Slot machines have been around for longer than most people think, with the first games appearing over 130 years ago. The classic appearance and gameplay of these gambling games make even the latest versions look instantly familiar, but what emerging features let us see how the industry is evolving?
Merlin’s Mystic Potion Has a Moving Prize Symbol
The Merlin’s Mystic Potion slot by Reevo is based on a magic theme, with the wizard from the legend of King Arthur standing at the side of the reels and symbols including scrolls and potions. Free spins have traditionally been one of the most useful bonus features in slots, and this Merlin slot includes the chance to play a set of free spins. However, it adds some extra elements to the pot, or cauldron in this case.
That’s because a boiling cauldron is used as a collect symbol, which gathers any prize symbols that land on the reels at the same time. The prize symbols show values on them that the player wins, but they can also land with a jackpot win inside. An interesting aspect of this symbol is that it only lands on the first reels but then moves one reel to the right on each spin that follows.
This is one of the many slots that have several jackpots instead of just one. The Grand prize is the biggest, with Major, Mini, or Minor wins also possible. This example shows how the simple, timeless format of slot machines has been adapted to provide new bonus features and ways of playing on sites like SlotsLV casino. It’s one of the slots mentioned with the ‘new’ tag, with the latest games added regularly. We can also see classic slots, as well as categories like jackpot games and exclusive titles. Digital casinos like SlotsLV have a huge amount to offer, there’s no doubt about it.
Mad Scientist Breaking Breakers Uses the Hold & Win Mechanism
For a long time, slots had a single reel, and the only way of winning was to get a combination of matching symbols like fruits or playing cards. The Mad Scientist slot by BetSoft shows how new themes have been added. We see six reels set inside a lab, with beakers, scientific notes, and all the other theming a player could want. We all know how popular fictional laboratories are in video games, and now they’re hitting the slots too.
A look at the features reveals how the gameplay has evolved too. While it’s possible to make a winning line with three or more identical symbols, the most interesting wins come with the Hold & Win feature, which is triggered when you get six or more of the empty beaker icons anywhere on the screen. This awards three free respins, where the beakers can come filled with cash prizes or even the name of one of the jackpots.
The creators have included three special beakers to add to the variety of the gameplay. One of them gathers the values of all the beakers on the reels while another collects those that are on the same horizontal or vertical line. The final beaker is used to increase the value of all other beakers present on the screen.
Gems Elevator Uses Gold Symbols for Added Features
The Gems Elevator slot by GameArt features the mining theme that’s become popular in many games recently. Colored precious stones make up the paying symbols. They can create winning combinations, but there’s a greater chance of striking it lucky when you dig deeper into the game and its innovative gameplay.
If you get three gold symbols on the reel at the same time, this activates the 3 Gold feature. The multiplier values on all the gold symbols get added together, and then this combined multiplier is added to any win that follows immediately. If no wins occur, the multiplier is collected, and a free respin is made.
Gems Elevator also has a free spins round that gets activated when you have four or more gold symbols on the screen together. Although free spins are common in online slots, this game has a different approach since the gold nuggets stay on the screen and everything else fades away. All of the positions across the four active reels then spin independently of one another.
What Can We Expect in the Future?
In short, a lot! There’s still a lot of fun to be had in trying to get a win by landing three or more matching images across the reels in most slots. However, this has been added to by new and exciting bonus rounds that give fresh ways of winning. It’s interesting to note how these features have been added in clever ways that fit the theme of each game. While many of the features work in similar ways, the top developers have found ways of adapting them so that they make sense in the context of each title.
It seems likely that the slot market will continue to diversify as it grows and more players are attracted. This leads to the top developers looking for fresh themes that they feel will appeal to as many new players as possible.
As part of this, they then look for ways to include features that fit the theme and that they believe will catch the eye of members of their target audience.