Techniques of bonus gameplay in slots
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Gambling is the only fun way where one can entertain oneself and, with a little luck, walk away with a big pile of cash. But it is also the excitement that is popular among players. For those reasons, slots are one of the all-time favorites of gamblers worldwide. Online slots have a particular advantage because they offer a wide variety of bonus games, bonus rounds, and other extras that can nowhere else be found in a casino.
Online slots can also be played using one of the various bonus offers online casinos are handing out to new or existing players. A particularly popular offer is the no deposit bonus like the ones we can find at Hit'n'Spin Casino. Let’s have a closer look at modern online slots and their different versions of bonus features, minigames, and more, because it is here where players can often score the big wins.
What is an online slot bonus game?
But first things first. Before we can go into details, we need to clarify what game developers actually mean when they are talking about bonus games, bonus features, and so on.
A bonus game is like an add-on to an online slot, which can come in various ways. They can be, for example, triggered when a specific combination or amount of symbols land. Sometimes all that is needed is a winning combination, and it is also possible that it is a game within a game.
If and what kind of bonus features have been integrated into a particular online slot can be easily found out. All a player has to do is open the pay table and start scrolling down or swiping to the side. Here it is explained:
- What kind of bonus games a slot has
- How they are triggered
- How the bonus round works
- If players have to do anything, and if yes, what needs to be done
- What kind of extra prices can be won
What kind of online slot bonus games are the most common ones, and how do they work?
Now when it comes to bonus games and online slots, there is a little bit of everything and sometimes nothing much at all. This means some slots, like classic online fruit slot machines, might not have a lot to offer in terms of bonus games. Sometimes, it is just one simple feature like a wild symbol or a rather simple gamble feature. On the other hand, other and more modern online video slots are loaded with bonus features. They often come with three, four, or even more of them. The sky is the limit, and because of that, we drew up a list with the ten most common ones. Let’s look at what game developers and their online slots have prepared for their players.
Free spins
Free Spins have been around for ages and are still among the most commonly used types of bonus games in modern online or video slots. Most of the time, they are triggered when at least three special symbols land. Those symbols are often called scatter symbols because it is simply about the amount (three or more) that has to land, not a specific position on the reels they have to land on. But there are also different ways to trigger free spins. Those spins can mainly increase a player's winnings because they get them for free, meaning no additional bet has to be made. Additionally, to make them even more unique, developers sometimes integrate a few specials, like expanding symbols or multipliers.
Gamble feature
Another type of bonus game we see pretty often is the so-called gamble feature. Gambling while we are already gambling? Only an online slot can offer that much excitement. The gamble feature can but doesn’t have to be used by players. It appears, in general, when a spin results in a win. This win can then be “gambled” in a bonus game. The most common of those bonus games is the card gamble. Here, a player has to guess the color of the next card that is drawn. But it is sometimes also possible to use a latter gamble. Those kinds of bonus games are particularly popular among German and Austrian developers like Eye of Horus from Merkur, but they appear in some Play’n GO Slots as well.
Re-spins
Next on our list of bonus games with which a player can increase his or her winnings are re-spins. Re-Spins are a fairly simple bonus feature, as oftentimes there is nothing a player has to do. They are mostly triggered when a certain combination of symbols lands. This is often the case when only one symbol is missing for a win. The procedure then is that the other reels where the matching symbols are located are locked in place, and every other reel starts spinning again. It basically is a free additional chance to land a win as for re-spins, no extra bet has to be made.
Avalanche feature
Depending on which online slot one is playing, the avalanche feature might have a different name. Sometimes, the term “reactions” is used, for example, at slots produced by the Australian developer Big Time Gaming. Regardless of the name, it always works in the same way. Every time a winning combination lands, the matching symbols of this winning combination are removed from the reels. This is usually highlighted by a particularly spectacular visual effect like an explosion. Then new symbols fall onto the reels and take the place of the winning combination symbols. It is basically another free chance to land a win, somewhat like a re-spin. Here, too, can even bigger wins occur, for example, with integrated multipliers or when other bonus features like free spins are triggered.
