A Detailed Introduction to the Popular Casino Gaming Type – Slots

An immigrant to the United States of America originally hailing from Germany by the name of Charles Fey has been credited with fashioning the first Slots machine game. The game, Liberty Bell, was a product of Fey’s San Francisco workshop, and was made up of 3 reels and 20 symbols.

It wasn’t long before Fey was able to start producing Liberty Bell in mass, and when this occurred, the original look and structure of the game underwent some changes: the hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs symbols were introduced, and the game’s popularity went through the roof. The year 1910 saw Fey team up with a company by the name of Mills Novelty in order to produce Operator Bell, again bringing significant changes to the game’s design.

Everybody Enjoyed Slots Machines

In the 1930s and 1940s, these Slots machines were featured on many casino floors, and, although they were initially marketed as ladies’ games, they quickly went on to be enjoyed by players of all sexes.

The ease with which they could be played, and the high rewards they were able to offer in exchange for a miniscule initial investment, meant that they very quickly became some of the most-played games in land-based casinos, mirroring the extraordinary success of their digital debut in more recent years.

The Innovations of the 1950s

The electro-mechanical Slots machine games we may recognise from old films and television shows were first developed in the 1950s, and this era saw games like Big Bertha being introduced, which were able to offer lucky players far bigger jackpots for successful play.

Bally Manufacturing introduced changes to the Slots industry by developing games which moved away from Fey’s initial design, and these versions of Slots were the main feature of the 1970s casino floor, with the Dollar Slot being particularly well-liked.

The world’s first video poker Slot machine game was released in the 1980s by Sircoma, and these were able to offer players a far greater range of choice as far as both payment options and games were concerned, ensuring that Slots continued to be enjoyed as the world became more technologically advanced. 

Slots for Online Gamblers

When online gambling was launched, in the mid 1990s, the transition of Slots machine games over to the digital era was both rapid and natural. They remain the most popular casino games thanks to the very same reasons they initially became so widely admired, and these days the level of choice players are able to enjoy is truly extraordinary.

Players are able to pick and choose their favourite operators, software providers, wager limits, themes, and skill levels with the simple click of a button at hundreds of different online casino sites.

Slot Game Variants Available Online

Players will be able to choose from a number of different Slot game variations, each of which may introduce new concepts or rules to them, whilst holding to the same basic premise that governs them all.

For example, in a multi-line online slots game, the player may activate more lines when he or she adds extra coins. These games will be played and won by the player managing to land the winning symbols in multiple different ways, including horizontally and diagonally in some cases.

Progressive online Slots games will have players who manage to form the winning combination paid out from an enormous, ever-increasing prize pool that gets added to whenever a player participates in the game linked to a network of casinos worldwide. The general rule for these games will require that players have the maximum amount of coins possible in play in order to be eligible for the main prize.

Many modern slots machines now offer a variety of bonus features which are able to reward the player as well. Now, check out the following details:

  • Wild Symbols

These substitute for other symbols in the game, although generally not all of them, in order to help the player form a winning combination.

  • Scatter Symbols

These symbols will activate either a bonus game or higher payouts for the player when he or she manages to land them on the reels. Most usually more than one is needed in order to trigger the additional features and/or payouts.

  • Free Spins

These will allow players to play extra games at no cost, and are generally triggered by the Scatter symbols. The amount of Free Spins offered will vary from game to game, and the Bonus games, which are activated by these generally, take the format of a game within the game, governed by a separate set of objectives and rules.

Some Slots variants, especially the traditional Fruit Machine types will carry features known as Nudge and Hold. By selecting the Hold button, players will be able to keep one or more of their reels in place for the next spin. The Nudge feature allows players to bump one or more of their reels on the next spin in order to create a winning combination or trigger a Bonus feature.

The Rules Which Govern Slots Games

One of the main reasons for the abiding popularity of Slots games is that the rules and directions for play are so incredibly simple for players of any level of experience to follow. While the games themselves will differ in terms of the details like paylines, themes, and odds, the basic premise governing them will remain the same.

Players simply choose the type of Slots game they wish to spend some time playing, and then decide on how much they want to wager. After that, pressing the Spin button will reveal their results, and payouts will be made according to the paytable.

Players will need to decide on 2 things when they choose coins:

  1. The value of the coin
  2. The number of these coins

The majority of Slots machine games will provide players with coins of different denominations, which allows the player to first choose this amount, and then decide how many of these coins he or she wishes to wager per spin of the reels. For example, players may choose to wager a coin valued at 1 a total of 5 times, and will thus end up placing a bet to the value of 5.