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Popular Slot Features: A Guide to the Must-Try Features

Look no further than playing online slots if you’re seeking a way to enjoy the excitement of online casinos at any time and place. The essential elements of any online slot game are slot features. They can increase gameplay excitement and your winnings. Some features in most slot machines include jackpot symbols, avalanche reels, scatters, wilds, and free spins rounds. 

Best Slot Features

Great Variety of Games

Top Slot Operators

Slots with unique features are undoubtedly more thrilling and offer more than simply fun. The most comprehensive guide to online slot features is provided here. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, our guide has something for everyone. You’ll learn about every popular online slot feature and how they work together to enhance your chances of winning. Keep reading, as I also present the best slot sites to join in the UK.

What Are Slot Features and How Do They Work?

Slot games are currently the most played and popular online casino games worldwide. As technology advances, the slots you can find today differ from the traditional three-reel machines as technology advances. So, what are slot features, and how do they work? We will find out everything about them here.

Convenience and increasing the chances of winning are among the top advantages of online slot features. For each slot game you want to play, you will find a special feature that comes with it. I will look at this in greater detail in the following sections. 

Popular Slot Features Online
Image credit: Shutterstock

How They Can Enhance Your Gaming Experience?

Slot machines with extra features can considerably boost your chances of winning. They will increase the gameplay excitement as well. Indeed, every time you spin the reels, you are hoping to hit a winning combination of symbols that will either trigger a payout or bonus round, such as free spins, or even result in an entry into a progressive jackpot

Game developers design them to add to the overall thrilling casino experience and benefit from them. Each slot feature has its own purpose. You will find that some of them let you continue playing for free by spinning the reels without risking funds. Other exciting slot features allow you to increase your wins by a particular percentage. Add to that are some features which enable you to select the number of paylines you wish to play.

Let’s get right into the most popular slot features. It’s crucial to look for slots with features you like because many games are available online. Your familiarity with the various types of slot features will increase as you play more slots. 

Continue reading as I provide a detailed guide on popular slot features online that you can benefit from after joining your preferred slot website. 

Free Spins


If you have ever claimed a casino welcome bonus, you have probably got free spins packed with the bonus. Even though free spins are not considered a slot feature, many online casino sites offer games with free spins that are regarded as the game feature.

When you claim the desired bonus, you will get a number of free spins you can use on selected games. This is why it is essential to always check the related terms and get to know which games are included. 

We found out that many newcomer casinos offer customers the opportunity to “Buy a Feature”. By doing so, you will get free spins based on your stake amount and will start immediately after confirming your deposit. 

Mystery Symbols


If you enjoy surprise games, you can make the most of the top slot features, the mystery symbol-based online slot game feature.

On the screen, there are specified symbols that resemble question marks. All matching mystery symbols flip over to show matching images before determining payouts. When placed correctly, they can occasionally result in various rewards.

Autoplay


One of the most widely used slot features is autoplay, specifically made for that purpose. You need to click the autoplay button once to begin the procedure and once again to end it.

However, there are a few additional options available for playing online slots with autoplay feature. You can programme the autoplay slot feature to play for a predetermined number of games (10, 50, 100, etc.). Additionally, you can also set up the game to end if you win or lose significantly. 

Multipliers


The multipliers are one of the most popular slot features that, fortunately, don’t need a lot of explanation. These symbols are used in online slot machines to increase your chances of winning by a predetermined amount. The amount might range from 1x to 100x, depending on your game. 

Most importantly, remember that the rules of the game you want to play will 100% determine how the multipliers are activated, as they can appear in the base game of numerous slot games. Multipliers symbols are only available in bonus rounds in unique slots. Additionally, certain multiplier symbols only work with the payline that is now winning, but other multiplier symbols might affect all of your bets.

Progressive Jackpots


The progressive jackpots are one of the best slot features, despite some players viewing them as a form of slot game rather than a feature. As with other slot machines, progressive jackpot games are entirely random, so there isn’t a trick to winning the biggest payouts. However, it’s wise to avoid recently won games and keep a sharp eye on the prize pots for other games.

Non-progressive jackpot slots are a common name for standard slots. This is because their jackpots are fixed, meaning the amount they are worth remains unchanged.

Variable & Fixed Paylines


Slot games with payline features come in two versions. The variable paylines allow you to pick how many lines you want to bet. To clarify, you can wager one line, ten lines, and so on on a machine with 20 paylines, and for each line, you have to pay.

Additionally, if you go for the fixed paylines, you must bet on each line. For instance, all 20 paylines on a slot machine are constantly active and in play.

