Understanding the difference between the major Slots varieties

Slot machines are one of the most recognisable games found in casinos.

00:09 29 June 2024

Slot machines are one of the most recognisable games found in casinos. From their humble beginnings as mechanical curiosities to the sleek, modern machines of today, these games have come a long way.

In the online landscape you’ll find plenty of different slot games on offer, so many that you may not know where to start with picking a game. That’s why we’ve put together a quick guide to some of the major Slots varieties out there, so players looking to try some UK Slots can more easily identify the key features of the games they’re choosing from.

Classic Slots

The most obvious place to start is with classic Slots, which are the simplest slot game format. These are styled on the earliest era of slot machines, doing away with many of the extra features and twists of modern slot games.

Classic Slots typically feature just three reels and one to five paylines, limiting the number of things that players have to focus on. They will also often opt for more retro symbols like fruits, rather than going for elaborate theming or fancy graphics.

Progressive Slots

The main feature of progressive Slots is in their jackpot mechanics. Progressive slot machines are linked, with a fraction of each wager going towards a cumulative jackpot. This allows the figure to grow to levels higher than games with fixed jackpots.

But, to balance that out, the odds of hitting the jackpot combination on a progressive slot machine are lower.

Megaways

Doing away with the traditional concept of paylines, the Megaways format is a major innovation on the traditional slot machine. These games typically feature six reels, each of which can show between two and seven symbols.

This adds an extra degree of randomness to proceedings, as well as creating the potential for literally thousands of possible winning combinations. Instead of paylines, combinations count if enough matching symbols appear adjacent to each other on the reels.

Another common feature of Megaways games is the fact that winning combinations will clear off the reels once counted, opening the space for additional symbols to cascade down. It’s no wonder that there are so many potential combos when the outcome of a spin is so variable.

Multi-line Slots

But you don’t have to drop paylines to create more variety. Multi-line Slots expand the number of potential paylines that players can choose to activate. Rather than just horizontal lines, vertical, diagonal and zig-zag lines are all possibilities in these games.

It sounds overwhelming, but multi-line slot games only activate as many lines as the player chooses to play with. In order to activate more lines, players need to increase their wager, balancing out the higher odds of hitting a payout.

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Each of these slot game varieties have their pros and cons, which largely depend on a player’s personal preference and what they’re looking for in a game.

Understanding the major differences between the types of slot machines available online allows players to make more informed decisions on which games to play.