Types of slot games

Slots are complex game machines, running off several different formats and offering all kinds of different ways to win. This article will take you through the different types of slot games that you’ll find online, hopefully pointing you in the right direction of the game that suits your tastes most at our recommended online casinos.

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Most of us, even seasoned slot players, don’t understand the logistics behind different types of slot games. To the untrained eye, it’s just symbols spinning across the screen while we cross our fingers and pray to God or Buddha or Oprah that today is our lucky day. But there are a ton of formats available online that have considerable effects on gameplay, payouts, odds, and overall quality.

243 way, 1024 way and 3125 way slots

243 way, 1024 way and 3125 way slots refer to the amount of possible winning combinations that can be formed within a single slot game. Unlike the original poker machines that allowed winning combinations to form on one single payline, modern technology has resulted in software that can find hundreds to thousands of possible combinations:

243 way slots – 243 Way slot games changed the way we play slots forever, and these have since become the norm whether playing online or at a land based casino. Players can win by landing 243 possible symbol combinations appearing from left to right anywhere across the reels, giving you more chances to win while also adding more action to your gaming experience.

1024 and 3125 way slots – often referred to as “All Way” slots, 1024 and 3125 way slots are games that offer literally thousands of potential winning combinations. These games are few and far between as players tend to prefer the 243 way versions, but such online titles include Arctic Fortune, Secret Santa, Reel Rush and Dolphin Coast.

Three reel slots

Three reel slot games (often referred to as “classic” slots) are the closest online games you’ll find to the traditional Liberty Bell slot machine and the old American penny slots. Three reel games are very basic, keeping things simple without the bells and whistles of newer video slot games and will be suited to the thrifty player who like their gambling with a side of nostalgia or newbies wanting to familiarise themselves with a more simplified game.

Three reel slots typically come with the option to play on one, three or five paylines and generally have better odds than five reel games, although usually with smaller jackpots up for grabs.

Five reel slots

Five reel slots (commonly known as “video slots”) make up most of the slot games you’ll find at an Internet casino. These games are more complex than three reel slots, offering not only higher quality graphics but more bonus games and additional features like wilds, stacked wilds, expanding wilds, scatter symbols and free spins.

Five reel slots offer an array of winning combinations, with winnings being formed on anywhere from 10 to 100 paylines. More payline combos means lower odds, resulting in very lucrative jackpots that keep players coming back for more.

Progressive jackpot slots

Progressive jackpot slots are amongst the most popular games at online casinos due to the huge winning potential that lies within. PJP’s are slot games that start with a base jackpot that increases any time a player anywhere across the network places a real money bet on that game. The jackpots continue to grow until a winning spin occurs, which has resulted in triumphs well into the multi-millions of dollars.

Progressive jackpot games are typically more basic and don’t have the same outstanding visual quality or special features as other video slots, but the power here lies within those life changing jackpots. Popular progressive jackpot games you’ll find at our endorsed casinos include Mega Moolah, Mega Fortune, Divine Fortune, Arabian Nights, Hall of Gods, and Age of the Gods.

3D slots

When it comes to online gaming, there are two different kinds of 3D slots available:

Stereoscopic 3D slots – stereoscopic slots are games using true 3D animation, the kind you’d expect when forking out for exuberant ticket prices at the cinema. These games require the use of additional eye-wear like the classic red and blue lensed glasses or specialised 3D specs and due to this extra requirement remain pretty unpopular online. Microgaming has an awesome stereoscopic slot, Sterling Silver, available at several of our recommended casinos so if you do have access to a pair of 3D glasses it’s definitely worth the experience.

3D animated slots – this is the kind of 3D slot you’re more likely to find, with three dimensional animation utilised to create a unique and enthralling gaming experience. The best range of 3D slots available online is BetSoft’s Slots3 collection which features high-def animation that blows some of the biggest Disney and Pixar films out of the water. 3D slots boost the fun factor with vibrant animation that allows for great bonus features and cinematic style entertainment on top of the excitement of real money gambling.

MegaSpin slots

Think of MegaSpin slots as the multi-tasking messiahs of slots, perfect for the real life player who likes to claim several machines at once, or the online punter who’s sick of having three different windows open on auto-spin at the same time. MegaSpin slots take care of the multi-tasking for you, allowing you to play multiple games and multiple spins within the one condensed screen.

Some MegaSpin games will give you the option of selecting how many games you want to play (allowing up to nine games at once) while other MegaSpin games come with a set number of games per screen, usually four. Other than the multi-play function, MegaSpin slots work just like any regular slots and bets are placed as per standard online slot play. Be mindful that each game requires its own individual wager, making it pretty easy to burn through your bankroll.

Not sure which type of slot game is right for you? We recommend Slots.lv as our top-rated online casino site for players from United States, which has some excellent welcome bonuses available for new players along with a huge range of slot games. For some ideas of where to start, you can always give our recommended best online slot games a go.