There is undoubtedly one essential element of all online slots, the reels. The vertical game elements spin from top to bottom once players have selected their stake and hit the start button. Every time you spin the reels, a unique set of symbols produced randomly appears on each spin.

The traditional reels only have three reels and a total of three rows, with a single payline running horizontally through the centre row. In contrast, modern online slot games typically include five reels and up to four rows of symbols. In addition, online slot machine reels and rows comprise a complex grid to form numerous symbol combinations and, thus, paylines. 

Furthermore, another important factor to consider when comparing traditional to modern slot features are the paylines. Their job is to decide whether the symbols create a winning combination. In traditional slots, you will find only one payline.

On the contrary, modern online slots include between 10 and 243 paylines, and some can give players up to thousands of ways to win because they can fit up to seven symbols on a single reel.

More Slot Features Available Online

Now that you have learned about some of the most popular slot features, we will give you a comprehensive guide to some more features that are available in online slots world. 

Wilds

Some of the most popular slot game symbol features are wilds. Depending on the game’s theme and the developer’s creativity, they might be standard logos or appear as the slot’s heroes. 

Additionally, wilds are frequently employed as symbol replacements to help you create a winning combination that would not otherwise be possible. Once you get in on the action with wild symbols, you will find that they work together with other modifiers. They can also lock into place to generate sticky wilds, stretch to fill entire reels and do much more.

Scatters

Scatter symbols are unique symbols seen in almost all online slots that serve a specific purpose depending on your game. When playing specific slots, Scatters may trigger some types of bonuses, usually free spins, and act as multipliers or stand in for other symbols to assist in creating winning combos.

Scatter symbols can appear anywhere on the reels and perform their functions in any position. Therefore, the Scatters do not need to line up in a precise pattern on a bet line to trigger the Free Games feature in some games.

So, to activate bonus games, three or more Scatters must appear anywhere on the reels. These include free spins, mini-games like jackpot rounds or pick-me games, or other bonuses.

Other Special Symbols

The more you are into playing online slots, the more you discover every online slot feature available to you. Exploding symbols, sticky symbols, and expanding and stacked symbols are some exciting slot features to benefit from. 

A sticky symbol remains on the reels for a spin or several spins. They can be either ordinary or wild icons. On the other hand, an expanding symbol expands to fill the whole reel. You can find a regular or wild symbol in the expanding slot symbol. In addition, when identical symbols are stacked on top of each other, it is referred to as a stacked symbol. The moment that they appear, these icons fill the entire reel.

Colossal reels are often saved for the bonus round in slots and frequently land in the centre of the board. They have the advantage of giving you a strong push toward payouts, enhancing your chances of winnings. Thus, everything will be fine if the first reel includes a matching symbol.

Overall, playing some free slot games is the best way to understand more about the characteristics of online slots. It’s the ideal approach to get familiar with a game’s rules without risking your funds. When you feel at ease with playing the preferred slot game, you can choose to go further and explore the must-try slot features.

Win Ways

Some game developers see that 10 or 20 paylines aren’t enough, as they want to give you more. They aim to provide 243, 720, or more paylines. These Win Ways slot games feature several paylines for a predetermined stake per every spin. 

One of the best examples of the Win Ways feature is the 243 Ways to Win game. You can make winning combinations across 243 different lines when playing the “243 Ways to Win” slot game. Every time you spin the reels, all paylines are in play and active, making it one of the best slot games.

The paylines that you have selected will be used by the slot machine to determine whether or not you have landed any winning symbols on each spin. Most of today’s video slots have fixed paylines, meaning your wager will cover every potential winning line. Most slot machine paylines only pay in one direction, from left to right. Luckily, you can still play slot games that pay both ways. When winning combos that appear on a payline starting from the left or the right, the game pays out both ways.

Win Ways Slot Feature represented in the Slot Game Book of Ra
Screenshot of Book of Ra slot machine with Win Ways.

Reel Features

Video slots offer much more than just unique symbols, standard paylines, and way-to-win mechanics. Slot machine reels can improve your chances of winning with features like Locked Reels and Reel Swap

When playing a specific slot game, you might not realise that you are playing a game that includes Cascading Reels. Game developers give it various names, including Avalanches, Rolling Reels, Symbol Dropn, or Tumbling Reels.

Cascading reels are a slot machine feature that clears the screen of matching symbols that were part of winning combos, leaving empty spaces. Symbols that are above these spots fall to fill in the voids. Additional symbol substitutions are applied to the remaining available areas, which might result in additional payments.

