Most Popular Slot Bonus Features

What Are Slot Bonus Features?

The slot bonus features are a very important part of modern online video slots, as many players tend to choose a slot game based on its bonus features. Bonus features are special components of a slot game that are designed to make the gameplay much more exciting and boost the players’ winnings.

If you take away the bonus features from the modern online video slots you will get a boring slot game where the only way to get a payout is to hit a winning combination on a payline. The first slot machines had no bonus features in them, which is why their popularity nowadays is very low.

The bonus features can be triggered in the slot game at any time, by landing on a specific number of certain slot symbols. These certain symbols can be either the Wild symbol, the Scatter symbol, or the Bonus symbol, which can pay out no matter where they would land on the slot reels.

 

Where to Find the Slot Bonus Features?

If an online video slot has bonus features included in its game, then the players can find them at the paytable. Locate the slot’s paytable and in there you will find the main slot symbols and the bonus features that are included in the slot game.

In there, every bonus feature will be explained in detail in terms of how to activate it, what the perks are, and how the players can benefit from it. The paytable will also hold information about the number of paylines and the slot mechanic that is being used to build the slot game.

 

Types of Slot Bonus Features

The more online video slots you play, the more different types of slot bonus features you will come across. Below you will find some of the most popular slot bonus features that feature in the majority of online video slots.

 

Free Spins

The Free spins bonus feature is almost always included in some of the best slot games on the market. This bonus feature will provide the players with additional rounds, free of charge.

It is also the most popular slot bonus feature amongst the players, as it gives them a chance to win some very generous prizes without having the risk any of their own money.

The free spins bonus feature is usually triggered by landing on 3 or more specific symbols. If the slot game has a standard bonus, then the free spins bonus feature will be triggered by a special symbol that is different from the one triggering the standard bonus.

Often, the triggering symbols don’t have to land on a payline in order to activate the bonus feature. Some slot games require the triggering symbols to land on specific reels in order to activate the free spins bonus feature while other slots don’t care where the symbols land as long as the number of triggering symbols is satisfying the rules.

Instead of a payout, sometimes the players will receive a different number of free spins, depending on the number of trigger symbols they land on. For instance, landing on 3 symbols might reward a player with 10 free spins while 4 or 5 may give them 15 or 20 free spins, respectively.

 

Free Spins Retrigger

Some online video slots are also allowing the players to retrigger the free spins bonus feature. This bonus feature is also very popular amongst the players as it can often provide them with some very big prizes.

The free spins bonus feature is often retriggered when the same three symbols that activate the bonus round land on the reels during the free spins. Players can retrigger the free spins round multiple times, which can lead them to some massive wins.

 

Wild Symbols

Wild symbols are the most common bonus feature symbol that features in almost every slot game. Usually, their main duty is to substitute for all other symbols in order to help the players to form a winning combination on the reels.

In the majority of slot games, the Wild symbols are substituted for all featured symbols except the Scatter symbols or any other special symbols such as Bonus or Jackpot symbols. There are numerous Wild symbols, and every one of them comes with certain additional features.

Expanding Wilds

The Expanding Wild symbols will hit one position on the reels and will expand to cover the rest of the positions of the reel. This can create several new wins, especially if it is a 5-reel slot with multiple paylines.

 

Shifting Wilds

The Shifting Wild symbols tend to move around the reels on each spin and every time new symbols land on the reels, they will combine with them to form a winning combination. This Wild symbol will continue to move until it is completely displaced from the reels.

 

Stacked Wilds

Stacked Wild symbols are usually found in stacks of 2, 3, 4, or 5 Wilds that are covering part or the entire reels. They are very similar to the Expanding Wild symbols.

 

Sticky Wilds

Sticky Wild symbols will stay in place for further spins, which definitely can create some very big winning combinations. They can appear during the main game or a bonus round.

 

Transferring Wilds

Transferring Wild symbols, also known as a nudge, is a popular feature that can be found on many new slot games.

 

Random Wild Symbols

Random Wild symbols have the same characteristics as every other Wild symbol, with the difference being that they can appear completely random depending on the slot’s theme and structure.

 

Walking Wilds

The Walking Wild symbols provide the players with the option to claim free spins when they receive a substitute symbol on the reels.

 

Bonus Rounds

The in-game bonus rounds are the most exciting part of the modern slot games, as they add additional entertainment to the game and can increase the players’ chances of winning. In the majority of slots, they can be activated by landing on a specific number of Scatter symbols or other special symbols.

There are two typed of bonus rounds in the slots, which are the free spins and the bonus games. We’ve talked about the free spins above so we will now focus on the bonus games. The bonus game category often features game rounds such as Mini-Slot, Bonus Wheel, Jackpot Bonus, Pick a Bonus, and some more.

 

Multi-Level Jackpots

Jackpots are also very popular and also the most desired bonus feature by the players. They are essentially one big payout that exists outside of the main game. Usually, there are a few different amounts that can be won, where the top prize is the least likely prize that can be won.

They can be very difficult to trigger, but once a player manages to do that they will claim a very big prize, much bigger than they can get from a regular play in the main game. The jackpot amount depends on the size of the bet.

Usually, there are around 4 different jackpots in a slot game with multi-level jackpots and each level awards different prizes. Also, different levels can be awarded in different ways, such as landing on a specific combination of symbols, withing a bonus feature, or even randomly on a spin.

 

Scatter Symbols

Scatters are one of the most used bonus features and it is very rare to find a slot game without them. They are usually used to trigger free spins, mini-games, or some other bonus game. In the paytable, you can find how many Scatter symbols you need in order to trigger a specific bonus feature.

The majority of video slots are usually requiring 3 or more Scatter symbols in order to trigger a bonus round, where the more Scatter symbols are on the reels, the bigger the bonus will be. Also, the Scatter symbols usually don’t follow the payline rules, which means that you could spin them in any position and they will provide you with a payout and a bonus round.

 

Multiplier Symbols

Multiplier symbols are symbols that are multiplying your winnings by a specific amount. For instance, if you have a 2x multiplier symbol as part of a winning combination, then you will double your payout. The slot games with Multiplier symbols are extremely popular amongst the players.

Some online video slots are incorporating progressive multipliers that can range between 1x and 10x (sometimes even higher) instead of including bonus rounds.