Juuuuuuuuust about. At some point in the 1980s, this innovation – which allows the payout of a win no matter where a symbol appears on the game board – rapidly captured slots players’ imaginations and thus became part of the standard 5-reel video slot. In the online milieu, the very first 5-reel games hosted on in the internet carried these symbols and basically every decent such slot since then has included the no-longer special feature.
You bet your high variance! More often than not, landing scatters is the player’s ticket to free spins or even other high-paying video bonus rounds. The presence of these friendly, lucrative symbols in the game really cheers the player who might otherwise become frustrated by a multi-payline game that seems to stubbornly deny the payout.
Essentially, yes, but some video slots with scatters therein tweak the usual scheme of things. Though three scatters are usually required for the big prize, i.e. free spins or other bonus, some games generously give at least a smaller payout when “just” two of these symbols hit on a spin.
You’ll also want to be aware of exactly in which reels the scatter can potentially appear. A significant number of video slots only allow the appearance of a scatter in, likesay, reels 1, 3 and 5. Naturally, these games’ bonus rounds are harder to hit, though sometimes only two (or even one!) scatters are required to trip the goodies.