Slot Machine Symbols: Standard, Wild, Bonus and More
Slot machines need symbols, and with more than 130 years of history, there's a long legacy of icons to explore. Whether you often play casino games or are just learning about them, you've probably seen plenty of slot symbols. But have you thought about what they mean or where they originated?
The History of Slot Symbols
Slot machines were first created and developed in the late 1800s. While their format has changed significantly since then, many symbols on today's reels are the same as, or closely related to, icons used more than a century ago.
Traditional icons still seen on slot machines include the Liberty Bell, Horseshoe, Single, Double, and Triple Bar symbols, and Red Sevens.
The rise of fruit machines brought several familiar fruit icons that remain popular. Cherries, berries, watermelons, plums, lemons, oranges, and blueberries can all appear on the reels. Along with the early regular symbols mentioned above, these are especially common in Classic Slots.
Types of Slot Symbols in Modern Slot Machines
Slot machines and their symbols have evolved over time, although many modern games still draw on icons from earlier machines. Today's slots generally feature regular symbols, often divided into low-paying and high-paying groups.
Many games also include special icons, such as wild symbols, scatter symbols, bonus symbols, and other symbols.
This section covers the different symbols you may come across in modern slot machine games.
Regular Symbols on Modern Video Slots
Regular symbols are the icons you see most often as the reels spin. Depending on the game's mechanics, matching symbols may need to line up on an active payline, appear across consecutive reels, form a cluster, or simply be visible in the game area. Meeting the game's conditions creates a winning combination and payout.
Keep in mind that slot machines can work differently from one another. The number of symbols needed to win and how they must land on the reels will vary from game to game.
Low- and High-Value Slot Machine Symbols
Standard reel icons are generally divided into the highest- and lowest-paying groups. This helps show the potential payout for matching symbols on a payline.
- High-Value Slot Machine Symbols
High-value symbols offer the strongest payouts when they land on a winning line, form a cluster, or meet another qualifying condition. Their artwork is often more detailed than that of low-paying symbols, and their designs commonly reflect the slot's theme.
In a luck-themed slot, these icons might include four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, pots of gold, leprechauns, or a rabbit's foot. In a classic fruit slot, the top symbols may be the fruit listed earlier. Some games instead use their main characters as the symbols with the highest payouts.
- Low-Paying Symbols
These standard reel icons offer the lowest possible payouts on online slot machines. They're often playing-card symbols from 8-A or card suits, though some games use theme-related artwork for both low- and high-value symbols.
Wild symbols
Not all slot machines have a wild, but it's likely the best-known special symbol after the traditional icons described above. Its standard function is to help create symbol combinations that might otherwise be out of reach.
A wild's main role on a slot machine reel is to stand in for another symbol when doing so completes a winning combination. For instance, if a bar symbol lands on reels one and two along an active payline, a wild on that payline on reel three can complete the combination and award the payout associated with the bar symbol.
Some wilds also have their own payout. In those games, landing matching wilds on the same payline 3 or more times may pay out.
Different Types of Wild Symbols
Wilds can do more than replace other icons; many modern games give them additional abilities. Here are some of the most common wild variations:
- Expanding Wild Symbols
In some slot games, an expanding wild grows to fill every position on its reel when it lands. This can increase the chance of a winning combination, and the same wild may contribute to multiple wins.
- Random Wild Symbols
Rather than forming part of the initial spin, a random wild may appear in reel positions after the spin has finished.
- Stacked Wild Symbols
Some slot games feature stacked wilds. A standard wild usually appears alone on a reel, while this variation can show several wilds arranged vertically.
- Sticky Wild Symbols
A sticky symbol stays locked in place for the next spin or for the remaining spins in a free spins feature. When the symbol is a wild, it can help create winning combinations on those spins.
- Scatter Wild Symbols
Scatter symbols and their role in starting bonus features are covered below. Some games, however, use one icon as both a scatter and a wild.
- Floating Wild Symbols
Floating wilds are less common than several other variations, but some video slots include them. Like random wilds, they appear unpredictably, moving across the reels and turning a number of standard symbols into wilds.
- Walking Wild Symbols
Walking wilds stay on the reels and change position after each spin. How long they remain, how many spaces they move, and which direction they travel depend on the individual slot game.
There are more variations to explore, including spreading, overlay, wild duplication, and soaring wild symbols.
Scatter Symbols
Another special icon found in many video slots is the scatter symbol. This bonus icon is often among the rarest to appear on a spin, and that rarity usually serves a purpose.
For one, scatter symbols with an associated payout, known as scatter pays, count wherever they land on the reels rather than needing to appear on a winning line. Their other main function is to trigger a bonus game, which also doesn't rely on a payline.
In most online slots that feature them, landing a certain number of scatters activates the main bonus feature. This is often a free spins round, but could instead be a re-spins bonus, a Hold & Win bonus game, or another feature in the slot.
Landing more scatter symbols during a free spins bonus may also award additional free spins.
Bonus Symbols
Bonus symbols are often confused with scatters because they can trigger features in a similar way. Their specific role is to start bonus games, sometimes when they land three or more times anywhere on the reels. They generally have no separate payout value. Some online slots include both scatters and bonus symbols, which usually indicates that the game has more than one bonus feature.
Multiplier Symbols
Multiplier symbols are another common feature in casino slots. When they land, they can increase the payout for a win. Multiplier values vary by game and might be 1x, 2x, 5x, or an exceptionally large figure, depending on the title and how its multiplier mechanic works.
These icons may appear as standalone slot symbols, be part of a wild or scatter, or be awarded through a cascading win.
Stacked Symbols
Wilds aren't the only icons that can appear stacked on online slot reels. Depending on the game, standard symbols, bonus symbols, and scatters may also appear in stacked formations.
Expanding Symbols
Expanding symbols grow to cover all or part of the reel where they land. This means they can contribute beyond a single winning line. Depending on the slot, this mechanic may be available in the base game or as a bonus-game feature.
Sticky Symbols
A sticky symbol is another feature to look out for when playing online slots at your favourite online casinos. Depending on the slot's rules, it stays fixed on the reels for a re-spin, throughout free spins, or across several base-game spins.
Comparing Slot Machine Symbols: Which Are the Best?
At Casino Ideal, we've reviewed thousands of slot games, giving us insight into the symbols players may most want to see at online casinos.
Standard symbols can produce wins and help maintain your casino balance, but bonus symbols may offer the chance of bigger wins. Scatters trigger bonus rounds, while wilds create winning combinations by replacing other symbols, except for other bonus symbols.
Our View of the Best Slot Machine Symbols
Every symbol has a purpose, including low-paying card icons. Still, players hoping for a bigger win often look for special features such as wilds, scatters, bonus symbols, multipliers, expanding symbols, and the other variations described above.
We hope this guide has helped explain the different symbols used on slot machines. From the Liberty Bell and fruit icons to bonus symbols, it covers the main features you'll encounter in your favourite slot games.
