The Different Types of Slot Machines

With the online gaming boom exploding in recent years and months the online slot industry has created countless variations of simple games that fill the gaming lobbies of online casinos. These games have been a staple in casinos and gaming establishments for decades providing a rich source of entertainment for every kind of punter offering various options and features to enhance and suit their individual gaming style as well as experience.

Classic slots, also known as traditional or fruit machines are the earliest form and they normally feature three reels and a single central payline. The symbols are often vintage and retro featuring fruits, golden bars and lucky sevens. They appeal to those who prefer to keep their gaming on a simple level as all that is needed is to line up matching symbols on the payline to make wins. The offer players a more nostalgic feel and are appreciated by those who appreciate the charm of traditional casino games. These kind of slots also offer an excellent starting option for beginners as well as their budgets as they are fun and super simple to understand, and often require mere pennies to begin gameplay.

Video slots in contrast where quite revolutionary when they were introduced. These games feature five, six or even seven reels and offer multiple paylines ranging from just a few to hundreds. They also incorporate more advanced graphics along with often elaborate artwork, impressive moving animation and sound effects which creates a more immersive gaming atmosphere for players. A myriad of different themes and genres are available from ancient civilisation, to fantasy, nature and adventure, science fiction and popular culture. Some are based on popular TV, film, comics and game shows which means they appeal to a much broader audience.

Complex as well as simple bonus features as well as unique gaming mechanics are incorporated along with free spins and special symbols such as wilds and scatters which can increase winning possibilities therefore providing additional thrills and excitement. They also incorporate much larger jackpots than classic slots and provide a more immersive and visually appealing experience. Paytables are usually provided and are crucial for players to read and grasp so they can understand all the elements involved so they can form a strategy of sorts and discover which symbols pay out more than others for example.

Progressive slots offer the potential for life changing wins often on one single random spin and these games are often linked either in a single or across multiple casinos where a portion of each bet placed by players is added to a progressive jackpot pooled pot. This pool grows with every bet made until one lucky player hits the right combination and claims the prize before it resets again. These can be over classic or video slot format and can reach truly life changing sums.

Other variations of slot games effectively cater to different preferences and these include 3D slots which use advanced technology to create a visually immersive experience using interactive elements as well as employing engaging storylines.

Multi payline slots allow players to select multiple paylines per spin which increases the chances of winning and suits those players who have deeper pockets as it raises the top bet amount.

Cluster Pays offer something different from the traditional paylines. Players can form sets of matching symbols horizontally or vertically and these symbols disappear when a group is formed which creates more symbol combinations and there potentially consecutive wins all in a single spin.

Megaways slots meanwhile feature an entirely unique gaming mechanic and these were first introduced by long standing gaming developers Big Time Gaming. They offer multiple ways to win and each spin has different symbols that increase in number which leads to different ways to win on every spin which leads to some very exciting gameplay.

All-Ways slots such as 243 ways to win or 720 ways to win removes the tighter constraints of fixed paylines. They work by paying out for any matching symbols that appear on adjacent reels that start from the leftmost side and there provide punters with numerable ways to achieve winning combinations.

With more and more people choosing to play from their mobile devices from wherever they happen to be they can choose to use features and tools such as Autoplay allowing them to set up a set number of spins to game with and this can help those who are conscious of maintaining a gaming budget in addition to the gaming hands free.

These days most slot games are also offered in demo/play for free mode which enables a player to try out the game risk free before committing to using their own funds. By allowing risk free gameplay this creates a more relaxed and pressure free environment where users can experiment, learn and have fun at the same time. Other benefits with instant demo play is that no registration is required and many online casinos allow this without the need for players to create an account.