To know all the different kinds of reel mechanics available for you to choose from in online slots you first need to understand what reel mechanics are.
To put it in simple terms, reel mechanics represents the type of reel area you are presented in the slot game together with how the reels work. With that being said, in this article, we will present you with all the different categories of reel mechanics that you can expect, to then have an easier time choosing the one that best soothes you.
The 3-Reel Slots
First, let’s talk about the main form of a reel mechanic which is the 3 reel slots. Here you might automatically think of the traditional slots that had 3 mechanical reel areas. The first reel machines back in the old days had three reels to make the game appear as simple as possible.
As for today, the majority of the modern and online slot titles that have 3 reel areas have more traditional themes that go well with it. What makes these modern 3 reel slots stand out more is the use of the RNG algorithms that essentially give the players better payouts in comparison to the old-school mechanical slots.
Another thing we like to note is the blank spaces that appear in between the reel area of the 3 reel slots that are labelled with higher volatility and medium RTP rates. Although these small spaces might not play a big part in the overall gameplay they are always found in slot titles that have high payouts.
You might want to keep an eye out for Wild or Scatter symbols in slot titles that offer 3 reel areas if you like to make a big profit. Landing huge winning combinations will be made easier if you keep landing combinations with these kinds of symbols. Essentially that is their whole purpose.
The 5-Reel Slots
When you first decide to get into the gaming world of slot games you have the most potential to land on a slot title that offers you a 5 reel area. This is because these kinds of slot games are most popular and as a result come in bigger numbers. Every if not all developer companies are mostly creating slot titles with this kind of layout in all kinds of themes and symbols as well as bonus features.
If you are looking for making bigger payouts you need to make sure you land as many bonus symbols and trigger bonus features. The job of these bonus items is to essentially make the game more interesting and enjoyable to play as well as help you land better and bigger winning combinations.
Finally, if you look for a bigger variety of game themes this category of slot games holds the largest variety list of any other slot category. Here you are able to find themes of all kinds from tv shows, cartoons, sports, and books, all the way to space, nature, and even food.
The 7-Reels Slots
The slots in this category are here to break conventional norms. Whit the additional reels that in some cases come and go the slot games with 6 or 7 reel areas give you gameplay filled with excitement and fun but also give you the same structure as the slots with 5 reel areas.
Having one or more additional reels usually indicates a bigger number of featured in-game symbols that only add more spice to the gameplay. This is not always the case, sometimes the number of symbols is no different from the slot games with fewer reels but that only results in more combinations that you are able to make on the reel area.
Not always, but mostly the slot titles that are found in this category give you more options not only for symbols but also with bonus features. This is because there is room to make more combinations to get the bonus features actively.
The 10-Reel Slots
If the previously mentioned slot game categories did not quench your thirst for the exciting experience you should maybe look into the slot games with 10 reel areas. If you do not fear processing large information in a short period of time then this category of slots is the one you should look into.
You can only imagine a large number of combinations available in a reel are as big as this one. Not only that but the number of bonus features is also very satisfying. You can make all sorts of combinations with the regular but also special bonus symbols that are usually available in slot games such as this one.
In some cases, the reel area of these slot games starts off with a 5 reel layout but with the right combination, there is a bonus feature that expands it to its full potential which is to a 10 reel playing area.
Other Unique Reel Mechanics
Apart from the ones that we mentioned above, there are a few new mechanics that have hit the market and players are absolutely in love with them. First off, we have the Megaways mechanic, which is developed by Big Time Gaming. Thanks to this mechanic, each reel has a different number of rows and the number of paylines can go up to 117,649 with every spin.
Then we have Infinity Reels, a mechanic that was developed by ReelPlay. As the name itself suggests, the number of reels expands in this game and 1 reel is added each time you hit a winning combination. Finally, we have Cluster Pays, which was developed by NetEnt, one of the world’s most reputable game providers.
Cluster Pays slots are usually played on an 8×8 grid and to form a winning combination here, you need to land clusters of at least 5 matching symbols, sometimes even more. As you form wins, winning combinations disappear from the reels and the symbols are replaced by the ones above them. This feature is also known as Cascading Reels.
