At the heart of the work of any slot is one key process – the rotation of the reels. They make several revolutions, and after they stop, the further game situation is determined: the user receives or does not receive payments, the reels are scrolled again, the bonus is launched – there are many options.

• What are the mechanics of the slot
• Traditional spins
• Cascading spins
• Megaways mechanics
• Hold and Win mechanics
• Other variations

Providers are experimenting with this scheme, making it more and more advanced and exciting. Online casinos have machines with classic spins, cascading spins, original patented engines (Megaways, Hold and Win and others). Our editorial staff has compiled a guide to the mechanics of video slots and the specifics of each of them.

What are slot mechanics

This is the principle by which the recurring game events in the machine occur. A simple example has already been discussed in the introduction. Classic reel rotation was used in the very first one-armed bandit and serves as the basis of gameplay of most modern machines.

• Patenting unique mechanics (example: BTG developed and patented the Megaways mechanics).
• License agreements between studios (example: Blueprint Gaming signed an agreement with BTG to use Megaways mechanics in their slots).
• White-label and exclusive deals(example: SoftGamings provides white-label solutions for online casinos, allowing operators to launch their own brands using pre-installed games, bonus systems and payment methods).

With the evolution of machines, this basis has grown with additional features, and now it has changed so much that in new developments it is easy not to recognize not only the spins, but also the reels themselves.

Traditional spins

In slots with classic mechanics, the standard round includes the following stages:

1. The player triggers a spin.
2. The reels start moving vertically.
3. The reels stop.
4. The program analyzes how the symbols on the screen.

If there is no prize combination on the playing field, the round ends, and the user needs to start a new spin. When falling out a paid combination of pictures, the account is replenished by the appropriate amount. If the machine has a doubling round, you can try your luck and try to multiply your winnings.

One of the most popular examples of such machines -Book of Ra Deluxe2008 year of release from Novomatic. In it on 5 reels with 10 lines can fall out prize combinations of 2, 3, 4 and 5 identical symbols. There are special pictograms, risk game and free spins with a special picture.

Additional features

During the round, combinations that activate additional options can fall out. They can also be launched in a random order. The most common bonus is free spins. This is a series of rounds, during which no funds are withdrawn from the game account. When the function works, often activates an additional multiplier. On a similar principle work respins. These are repeated spins, launched for free.

As a result of the spin in some slots can fall out combo, which opens access to the prize round. This is a thematic game on a separate screen. Its mechanics is based on the plot of the apparatus. The user is offered to choose items, interact with characters and so on. For this are entitled to payouts with different coefficients.

New slots sometimes have an accumulative function. The user collects conditional points for the repetition of this or that game event. Then a special option is activated. This can be freespins, rounds on a separate screen and other bonuses. Providers are increasingly introducing the option to purchase a prize feature in their developments. The player activates it instantly by making an additional bet. The most impressive payouts are promised in slots with a progressive jackpot. In them, the prize pool is accumulated gradually from the money put by all players in the online casino.

The machines have not only ordinary pictograms, but also symbols that have additional functions:

• Wild.Picture that replaces in winning combinations missing elements.
• Scatter.A symbol that pays regardless of the location on the reels.
• Stacked.The image occupies several cells on the reel.
• Expanding.The picture increases in size in certain game situations.

This is not the entire list. In slots there are mystical symbols that turn into others, giant icons 2×2, 3×3 and others.

Cascading spins

Cascading spins, or avalanches, first appeared in the apparatus Gonzo’s Quest provider NetEnt. Development with revolutionary mechanics was released in 2011. In it, the symbols that made winning combinations, disappear from the drums. The vacated spaces are filled with neighboring icons. This creates a chance to collect a new paid sequence. With each avalanche increases the value of the additional multiplier. Respins in the form of cascading spins attracted the audience with novelty and the opportunity to claim large winnings. This technology was actively used by other providers, and now it is available in hundreds of machines.

Megaways mechanics

The Megaways engine was invented by Big Time Gaming. The new mechanics was presented in 2016 in the Dragon Born slot. It uses six reels, each of which can drop a different number of symbols. This principle affected the number of winning options.

In slots with such mechanics, the number of winning lines can number in the tens and hundreds of thousands

In slots with such mechanics, the number of winning lines can number in the tens and hundreds of thousands.

The number of cells on the reel depends on the game situation. Symbols can fall out in a single and folded form, split and clone. Most Megaways-based machines have additional options: respins, free spins, accumulative and random payouts.

The table lists popular titles using this technology and the theoretical return rate for each of them.

Technology has become one of the most sought after. Under the license of BTG Megaways engine is introduced in their developments and the leading providers and young studios. New products based on this mechanics appear in online casinos every month. It is also added to old slots.

Hold and Win mechanics

Hold and Win option is a series of respins with an alternative set of symbols. During these re-spins, identical images with different multiplier values, jackpot indicators fall out on the reels. Some have the function of extending the series of respins.

Often it is in this round the user can win the jackpot. An example is the Buffalo Power Hold and Win machine from Playson. During the option, only fireballs appear on the drums. They can form combinations that allow you to win the jackpot level Mini, Minor or Major. If in the course of repeated spins special icons will be filled with all positions on the drums, the user is rewarded with the main prize.

Other varieties

It is difficult to surprise a sophisticated online casino visitor, but the providers manage to do it. Most often experiments with mechanics concern the scheme of moving cells on the playing field. There are machines in which the symbols during the rotation move not vertically, but horizontally. And in one of the slots on the space theme drums have a circular shape, and pictograms move in a spiral.