Slot Machine Features: The Complete Guide

The success of slot games comes mainly from the slot features, which are present in every game and provide additional ways to get a payout.

Software providers are in constant competition to stay creative and satisfy the needs of the players in new and unique ways. 

The main goal of this article is to reveal everything there is to know about slot machine features and why are they so important for your gambling experience.

Here are the main topics that we covered in this guide:

• Slot features explained
• Improvement of the gameplay experience
• Popular slot features
• Other types of slot features
• 3 steps for choosing the best slot
• Best slots with features
• Playing slots for real cash

What Are Slot Features?

Slot features define a game’s level of entertainment and help it distinguish itself from other slots, apart from the theme and design. 

Some of the most common slot features are:

• Wilds
• Free Spins
• Multipliers 
• Progressive Jackpots.

How Do Slot Features Improve Your Gameplay Experience?

The main objective of the slot features is to make the gameplay more entertaining and to help you get a better payout. 

Without the slot features, the slots will be very simplistic and dull, just like the first slot machines that were featured in land-based casinos. Nowadays, the slot features are better at building up interest for the players after every single spin.

The Most Popular Slot Machine Features

Although new features are regularly being introduced by software providers, some popular features are part of the majority of slots:

Wilds

A Wild symbol in a slot game always acts as a substitute for all other symbols, except the Scatter symbols. This will bring you more winning combinations, as you will connect symbols that weren´t initially intended to offer a payout. 

In some slot games, the Wild symbols are the highest paying symbols, which usually reward you with some generous prizes.

Check out this video to learn more about the wild symbols:

Apart from the substitute role, some slots come with additional features to the Wild symbols. 

In most cases, they include a multiplier function for matching a winning combination with other symbols. Some slots will include various types of wild symbols, including: 

• Expanding Wilds
• Spreading Wilds 
• Sticky Wilds 
• Duplicating Wilds
• Walking Wilds

Free Spins

The Free Spins feature is one of the most common and most desired features in a slot game, which provides you with free games. 

In each of the free spins, your bet and the active paylines will be set based on the value of the spin that triggered the Free Spins feature. 

You can take full advantage of this feature by wagering with the highest bet possible (according to your budget) and having all the paylines active.

Check out this video for a quick overview on the free spins feature:

The free spins bonus and the feature are two completely different things, but they are related - they both offer free rounds you can play on slot machines for real money. 

Progressive Jackpots

A progressive jackpot is a huge prize that grows every time the players place bets on that specific slot game. This progressive jackpot takes a small percentage of each wager to increase the total prize amount.

Progressive slots come with tougher odds than those with fixed jackpots, but the jackpots are considerably larger. Some of the progressive jackpots are networked across multiple slot machines in a single casino, while some are networked via multiple casinos.

As for the online slots with progressive jackpots, the software providers are usually grouping several slot games that are eligible for the same prize.

Multipliers

The multipliers' objective is to multiply your winnings by a certain amount. Multipliers range from a generous x3 multiplier up to x100 or even x1,000, depending on the game. 
The multipliers can take several forms. Some are operating on the regular reels (e.g.: Multiplier Wilds), while others are only appearing during a certain feature.

Discover more about the slot multipliers here:

Gamble Feature

After getting a winning combination, some slot games will allow you to take a risk of doubling your payout multiple times using the Gamble feature. During the gamble, the player will get a 50/50 chance of doubling or losing all their winnings.

Some slot games feature a coin toss, where the player will have to correctly guess the side that the coin will land on. Other slots will ask the players to guess the right color of a facedown card or even guess the right card suit, where the chances are 1 in 4 for doubling a payout.

Find out more about the amazing gamble feature from this video:

Autoplay

Autoplay is probably the most common slot feature, designed for the players that want to multi-task or simply watch the reels spin instead of constantly pushing the “Spin” button. 

To activate this feature, you click the “Autoplay” button and when you want it to stop, you press the button again.

There are some additional settings in the online slot games when it comes to Autoplay. You have the option to set the Autoplay feature to run several times, for example:

• 10;
• 25;
• 50;
• 100;
• Or even infinite.

4 Other Special Slot Features You Should Know

Apart from the most popular slot features that we’ve mentioned above, there are some other special slot features that will boost your gaming experience.

1. Win Ways

In the first slot machines, there was only one payline on a 3-reel slot, while in modern video slots you can find multiple paylines that range from 5 up to 100. 

The paylines can be either fixed or flexible, as well as horizontal or zigzag, and are often displayed in the game’s paytable. 

In modern video slots, you can find slots that feature:

• Win Both Ways
• Win All Ways
• 243 Ways to Win 
• Megaways
• Cluster Pays
• and several other payline systems.

2. Special Reels

There are several slot reel features such as Locked Reels and Reel Swap that can boost the players' winning chances. Some slot games also feature Reel Holds, where you can manually choose which reel you want to hold in place for the following spin.

Learn more about the special slot reels from our video:

3. Bonus Mini-Game

The mini-game features tend to have several options for the players to choose from, such as event paths or mystery boxes, that can contain random cash prizes. 

Here's a quick video on bonus mini games in slots:

4. Cluster Pays

In a slot game with Cluster Pays, every symbol that is part of a winning combination will vanish from the reels and other new symbols will fill their positions. This mechanic is like a mini respin.  It is generally featured in the base game, and during the free spins bonus round.

Here's a video of how it works:

How to Choose the Best Slots With Features – 3 Tips for Beginners

If you are a beginner trying to find the best slots with features, don´t worry! We’ve got you covered with several tips.

Read the Paytable

Reading the slot’s paytable will help you understand what the game is offering. There, you will find important information about the game rules, the symbol payouts, the features, and how to activate them.  

Try the Slot Game in Demo

You can play slot games for free to get familiar with the slot’s concept, the pace of the game, and the frequency of hitting a winning combination. 

Choose a Slot Game From Reputable Software Providers

The best slots on the market that come with many features are almost always developed by reputable software providers. 

List of the Best Slots With Features

Here is our shortlist including the best slots and their features:

• Punk Rocker: xWays, Free Spins, Wilds, Wild Transformations, Jumping Wilds, Scatters, and Enhancer reel with extra free spins and multipliers.
• The Dog House Megaways: Sticky Wilds with multipliers, Scatters, and two separate Free Spins rounds.
• Reactoonz 2: Several Wild symbols, Colossal symbols, Symbol explosions, Cluster Pays mechanic, Win multipliers, and Avalanche reels.
• Buffalo Power: Hold and Win: Wild symbols, Scatter symbols, Free Spins, Win Multipliers, and a Bonus game with fixed jackpots and respins.
• Double Stacks: Wild symbols, Scatter symbols, Free Spins, and Double Stacked symbols.

How Can You Play Slots With Features for Real Money?

Playing for real money is not that difficult.

Here is the step-by-step process you need to follow to get started:

Step 1

First of all, take a look at our slot guides collection to understand how the games work.

Step 2

Now, select a casino from the best online casino real money list, sign up and make a deposit to get started.

Step 3

Next up, choose a slot game with features, such as the ones we've mentioned in the previous section.

Step 4

After that, read the paytable of the slot game to find out what features the game has and how to trigger them.

Step 5

Lastly, pick the desired bet, spin the reels and wait for a winning combination to appear on the reels.

Final Thoughts

There you have it - the complete guide to slot machine features.

We hope that you enjoyed the read and you’ve learned something new about the main features available in online slots.

Slot machine features provide much-desired entertainment, as well as some very generous prizes. They are the reason why most players choose to wager on some casino games over others.

Have fun and remember to gamble responsibly!