History of Slot Machine Symbols
Our most recent study on gambling in Canada found that almost 50% of casino goers preferred slots to other casino games. These colorful machines are easy to use and have a pleasing aesthetic appearance. If you’ve ever played the slots, you might have wondered what the various symbols symbolize.
The majority of the slot machine symbols in use now differ greatly from those of the past. Many symbols were removed and new ones were added as machines became more contemporary. The fundamental symbols, however, continue to exist today.
The first automatic payment device, The Liberty Bell, was created by Charles Fey in San Francisco in 1894, and that is when it all began. It was a rotating 3-reel slot machine with five unique symbols (card suits, the bell, and the horseshoe). The gadget gave the winner money automatically whenever the bell symbols lined up. The greatest prize of 50 cents was given to the winner back then when the symbols matched. Today, we refer to that as a jackpot, and the winning price is obviously much bigger.
Poker machines and wheel of fate games had already gained considerable popularity in the US before the introduction of the first slot machine. Naturally, the poker motif had a significant impact on how the earliest slot machines were designed.
The gaming industry in the US appeared to have a bright future after the creation of the first slot machine. However, all forms of gambling, including those with cash prizes, were outlawed in the 1900s.
As a result, gaming companies got the brilliant notion to substitute fruit candy for the payoff. A fruit-flavored candy or piece of bubble gum would be given out as a prize each time a player lined up the winning symbols.
Because of this, fruit symbols are still present on the rotating reels. Who would have imagined that’s how they became that way?
TYPES OF SLOT SYMBOLS
Wild Symbols
Modern wild symbols come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Keeping track of the various ways these symbols operate and function can be very difficult. Wild symbols behave like a magic wand since they can appear anywhere on the reels. The simplest kind of wild symbol will simply take the place of other regular slot symbols and contribute to the formation of winning combinations. Wilds, however, cannot take the place of bonus icons like the scatter.
Some Wild symbols can also act as Wild Multiplier symbols. These not only aid in forming winning combinations, but the reward is also increased thanks to the multiplier value that the Wild symbols have been given.
Random Wild Symbols, Soaring Wild Symbols, or Floating Wild Symbols are now present in several online slot machines. These symbols may be added automatically to one or more reel places during each spin of the slot machine or after the reels have stopped spinning.
Some slots will frequently include a unique and infrequent bonus game feature for wild symbols. Such distinctive wilds is also a totally random type of bonus game that, when granted, transforms one or more of the reels into wholly wild reels. This can be found in BF Games’ slot machine, Book of Gods.
Multiplier Symbol
The name alone provides enough of explanation. A multiplier symbol increases your payment by multiplying your winnings. The multiplier’s value has a big impact on how much your payout will rise. A multiplier of four will increase your winnings by a factor of four.
The fact that multipliers can also be used as wild symbols distinguishes these special qualities from conventional gaming symbols. Some multipliers feature a wild icon, which can be used in conjunction with any other icon to assist complete a winning combination and multiply the winning prize.
Scatter Symbols
Another frequent bonus feature found in most video slots are scatter symbols. Scatters are frequently among the more uncommon and difficult-to-hit symbols on the reels. They do have the benefit of not needing to be a part of a payline in order to have an impact, though. From slot machine to slot machine, the effect often varies.
To activate one of the game’s bonus features, you typically require a number of scatter symbols (often 3 or more) anywhere on the reels. Scatters typically lead to further free spin rounds. Due to the popularity of this feature among online gamblers, scatter slots are in high demand.
You can find the bonus spin rounds to be very profitable. The basic bonus just gives you a certain number of free rounds, typically between 5 and 15, where the prizes are determined by the quantity of the previous active bet that activated the feature. Additionally, the free spin rounds occasionally include extra bonuses like multipliers, which can increase your earnings even more. Payouts can also be obtained only from scatter symbols.
The paytable for the slot machine will show you whether to anticipate winning money. The payment for the scatter symbol is typically less than the payout for a full payline with some of the more valuable regular symbols. However, they normally just need to be present anywhere on the reels to award it; they don’t typically need to land in a payline.
Bonus Symbols
Most slots use bonus symbols to start a bonus game, however these symbols are different from the scatter symbols stated above. The distinction is that occasionally, a specified number of these kinds of slot machine symbols must spin in specific places on the reels before the bonus game is launched. Slots with bonus rounds include Jurassic Park and Pharaoh’s Fortune, for instance.
The roles of scatter and bonus symbols frequently overlap, and they simply represent the same slot function (but not always).
You need to have at least three of these slot machine symbols in order to get a bonus game for a group of bonus symbols. Additionally, they must only be spinning on enabled paylines on successive reels beginning with the first reel. However, certain slot machine games demand that a bonus symbol appear simultaneously on reels one and five, sometimes in the same place. In some games, the bonus game feature round is triggered by bonus symbols spinning on every other reel, such as reels 1, 3, and 5.
When the maximum coins on the payline are engaged and the symbols also spin in, you can only start the bonus game feature round on some three-reel slots that have a single bonus symbol in play for a specific reel.
Any time you are playing a slot machine that has a number of bonus symbols, it is always a good idea to look at the paytable. The purpose of this is to determine precisely how the bonus games are triggered. Depending on the kind of slot game you are playing, the symbols can accomplish this in a variety of ways.
Stacked Symbol
Another slot machine icon that benefits the player is a stacked symbol.
Stacks of symbols occupy more space on the reels and improve the chances that they will line up in a pay line.
The player can land many stacked symbols by using these special gambling symbols. Whether you get stacked wilds and multipliers or ordinary symbols, you have a decent chance of winning.
The fact that these symbols can occur over numerous slot lines and have a large winning potential is, overall, their strongest feature.
Sticky Symbols
Another relatively recent bonus feature is sticky symbols. They remain set in position for multiple spins after you manage to land them on the reels. If the sticky sign has any bonus attributes, the player will benefit from this bonus the most. Sticky Wilds and Sticky Scatters, for example, give you a few extra spins to get the other required spins. However, because sticky symbols are such a huge advantage for the player, clever designers frequently position them at the very end of the reels, which makes it more challenging to connect them to a payline that pays out.
What are the best symbols in slot machines?
In slot machines, the best symbols are typically the ones that pay out the most. In a huge number of slots, scatter symbols are the ones that offer the best payouts. These slot symbols are depicted by a special image that is unique to the theme of the particular slot game.
For instance, if you decide on a slot machine with a pirate theme, a scatter symbol with a pirate motif won’t be out of place. Therefore, the best symbols in slots are scatters.
What are Wild symbols in slots?
The wild symbols can substitute any other symbol needed to hit the winning combination in the line.
What were the very first symbols in slot machines?
On the oldest slot machine, the slot symbols available were: horseshoes, spades, hearts, diamonds, and a whistle. It would be possible to classify any of these as the oldest. They are all classic slot machine symbols, in any case.
Charles Fey is responsible for inventing the first slot machine in 1895, which included the first slot symbols. Some of these old slot symbols still exist in modern slots.
Have You Mastered Online Slots? Remember to Stay Safe!
Modern video slots have some really attractive features, and the gameplay is very simple. Even if you are entirely at ease with the various symbols, you shouldn’t immediately begin spinning the reels. Even though internet casinos are now very strictly regulated, online scams are still a threat.
If you wish to make a real-money wager and pull the lever, you need take the time to confirm that the casino has the required licenses. You may probably imagine from the name of our website that our reviewers have already conducted a number of checks, so you can always consult our helpful recommendations of the top casino sites.