Win Boosters

Playing slots with win boosters is another technique to improve your chances of winning. Specific slot games with the win boosters feature, like multipliers, respins, avalanches, nudges, or even tumbling reels, can be the star of some slot games.

As the name suggests, Re-Spins will give you another chance to win, and depending on the game, multipliers will double, triple, or even quadruple your winnings. Multipliers in online slot machines increase your chances of winning by a predetermined amount. On the other hand, nudging reels let you add a new row of symbols that may help complete wins, giving you a second chance to win.

Tumbling Reels

You will immediately recognise Tumbling Reels if you’ve ever played Gonzo’s Quest, a popular slot machine from Netent. The process starts like a typical online slot game when activating these features. You spin the reels, and a payout will appear if a winning combination is produced. 

However, if a selection of symbols delivers a payout, the ones contributing to it will disappear, forcing the above symbols to drop. After that, more icons will appear from above the screen to fill in the gaps, and if another win is made, the same thing will happen.

Bonus Rounds

When you start playing slots online, you will come upon the most exciting slot feature, it is the bonus round feature. As the name suggests, you will get bonus rounds playing a specific slot game. In general, these bonus rounds are free spins based rounds.

However, free spins are not the only type of bonus rounds, as operators also offer other modifiers, as follows:

In the table below, I present numerous slot games offering popular slot features.

Slot Games Best Features
Buffalo Power: Hold & Win Scatters, bonus rounds with re-spins, wilds, win multipliers, and fixed jackpots.
Mystery Museum Free spins, stacked symbols, wilds, and scatters.
Punk Rocker Free spins, enhancer reels with win multipliers & additional free spins, jumping wilds, scatters, and wild transformations.
Reactoonz 2 Win multipliers, colossal symbols, multiple wilds, avalanche reels, and cluster pays are some of the slot machine features available.
The Dog House Megaways Sticky wilds multipliers, two free spins bonus rounds, and scatters.

In short, if you are the developer’s unique features, graphic design, and the use of mechanics, I recommend you stick to it. You will improve your playing style by acquiring knowledge and getting ready to explore other popular slot features confidently and easily.

Now that you have online slot features explained thoroughly, the only thing left is to decide where you want to play your favourite slot games. This part presents the best slot sites with popular slot features in the UK. The top casino websites should be chosen based on their range of slot games, with the most diverse and popular slot features.

All the slot sites I provide in the table below are approved by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. They have gone through a brief review and examination of all their services, casino games, and of course, promos. After reviewing their sites and looking closely at the availability of slot games, I found that all these sites offer popular slot features you can benefit from and increase your chances of winning. 

No matter which casino site you decide to register at, all of them did a great job and became among the UK’s top operators. Our team carefully examined other features these operators offer, such as available payment methods, apps, customer service, and the site’s overall functionality.

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                          Many different kinds of slot symbols are found on slot machines. Each of these symbols serves a particular purpose in the game. It is, therefore, crucial that you understand the basics and how these symbols function. After reviewing the complete list of slot features, I hope you understand how slot machine symbols work. Indeed, you will find many online slot sites in the UK to sign up with and enjoy the thrill of playing your favourite games on the go.

                          If you still have questions about the popular slot feature and want more detailed info, please check out the FAQs below. We give short yet helpful answers to some of your most repeatedly asked questions.

                          There are many popular slot features you can enjoy when playing online slots. The best slot features are free spins, reel features, win ways, scatter symbols, wilds, multipliers, bonus rounds, etc. Please read our review above and get the complete list of slot features.

                          There are many popular slot features to benefit from online. However, the most popular feature helps to enhance the chances of your winnings and makes the gameplay more entertaining and fun.

                          When comparing modern and popular slot features to traditional ones, there are many things to point out. Modern slots have advanced features like graphics, soundtrack, and sound effects. On the other hand, you can play traditional slots by matching only three symbols on the reels, which includes one single payline.

                          Slots with special features are obviously more thrilling, but their benefits go beyond simple entertainment. They can increase your chances of winning significantly, which every player desires.

                          Slot players hope to land on a winning combination of symbols with each spin that will either result in an entry into a progressive jackpot, a payout or activation of a particular bonus, such as free spins or even some other form of extra game rounds.

                          Many online operators offer slot games featuring popular slot features. We have included a table with the best slot sites in the UK in our review above. You can also check online, as you will find hundreds of honest reviews on casino sites with must-try slot features. It depends on what you are looking for in the end. So, research, and you’ll find a casino site to register at.

                          Yes. Playing games with online slot features will enhance your chances of winning and add to the overall entertainment and fun. Convenience, for sure, is one of the top advantages of playing online slots with popular slot features.

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