As of the end of 2024, slots are still the most popular category of online casino games. Part of the reason for this is their simplicity. All it takes is to sit back, spin the reel and see what happens.
The simplicity of slots is never going to go away. It’s part of what makes the games so appealing. Yet, with thousands of titles for players to choose from, developers are always looking for ways to make their slot stand out from the crowd.
This is great news for the iGaming industry and for slot players, especially if you prefer feature-rich video slots over the classics. As developers come up with new ways to add features, the games are becoming more engaging and enjoyable to play.
You still get to sit back and spin, just with special symbols, bonus rounds and jackpots offering different potential ways to win.
You’ve heard of scatter symbols and Wilds. Now, let’s take a look at the gameplay mechanics that are adding new layers to the latest video slots.
Hold & Win
Classic slots are all about matching symbols. In Hold & Win games, you can win instant prizes by activating the main feature, usually by landing special symbols anywhere on the reels.
When Hold & Win starts, bonus symbols or cash prizes on the reels will freeze. The reels spin again, this time with just instant win symbols. This continues until you either fill the grid or run out of spins, at which point you’ll win whatever’s shown on the reels.
You might find that wins for matching standard symbols on paylines are a little smaller in Hold & Win slots. Instead, the focus is on activating the feature and getting those big instant win prizes locked in.
Hold & Win games featured on online casino platforms, where they have become a popular choice with players. Examples include Dragon Eggs, Coins of Ra and the SlotsLV casino exclusive, Luck on the Coins.
Jackpot slots
Jackpot slots are not exactly new, but rather it’s a feature that you’ll find on an increasing number of slot titles. The appeal is immediately obvious; jackpot slots offer potentially huge payoffs, among the biggest in the industry.
If you’re looking for the behemoths, the biggest payouts are progressive jackpots, which run over long periods of time and continually grow as players collectively bet. These slots may also share jackpots with other titles, which makes for giant prize pools.
Some slots will feature three or four jackpots, ranging from micro to mega, usually triggered by reel symbols or bonus features. This gives players at all stakes a chance to win hundreds or thousands of times their bet.
Be aware that jackpot slots compensate for these huge prizes by being more volatile than usual, meaning you’re likely to win small prizes less frequently as you hunt for the bigger ones.
Lawless Ladies, Fury of Zeus and 777 Deluxe are all examples of jackpot slots.
Megaways and Cascading Reels
Megaways manage to deviate entirely from classic slots without losing the simplicity of the gameplay. Essentially, you’re still spinning the reel to see what happens. In Megaways, though, the number of paylines changes with every spin.
On a five or six reel slot, Megaways usually dish out anything from two to seven symbols on each reel, which can equate to hundreds of thousands of ways to win. This keeps the game fresh, as every spin is different and could offer more paylines.
Megaways slots can also feature cascading reels. If you hit winning symbols, they will disappear and new symbols fall in their place. This can trigger multiple wins or additional bonuses, which again gives every spin variety.
Cash or Crash
There aren’t typically loads of Cash or Crash slot games at online casinos, but we anticipate this feature to grow in popularity over the coming year, both as a stand alone game and as a bonus feature within video slots.
In Cash or Crash, also known as crash games, a multiplier starts to rise that increases over time. At any moment though, the multiplier can crash and if it does you’ll lose your bet. Cash out before this happens, and you’ll win whatever the multiplier shows.
Cash or Crash can take a live dealer format similar to a gameshow, in which case the multipliers and crashes are determined using a lotto ball system. In the slot version, a themed animation shows the multiplier rising and your job is to click “cashout” before it crashes.
It’s an easy enough format to get to grips with and the return-to-play is typically very high on crash games, potentially up to 99 percent or more depending when you cash out.
Cash or Crash is the latest in an effort to keep slots relevant, as developers add creative themes, bonuses and features to keep players engaged.
