Slots symbols- Gamblino’s Guide on Scatters, Wilds, and Other Paying Symbols

Types of Slot Symbols

Slot symbols come in different types. They bring potential payouts, depending on the slot you are playing. For cluster pay slots, they pay if you can land matching symbols in clusters of five symbols. For regular payline slots, you earn a payout by matching at least three symbols from left to right or both ways. 

Slots symbols have different roles, such as triggering payouts, Free Spins, and Bonus rounds. Or, if you’re lucky, you’ll randomly land symbols that multiplies your winnings or unlock the game’s jackpot.

Here are the most used slot symbols in slots:

• Regular symbols. These symbols often represent the main symbols in the slot and are usually in line with the game’s theme. For example, if you’re playing a fruity-themed game like Fruit Shop by NetEnt, you’ll find many colorful symbols like Watermelon, Orange, and Lemon. 

• Low-pays. These are your playing cards and suits, such as Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), Nine (9), and Ten (10).  In addition, slot machines may also throw in suits for symbols such as Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs. They’re low-pay symbols because they offer the lowest potential payouts.

• Scatters. The scatter symbol features the word SCATTER, and they have two functions. First, it helps you achieve a payout of a certain amount of money. Scatters can also trigger special features such as Free Spins, giving you more chances of winning. In addition, Scatters may appear anywhere on the reels. When you play slots like Butterfly Staxx by NetEnt, getting 3, 4, or 5 Scatters award 5, 6, and 7 Butterfly Spins, respectively. You can also get additional Free Spins if more Scatters land on the reels during the Free Spins mode. 

• Wilds. Wild symbols replace all symbols except for the Scatters. They may come as Sticky, Expanding, or Stacked Wilds on the reels. Sticky Wilds remain on the reels for subsequent spins until no winning combos are up. Expanding wilds expand over the length of a reel, making every symbol Wild. Stacked wilds can cover an entire reel as they drop. So, for example, if you play the Wild West Gold slot by Pragmatic Play, you can simultaneously land the J card suit on the first and third reels for huge payouts.

• Multipliers. Multiplier symbols can multiply your winnings at a predetermined figure and may count towards the line or total bet. You may come across these symbols during the base game or the Free Spin bonus. One example of a slot with Multipliers is the Piggy Riches Megaways slot by Red Tiger. It features different multipliers from x1 to x10. In this slot, the Win Multiplier appears randomly and increases every after wins during Free Spins. 

• Bonus. In many premium slots, landing three or more Bonus symbols triggers the Bonus game feature and jackpots. In most cases, the Bonus symbol does not award any money. But it leads you to the free rounds of spins for greater wins. It comes with the word Bonus, or it could be a specific bonus symbol. For example, one of the slots with the Bonus symbol is Down the Rails by Pragmatic Play. Hit three or more symbols to trigger the Bonus round.