Choosing the Right Online Slot Machine Game
No other casino game can compare to slot machine games for abundance and variety. These games are popular because they make it easy to dive in and play. There’s no strategy involved when you’re simply spinning the reels and hoping that the right combinations appear.
Combine that with the epic payouts that are exclusive to slots, and it’s clear why they’re No. 1 in almost every casino. The demand is met with a near endless supply of new slot games. We’re constantly adding to the roster to ensure the latest and greatest slots are available to play for real money from the comfort of your home.
In order to navigate all of these games, you must know what you’re looking for. Some games are simple and straightforward, such as 3 reels, while others seem to load up the bonus features for more excitement, like the 5 reels.
Comparing game features is another approach to game selection. There will be certain features that stand out, like the popular Hold and Win bonus. Value focused players may prefer to narrow their search on Return to Player (RTP) rates, ensuring they whittle down the house edge as much as possible.
Volatility is also a major consideration; when you know the difference between high and low volatility, you can fine tune your search to make sure you get your preferred style of play. We’ll go over all of these qualifiers and more, including jackpot slots, slot themes and slot reviews, in this guide to choosing the right online slot machine.
Choose Between 3 Reels and 5 Reels Slots
Understanding how a slot’s format impacts its gameplay will help you determine what to look for when choosing between real money slots. The two most common slot formats are: 3 reels and 5 reel slots. The reels are the columns that symbols spin around, and the more there are, the greater the capacity for features.
Three-reel slots are similar to traditional slot machines. These classic renditions often use the iconic slot symbols (think Cherries, Lemons and Sevens). These games are well suited for people like to relax to a predictable slot session.
Five-reel slots have greater capacity for themes, storylines, paylines and bonus features. This is where you can find more complex versions of bonuses. While a wild can be included in a 3-reel slot, an expanding or roaming wild is exclusive to 5-reel slots.
Paytables are also simpler with 3-reel slots and are displayed usually on the game screen. With 5-reel slots, however, they get tucked away in the game menu and hold much more information.
Slot Themes
One of the easiest ways to categorize slot machine games is by theme; these storylines give a slot its personality. We’ll go over some of the most popular slot themes in our casino.
Classic slots stay true to the traditional slot experience. These often have three reels and iconic symbols such as fruit, BARs and Sevens. Bigger Cash Win is a good example of a classic slot with free spins, while Ten Times Wins features a wild with a 10X multiplier.
Nature lovers can get up close with wildlife in our animal slots, such as Cai Fui Dai Panda and Golden Savanna Hot Drop Jackpot. For an encounter with buffalo, try the buffalo slots: Golden Buffalo Hot Drop Jackpot and Buffalo Bounty. While out, you may enjoy some fruit slots, such as Wild & Fruity and Fruit Splash.
Vegas is the motherland of slots, and naturally we have lots of games that’ll transport you there; try Elvis Frog in Vegas for a fun approach to Vegas slots, or 10 Times Vegas for a more conventional slot session.
Archeology-themed slots are popular and come in many forms. Some specialize in Vikings (try Viking Treasures and Viking’s Victory for Viking slots), while others focus on Ancient Egypt, or the Aztecs. A Night with Cleo and 3 Coins: Egypt Hold & Win fit into our Egypt slots category, and Treasures of Aztec is a good representative for the Aztec slots theme.
Slots Volatility
One of the buzz words in the online slot community is slots volatility, also known as variance. Knowing how it impacts payouts will give you a better understanding of slot mechanics.
Slots award payouts in a balanced way. Payouts can be big or small, depending on the game. The bigger the game’s payouts, the less frequently they hit; these are the high volatility slot games and they appeal to players who like a lot of excitement in a session.
On the other hand, low volatility slot games offer smaller payouts at a steadier and more predictable pace. Low volatility slots often appeal to more conservative bettors.
Then there’s the medium volatility slot games, which strike a nice balance between payout size and frequency. These are the most popular slot games around.
Bonus Features
Bonus features aren’t necessary in a slot, but they certainly spice up the games. Some are common, like scatters and wilds, while others are harder to find. We’ll go over the different slots bonus features offered in games here.
Scatters
A scatter triggers something unexpected when you land three or more anywhere on the reels. It could be a round of free spins, a bonus round, or a cash prize.
Free Spins
Free spins let you play a certain number of rounds free of charge. All payouts collected during free spins are yours to keep.
Bonus Rounds
A bonus round takes you to another screen where you get to complete a task in exchange for coins.