Pick-me bonus
Pick-me bonus games come in all kinds of different versions. It is a bonus game where the player has to make a choice and confirm his choice by clicking on a particular field, item, etc. Pick-me games are usually well integrated into the theme of an online slot. The prices are as different as the versions of those games, though. In some cases, they come as an add-on for example, of a won free spins round. Here, the player determines by using a pick-me game how many free spins he or she will play. The prices vary, however, and can include multipliers or even come as an instant cash win.
Jackpots
Jackpot slots are quite a bit different from other slots. Some players are special because they offer a little more excitement. That is mostly due to the possibility of landing a much higher win than one can win playing a standard video slot. In general, Jackpot slots can be divided into two categories. There are slots with a local and slots with progressive jackpots. But rest assured, they are not much more complicated to play than any other online slot. In fact, in terms of gameplay, rules, and symbols, they are pretty much identical to video slots.
The local jackpot
Jackpot slots very often offer higher winnings if a local jackpot is won. Local jackpots come in two different ways. One possibility is that there is a given amount that can be won if a jackpot win is triggered. In almost all cases, those jackpots are called minor, central, and grand. But there are, of course, other possibilities like mini minor or major jackpot. But local jackpots can also come in a different version. Here, all players who play this particular game at the same online casino are automatically paying a few percent of their betting stake into that jackpot.
The progressive jackpot
Then, there are progressive jackpots. Their trademark is that they are much larger than local jackpots. Here, players can usually win at least a six-figure price. Some lucky players even won millions of Euros or Pounds playing an online slot with a progressive jackpot. The system works pretty much just like a local jackpot, with one exception. Here, it is not just players who play the same game in one online casino but players who are playing the same game regardless of which online casino they are playing in who are filling the jackpot. Due to this connection between online casinos, even if a progressive jackpot has been won recently within a relatively short amount of time it is back up at a few hundred thousand or even million Euros or Pounds.
The instant win
Instant winnings are also an excellent way for players to increase winnings. They usually come as some sort of cash price. This means that a player literally wins a certain amount of money that is instantly credited to his or her account. What a player has to do to get this cash price varies, however, from one slot to another. Often, instant wins are included as prices that can be won during mini or bonus games. A good example of this is the pick-me game. There is always a good chance that underneath one of those delectable things is an instant win. But instant wins can also be won when a particular bonus feature is triggered or a symbol combination lands.
Various wild bonuses
With online slots, a wild symbol is rarely a simple wild symbol that acts as a joker. Well, maybe its primary purpose is to act as a joker and substitute for all other symbols except the scatter symbol. A lot of game developers, however, gave the wild symbol a little extra. There is, for example, the variant with multipliers. Every landing wild symbol can come with a multiplier and can transform a win into an even bigger win. Another version is the expanding wild symbol. In this case, every wild that lands and is a part of a winning combination expands and covers the entire reel. But there are also sticky wilds who remain in their position for a certain amount of time, like for the remaining free spins.
The Megaways bonus
Then there is the Megaways bonus, a particular version of a slot. Well, a lot of its own. Megaways is a revolutionary concept that was introduced into the online gambling world by the Australian developer Big Time Gaming. Those games differ significantly from other slots as they do not come with the traditional pay lines. Instead, they have ways to win, and to make it even more interesting, there is no spin like the one before. While Megaways slots have a fixed number of reels, they do not have a fixed number of rows per reel. That means the number of rows per reel changes with each new spin. Megaways slots can have up to 117,649 different ways to win!
The progress bar bonus
This is a fairly straightforward way for players to use a bonus to increase their winnings. In this case, there is a progress bar which is often located somewhere on the left or right side of the screen. This progress bar is filled with time, for example, when certain symbols are collected. A bonus round can be triggered as soon as the bar is full. But it is also possible that an instant win is awarded. Some of those progress bars have different levels; with each new level, the awarded prices are even more rewarding.
Final thoughts on bonus gameplay for online slots
Bonus rounds are without a doubt, an exciting way for players to land an unusually high win. But what is more, is that they are also very entertaining. When free spins are triggered, there probably is no player who isn’t at least holding his or her breath for a second. Online slots are so popular because of the variety they offer, notably with different themes as well as different bonus rounds. Players, therefore, never get bored as there is plenty left to discover. The best part of bonus rounds is, however, that they offer a chance to land a big win. That is especially the case with a progressive jackpot slot.
