Feature Slots Article

Features in slots are triggered either by scatters or bonus symbols. These symbols can appear anywhere and are usuall marked as scatter or bonus.

Direction of Winning Lines

Feature slots usually Win or payout from left to right, with very few exceptions.

Reel Feature Slots

Some of the original reel slots also have features - one of the most common being a "prize wheel" that lets you spin for various amounts of money. Features are triggered when you hit a certain combination of symbols, or when one specific symbol shows up, usually on the position to the far right.

Video Feature Slots

Only the imagination is the limit to the variety of features that can be triggered by certain combinations of symbols in video slots. Here the designers truly outdo each other. Some of these features are like entire movies, and you influence the outcome with small choices along the way. There are a number of commonly used themes, too.

Free Spins

Free spins are usually triggered by hitting 3 or more scatter symbols. Scatter symbols do not have to be all on a payline, they can be anyplace to win. Free spins can be worth double, triple or even quadruple the usual win per hit. In some feature slots you can pick combinations - 5 spins at quadruple the win amount, 10 spins at triple the amount, or 15 at double the win amount. Some have secondary features that decide the win multiplier. You can win anywhere from 5 to 20 free spins, depending on the slot.

Pick your Present

Many feature slots have choices you can select - baskets with treasures inside, or trunks etc. How many of these you get to choose usually depends on how many scatters you hit. Then there are those with lots of items you can click on, and you get to keep clicking until a certain "stop symbol" appears. Each click will produce a prize...

Start the action

Some slots feature let you initiate the action by making a choice or a series of choices. Maybe you get to pick a character, who then encounters a situation you can make another choice in. Feature slots are becoming more and more intricate, and they are becoming more and more interactive, too. Some are almost like movies - but you can influence the story and in the end you win.

The Triggers

Features are triggered either by scatters or bonus symbols. These symbols can appear anywhere and are usuall marked as scatter or bonus. Many of the newer slots have both.