You should now have a solid grasp of everything you need to know about slot machine symbols and icons. Wild symbols are common, and you’ll find them in almost every modern slot game. If you’re familiar with online slot machines, you’ll know that symbols and icons are the very things that make the slots exciting.
- Sometimes you’ll also need to match more of these on the reels to trigger any win.
- Understanding the different types of symbols is crucial for anyone playing slot machines.
- How do you know how a scatter symbol on a particular game will behave?
- If you’re familiar with online slot machines, you’ll know that symbols and icons are the very things that make the slots exciting.
- Let’s move onto another class of special symbols called scatter symbols.
- Single BARs typically pay the least, double BARs offer mid-range rewards, and triple BARs deliver premium payouts.
- Besides offering bigger payouts (ranging from 5X to 500X+), these symbols establish the game’s theme and overall identity.
When you see the scatter symbol appear, it will expand to fill an entire reel. An expanding scatter symbol works like an expanding wild symbol. If you are able to get a second scatter symbol to appear while the sticky one is holding, you may qualify for the reward. Since many games require you to get more than one scatter symbol to trigger a reward, a sticky scatter can be very helpful.
In the image below, you’ll see a welcome sight from ‘A Night with Cleo.’ In this game the Ankh Keyhole is the game’s lone scatter symbol. You’ll usually need a minimum of two or three scatter symbols to reap the benefits. Like bonus symbols, scatter symbols sometimes deliver a nice payout, or they could trigger a bonus game mode.
- These classic slot machine symbols evoke nostalgia while remaining foundational to modern game design.
- Along with expanding wilds and expanding scatter symbols, expanding multipliers are possible.
- Since many games require you to get more than one scatter symbol to trigger a reward, a sticky scatter can be very helpful.
- For all the wild themes and licensed tie-ins crowding the lobby these days, the old slot machine symbols just won’t quit.
- Here you’ll be looking out for a special symbol, usually themed around the game you’re playing.
- We have now talked about different types of wild symbols which appear by themselves.
Special Slot Machine Symbols Explained
Sometimes, an overlay wild will be perfectly positioned to be entirely visible on the screen, giving you the maximum possible advantage. The most commonly cited example is the NetEnt Guns N’ Roses game, which has an overlay wild with a cross shape. The overlay will actually consist of an entire formation of wild symbols in a particular shape. But there are several types of wild symbols which take up more than one space when they appear. We have now talked about different types of wild symbols which appear by themselves.
Standard Symbols
An icon is the small image and title that represents the whole machine, and a surprising amount of design work goes into each one. If slot machine symbols are the gameplay, icons act as the storefront. Figuring out what a game’s wild actually does is an important part of learning how to win at slots, or at least knowing what you’re chasing. This concept kept the machines legal and the players coming back.
Types of Slot Machine Symbols
It is common for standard slot symbols to look like fruits such as cherries, bananas, lemons and grapes. Most of the symbols you see on a slot game are just your regular types of symbols that don’t have any special attributes. Getting into playing slots, and wondering what all the different types of slot machine symbols are? Explore the mechanics of slot tournaments, including their common rules, formats, scoring methods, and effective strategies. Discover how volatility influences payouts, risk levels, and learn how to select slot machines that fit your gaming style.
Just as there are sticky wilds, there also are sticky scatter symbols. Below, we go over some of the different types of scatter symbols out there. It is common—though not ubiquitous—for a single scatter symbol alone not to trigger any sort of payout on today’s slots. We’re in a new epoch for scatter symbols, thanks to digital technology. While a single scatter symbol tweedbet casino would trigger a small payout, two scatter symbols would pay out more, and three even more, and so on.
Lucky 7 symbols typically rank among the highest-paying icons in classic slots, second only to jackpot symbols. The simple rectangular design makes BARs instantly recognizable, cementing their status as essential slot machine characters. Single BARs typically pay the least, double BARs offer mid-range rewards, and triple BARs deliver premium payouts.
Cherries, lemons and watermelons became fixtures on the reels and remain some of the most recognizable slot symbols today. The fruit that landed matched the flavor you won — three grape symbols paid grape gum — which kept the machines legal at the time. Icons are the branding and cover art that identify a game in the lobby before you load it, using color, character and font to signal the game’s theme at a glance. Slot machines started paying out in fruit-flavored gum rather than coins, which is exactly how cherries, lemons and watermelons became fixtures on the reels. Icons are the branding, the cover art that tells you which game you’re looking at before you load it.
So, you’ll find everything from animals to historical figures and aliens to pets spinning on the reels. Nowadays, all kinds of slot machine symbols are used – the only limit is the developer’s imagination! The BAR symbol also became common in the early 1900s, as it was the logo of the Bell-Fruit Company, a popular game manufacturer of the time. The next evolution in slot machine symbols came with fruit being added. As you can see, classic slot machine symbols owe much to Charles Fey and his Victorian invention. It also used other classic slot machine symbols, such as playing card values and horseshoes – also symbols still widely seen.
In this guide, I’ll break down the different types of slot machine symbols you’re likely to encounter and explain what each of them means. Checking what a game’s wild actually does is one of the most useful things to know before you play. Cherries, bars, sevens, crowns and Liberty Bells still anchor countless games and not just classic slots, and plenty of players seek them out on purpose. For all the wild themes and licensed tie-ins crowding the lobby these days, the old slot machine symbols just won’t quit.