Multiplier
Multipliers multiply a payout by a certain denominator. A 2X multiplier doubles the payout, while a 3X multiplier triples the payout.
Cascading Reels
Wins trigger the cascading reels feature. After collecting a payout, the winning symbols disappear from the reels, causing the icons above to drop down in the vacant spots.
Wilds
A wild symbol can take the form of any standard game symbol in order to complete winning lines. Some games have wilds with extra features, such as the ‘expanding’ wild, which can move up and down reels.
Ways Pays
When slots don’t have paylines, they’re “x ways pays” slots. While there is some variation in the rules, these require matches to land on consecutive reels, beginning with the first reel, in order to trigger a win.
Bonus Buy
Buy your way into a slot’s bonus feature for a price.
Hold and Win Bonus
This bonus game takes place on a grid where you get a handful of re-spins. Special Coin and Jackpot icons spin around the reels and stick, prompting more re-spins.
Return to Play
Every casino game has a house edge built in and slots are no exception. They’re built for entertainment and the cost of that entertainment is the house edge.
The house edge can be found in the slot machine game’s menu where it’s listed as the Return to Player (RTP) percentage. The RTP is the amount a game awards back to you in the form of payouts. This payouts percentage is theoretical and becomes more accurate the longer you play. Some slot games have multiple RTPs, one for the base game and another for bonus rounds.
Anyone keen to get the best value possible out of a slot game should look for the games with the highest RTPs. Most of our slots have RTPs in the 95% range, but some go as high as 97% or 98%.
Jackpots
One of the most sought-after features in a slot is the jackpot. Jackpots are big pots of cash awarded during a slot session. They can be progressive jackpots, which build with every bet placed on the game, or Hot Drop Jackpots, which follow a timeframe that dictates when the pot can drop.
Progressive jackpot slots have been around for a while and are very popular here. To trigger them, you need to either land the game’s top winning line, or in the case of random progressive jackpots, you simply need to be spinning at the moment the Random Number Generator triggers it.
More recently, progressive jackpots have been incorporated into bonus rounds. Trigger the bonus round, then you get a shot at jackpot bliss. Always check the rules for progressive jackpots before you play; some require a maximum bet for eligibility.
Hot Drop Jackpots are a newer creation. They have three jackpots: Hourly, Daily and Epic. The Hourly jackpot must drop within 60 minutes of release; you’ll see these heat up when they get close to their cap. As for Daily, they have anywhere up to 24 hours to drop. Lastly, the Epic jackpot doesn’t have a limit; it builds and builds until it drops and can get into the millions. Many of our popular slots come in Hot Drop Jackpot editions, such as 777 Deluxe, A Night With Cleo and Golden Savanna.
Online Slots Software Providers
If you ever notice that some slots share similar characteristics with other slots, it’s likely because they have the same online slots software providers. These are the companies that design and build the games we buy.
A slot software provider will often repeat the same type of feature in many of their games, even going so far as to trademark the best ones. For example, “Megaways” slots are trademarked from Big Time Gaming, which has licensed out the feature to certain providers, including BGaming. We have eight “Megaways” slots in our casino and they’re perfect for seasoned players who like more complex gameplay.
Another feature that’s connected to a certain brand is the Tumbling Reels feature. Tumbling Reels see winning icons disappear from the reels after issuing a payout, causing the reels above to tumble down into the vacant spots. The feature repeats until there are no new wins, creating lots of extra opportunities to get paid. Pragmatic Play is well known for including Tumbling Reels in many of its games. Check it out in Sweet Bonanza.
We have a big list of software providers who supply us with new slots. Some of the big names include Rival, Habanero Gaming, Wazdan, PG Soft, Evoplay, Pragmatic Play, Spinmatic and Dragon Gaming. Next time you play a game that you really like, make note of the provider. Chances are you’ll like other titles from the same company.
Check Slots Reviews and Game Descriptions
Third party review sites are a good resource for comparing slots. These include slot machine game reviews that provide the public with a spec sheet for many universal slot games. Slot Catalog, for example, posts information on thousands of online slot games. They list the game’s provider, RTP, volatility level, maximum wins, betways, release date, and rank, along with a comprehensive review of the game.
We also take the time to test and review new games added to our roster, so that you know what to expect. Our qualified game testers are casino experts who know what to look for in terms of features, design, gameplay and bonuses. Read their reviews to learn about the latest titles and whether or not they deserve to be added to your must-spin list.