A while ago, in the 20th century, slots were played on fruit machines and they rewarded gamblers with cherries or melons, depending on the winning fruit symbols they would hit. Then came the good ol' days when players used to be limited to a single payline and three reels, and they only needed to focus on matching three identical symbols to have the slot machine pay them in accordance to the symbol they have managed to match. There was no in-between. The machines also received the name one-armed bandits, as players rarely won, thus they ended up “stealing” more money than they gave them.
As years passed by and the slots industry grew bigger and better, endless possibilities started to emerge. Players got the chance to play games with visibly improved gameplay and enjoy more reels and symbols. Casino game developers with an eye for slots thought of clever ways of introducing special symbols with different purposes other than the regular symbols and icons in the game. And players loved it. Ever modern-day slot games that can be played both online and offline feature amazing special symbols as well as scatter symbols that alter the way the reel action takes place. Namely, they bring players more rewarding wins and make the game more exciting and thrilling every time. Wild and scatter symbols are, by far, the most common types of special symbols gamblers come across every day. Of course, in order to trigger the desired results, they need to appear in the right formations according to the rules of a specific slot game.
Slot machines with wild symbols have become a reality of our times and it would be difficult to picture there was ever a time when players did not see/use these symbols in their gameplay.
In order for a slot symbol to be defined as wild, it needs to be slightly different from other symbols. You may either discover the word “WILD” written on a symbol, or you may notice an item/symbol that appears to be connected to the theme of the game one way or another.
The purpose of a wild symbol is to replace the regular symbols within a game as soon as it pops up on the reels and triggers a winning combination. This means a wild symbol can bring players boosted cash prizes, not to mention the added fun. On the other hand, a wild symbol should not be mistaken for a scatter/bonus symbol.
Wild symbols trigger new line wins that would not be present otherwise. They can replace all or the majority of other symbols on a reel and generate additional line wins. Some slot games feature Wild Symbols that do not substitute Jackpot Symbols. The simplest types of wild symbols are Regular Wild Symbols that only cover one symbol position on the reels.
It is also possible for a wild symbol to contribute to its own winning combination and bring players even higher payouts. They're definitely worth keeping an eye on and with so many excellent places where you can play slots online 24 hours a day, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a few favourite titles and stick to them.
Wild symbols can also be found in the form of Expanding, Sticky, or Shifting Wilds, each of them featuring special benefits that can beef up the value of the symbols.
You can also pay attention to Frozen, Locked, Soaring, Split, or Magnetic Wild Symbols offered by some of the biggest gaming developers in the industry: Playtech, NetEnt, Microgaming, Betsoft Gaming, and many more.
Scatter symbols come in different forms and they are different from one slot game for real money to the next. With thousands of slot titles out there, you are likely to come across a variety of scatter symbols during your gambling sprees. A scatter symbol is, in short, the symbol you should want to find in a game. It is considered to be the most powerful symbol and it is active even when it does not show up on a winning line.
The majority of scatter symbols pay out fixed sums and you should be able to discover one, two, three, or even more of these symbols on the reels.
It is also common for a scatter symbol to be used as a special key that can unlock special features in the game. One such example is a scatter symbol that can trigger a bonus round; for this, a player needs to come across three different scatter symbols. The bonus round could be anything from a round of free spins to a pick-me bonus that will add more thrill to a game.
Some slots require a scatter symbol to show up on a certain reel in order for a bonus to be enabled. Others can be easily triggered one more time whenever these symbols show up on the reels during a bonus round. Whenever a bonus symbol pops up on the reels, an additional bonus round will show up on a different screen within the game. The bonus symbols need to land on the two outer reels in order for the bonus to be enabled. It is also possible for this symbol to be required to land anywhere in view or on one of the 1-3 payline reels. Different games come with a different bonus round that is triggered differently.
Recognising a scatter symbol is easy. The more, the merrier. Casino gaming developers are taking advantage of these alternatives by incorporating them within their fresh releases for more innovation and fun.
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