Wild symbols in slots act like any other symbol to provide a payout. They have become a staple in modern digital slot titles.
Slot games have come a long way from the three reel mechanical beasts of yesteryear. Today, played on digital machines, they are expansive and immersive, with complex themes and special symbols. One of the most popular is a wild, and it can come in many different forms. Landing the right ones can often result in payouts, or kickstart volatile chains of events.
The Main Slot Symbols
The main slot symbols have their roots in early machines, which used cards to reveal poker hands. This accounts for so many of the suit symbols that exist on slots today. Another classic is the fruit icons, such as cherries and watermelons. These came about when slot machines were no longer able to dispense cash, and instead switched to flavoured confectionary.
Today, you will still see these symbols on the reels. They are generally divided into higher and lower paying groups. If a game is themed, they may be replaced to add more context. So what would be a low-paying line of lemons could be a football or ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. It helps to know what the high and low paying symbols are before a game, so you know what you are trying to line up.
Most operators will provide a wealth of documentation to assist with this. Log on to Jackpot City South Africa, and its slot lobby will be filled with games of this type. Yet each will have documentation to tell you what to expect, such as return to player ratings and the key features, including wilds.
Wilds and Scatters
Wilds and scatters act differently from the other symbols in a slot game. They both have special functions that enhance the enjoyment. Scatters tend to allow access to the bonus features. You can land them anywhere on a reel, and doing so may unlock free spins, hidden jackpots and even direct payouts. This all depends on the type of game you are playing.
When you land a wild, it acts very much like the joker in slot games. It can actually be anything you need it to be to trigger a payout. So if you landed two cherries, needed a third for a payout, but had a wild, it would become one for that purpose. Thus, wilds in a game can be very valuable, especially when more than one turns up.
Wild Variations
Wilds come in some quite intriguing variations. Very often, these features form the backbone of a game, and combines with other clever mechanics.
Sticky Wilds
Sticky wilds don’t vanish once they land. Instead, they lock in place for a given number of spins. If it arrives during a feature round, other reels may spin around it as it holds tight. This increases the potential of a win, as it acts as many different symbols at once.
Walking and Shifting Wilds
Unlike sticky wilds, which lock in place, these wilds go on their own little journey. They may move across the playfield, going left or right depending on the developers preference.
Expanding Wilds
Expanding wilds start off in one slot, then grow to cover multiple ones. It could begin to stretch upwards across a whole reel, or move horizontally. You normally find this kind of mechanic in games which have unique layouts, such as grid systems. The potential to win obviously increases as the wild expands.
Multipliers
These wilds are like a standard wild. However, they will have a multiplier attached to them. Any win that comes as a result will then be multiplied by this total. It is not uncommon to land a win with multiple multiplier wilds at once.
Cascading Wilds
When these symbols appear and form a win, they vanish from play. New symbols will then fall from above to replace them. If these cascading symbols form a further win, then it can chain together multiple payouts.
How Wild Symbols Work
It is quite rare that wilds happen in isolation. In some games, they may appear during the base game. In others, wilds are a key feature of the bonus rounds or free spins events. This means you may have to land scatters and trigger the round before wilds become part of the game.
There are slots that will even pay out if you hit multiple wilds, regardless of what symbol they are linked to. In these cases, you may find the wild itself triggers key features, such as free spins, jackpots or cash collect games.
When choosing a slot, the key features are usually listed underneath, and wilds are always a selling point so are clearly marked. Look for the type of wild, and if it occurs in the base game or as a bonus. Many come with high volatility titles, so check you like these explosive games before starting.