Gamdom explains slot machine basics from reels to symbols

Slot machines have persisted throughout history as the most popular casino games thanks to their simplicity, versatility, and fast pace. They became even more beloved by gamblers as they became the staple in online casinos.

Before you start playing them, Gamdom will explain to you about its basic features. You first need to learn about reels’ role in a slot game. Afterwards, you can learn about some special kinds of reels or different ways to win. Game providers can be very creative in this aspect and this article can’t explain all of them, especially patented mechanics

Basic reel elements

The phrase ‘slot machine’ specifically refers to the standalone game booths in offline casinos. Similar games with the same elements are available online but are most often referred to as ‘slots’. Both systems still work similarly and feature the same basic elements as follows:

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• Random number generator (RNG)

The random number generator or RNG is the most important element of most slot games. It is an algorithm that determines the outcome of a spin. For slot games, it already determines the results of the next spin before you place your bet. It works instantly and automatically but you may experience a slight delay when playing a slot game with intricate animations. 

• Reels

The word ‘reels’ refer to the moving parts of the slot machines that show the game’s symbols. Traditionally, these are physical blocks with a fixed arrangement of images in a slot machine. However, video slot machine reels type can differ greatly thanks to new gaming technologies, letting casinos give more enticing rewards up to a thousand times of the ante. Gamdom has plenty of high-paying slots that you should try when you have the chance. 

• Columns and rows

Slot machines reels explained that it is the downward spinning part of the game. It is also referred to as the column because of how they are arranged as the vertical parts of the grid. The rows, on the other hand, refers to the horizontal part. When describing a slot game, the description will often refer to its grid as column x rows such as 5x3 which means five reels and 3 rows. 

• Symbols

The symbols are the images appearing in slot games’ reels. They are generated by the RNG in every spin. The results cannot be influenced or predicted, giving slot games a tone of replayability and high chance to hit a jackpot in Gamdom. Symbols are divided into two broad categories namely normal and special. 

• Normal symbols

Normal symbols give the players a standard payout based on what’s written on the paytable. They are further divided into low- and high-value which affects how they look. Low-value symbols are often presented by card suits or ranks but they can also appear as fruits and candies depending on the theme. High-value symbols are always determined by the theme of the game where they can be pictures of people, statues, or tools.

• Special symbols

Wild and scatter are the most common special symbols in slot games. The former can substitute for any normal symbol in a winning sequence while the scatter triggers the free spin mode if you get three of them or more. Certain slot games give these two additional properties to make spins more fun and volatile. 

Other bonus symbols can trigger special alterations to the games. In more traditional slot machines, the best bonus symbols can turn one or more positions into wilds. More modern titles come with playful outcomes such as multiplying a symbol, applying boost to payouts, spreading the wild across the grid, or changing the reels arrangement. 

The free spin mode is considered as a new game mode so many of the normal slots’ features are either lightly or heavily altered. Differences can range from the consistent appearance of multipliers to getting an additional effect per symbol. These changes are unique to every casino game so try them all and gain new experiences per session.

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Special reel types

Gamdom features a lot of slot games with special reel types thanks to the versatility of RNG algorithms. Many of them are simple expansions of how they work as gamblers know them but others are developed to find new ways to play. As time goes on, many game providers have found ways to mix them together to create a new gambling experience without having to introduce a new mechanic. Here are some examples of special types of reels that you can find in Gamdom:

• Expanding reels

Slots can come with a standard number of columns and rows but some Gamdom titles don’t keep these numbers fixed. Players can expand them to get more ways to win and have an easier chance of hitting the free spin mode. Some will create a new row after hitting a win or if a bonus appears while others can be up to the player's decision by increasing the ante. 

• Lock reels

This feature comes in many names with the most frequent of which being ‘lucky locks’. If the slot has this, you can choose one of the columns to be locked in place so you can use the symbols on other spins. However, doing so will cost you an additional ante where the amount depends on the value of the symbols on the reels. The most expensive ones are the scatter and the highest-paying normal symbol.

• Cascading reels

Cascading is the most popular out of these special reel types in Gamdom because it opens the opportunity for a winning streak in a single spin. What it does is remove the winning sequence in the grid after it gives you your payout then have the vacant positions be filled by new random symbols. This makes it easy to collect scatter symbols and frequent wilds make the slots extremely volatile. 

Ways to win

Read an online slot game’s description and you will often see the word paylines or ways to win. The two are interchangeable but the latter is more universally true. ‘Ways to win’ on the other hand encompasses all patterns accepted by a standard crypto casino. Here are more details about it and the other kinds of ways to win:

• Payline

The term ‘payline’ refers to the pattern that covers all reels from left to right and all similar symbols must land on to constitute a win. A three of a kind is usually the minimum but some high-valued symbols can count a pair as a win but the payout is low. 

A typical payline is often a straight row so a 5x3 slot game already has 3 ways to win at least. Game providers can be creative with the rest of the pattern to increase the players’ chances to win as well as make titles feel unique to other slot games using unorthodox motions. This way, the number of paylines for a 5x3 slot game can reach up to 15 or more. 

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• Megaways

Megaways follow the same principle as the payline where you need at least one copy of the symbol in every adjacent reel starting from the left. However, you don’t need them to fall in a particular pattern. The symbol can be on the 3rd row on the 1st reel then on the 1st row of the second reel but it will still count as a win. 

That’s how a standard 5x3 slot game can have up to 108 ways to win. The megaway mechanic is the reason why casinos use ‘ways to win’ as the standard count for chances of winning rather than ‘paylines’ in most modern slots. Its versatility also inspired many unorthodox reel formats in Gamdom such as uneven number of rows per reel. 

• Scatter reels

The scatter reel is a rare mechanic even among the thousands of slot games in Gamdom. Instead of having the symbols be in a winning sequence, all you need is to have the minimum quantity of the same icon anywhere on the grid. The drawback is that the minimum number is often up to 7 or higher. 

• Symbol match

Just like scatter reels, you don’t need the symbols to appear in a sequence to get a hit. Symbol match reels are a lot more similar to puzzle games where you only need similar icons to be adjacent to each other. The minimum quantity is usually 5 with every additional piece increasing the payout. Symbol matches don’t usually come with a scatter symbol like most slots do but they are often paired with cascading reels and the jackpot is hit using win streak momentum.

Bottom line

Slot machines reels explained in detail in this article apply to almost every online slot on Gamdom. There are exceptions of new games under the slots/casino category like Crash which is a game of speculation rather than of reels. Game providers will continue to explore more slot machine reels type or new ways to execute the above mechanics so always see new releases. You can find them on the Gamdom casino page among the featured titles by popularity.

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Words: Clarence Clarke