What are the most popular features in online slots at non GamStop casinos?
Online slots come in all shapes and sizes at non GamStop casinos. Thanks to rapid technological advancements, online slots are becoming increasingly popular. Classic slots had a simple setup with three reels and one payline. These days, it’s practically impossible to imagine anything out there. That’s why we understand you’d like to learn more about the various features in online slots. We’ll explain that in this article. Why choose casinos not governed by GamStop?
Online slots features at non GamStop casinos
To help you navigate the wonderful world of online slot features at non GamStop casinos, we’ve listed the most important ones below. We’ll cover the following topics:
• Winning Mechanism: How do you basically win money with the online slot machine?
• Special features: Which additions provide more variety in the game?
• Bonus Games: What Types of Bonuses Do You Come Across in Slots?
Winning mechanism in online slots
In an online slot machine, the winning mechanism determines how you win money. This is the foundation of the game. We’ll discuss the most popular winning mechanisms you’ll encounter.
| Winning Mechanism | Explanation |
| Payline | Identical symbols on a line |
| Ways to Win | Identical symbols anywhere on the playing field |
| Megaways | Ways to Win with a varying number of symbols per reel |
| Cluster Pay | Identical symbols in a group |
| Megaclusters | A combination of Cluster Pays and Megaways with splitting clusters |
Paylines
The most well-known winning mechanism is paylines at non GamStop casinos. You win when you land identical symbols on a payline. The number of paylines is one of the most striking characteristics of an online slot. Essentially, every online slot machine works by creating combinations. By placing the right symbols in a combination, you win. How you create these combinations and how many combinations are possible is determined by the paylines.
Classic slots with three reels and three symbols per reel often had one, three, or five paylines. A payline is almost always a horizontal payline on the middle row. With three paylines, the same horizontal combination applies to every row, and by adding two diagonal lines, you get five paylines.
The standard slot has become larger, allowing for more paylines. On a five-reel, five-row slot, 10 paylines is common, but that number can quickly add up. One of the most popular ways to create combinations is to do away with paylines altogether.
Ways to Win
Instead of paylines, you’ll often encounter Ways to Win. In this case, the system checks whether a symbol appears anywhere on the first three reels. If so, every possible combination counts as a win. This Ways to Win principle creates 243 ways to win (3x3x3x3x3) on a five-reel, three-row system.
Megaways
The number of ways to win can increase significantly at non GamStop casinos. This is the case, for example, with the Megaways mechanism. This also uses the Ways to Win principle, but with a twist. Instead of a fixed number of symbols per reel, each reel is assigned a random number of symbols per spin. The number of ways to create combinations also varies per spin. A standard Megaways slot with six reels and a maximum of seven symbols per reel therefore theoretically has 117,649 possible ways to win.
Megaways are also often combined with cascading reels, which is best translated as tumbling reels. Winning symbols are removed from the playing field and replaced by new symbols, creating new opportunities for combinations within the same spin.
Megaways slots are developed by the game provider Big Time Gaming, which now licenses them to competitors. The best Megaways slots are therefore from this software developer. Think of Western Gold Megaways and Fu Fortunes Megaways, for example.
Cluster Pay
In a Cluster Pay slot, you create winning combinations differently. With this winning mechanism, you don’t have to land symbols on consecutive reels, but in groups. If enough symbols appear in a group, you’ve created a winning combination. The more symbols in a cluster, the higher the payout.
Megaclusters
Megaclusters are a combination of Cluster Pays and Megaways. This game mechanism was developed by Big Time Gaming.
In Megaclusters slots, you also form clusters to win – just like in Cluster Pay slots. The difference is that winning symbols split. This expands the playing field, giving you more chances to create winning combinations. You start with a 4×4 playing field, but with Megaclusters, this can be expanded to a 16×16 grid. The more winning clusters you form in a row, the more positions appear around the playing field, and the greater your chances of winning!
Star Clusters was the first to use this feature in slots. Big Time Gaming has since developed more slots with this mechanism. For example, the branded slot Millionaire Rush, based on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”