-themed casino must provide a huge array of appropriately themed slots.
Or a casino that breathes Las Vegas has to have plenty of old classics and contemporary Vegas-style slots.
It is all about giving players the games they want and expect to find.
That way, casinos can stay true to their base demographic, and attract more players.
Daniel has been writing about casinos and sports betting since 2021.
Reward: The Psychology of Slot Machine Design