Slot Features Glossary: Paylines, Megaways, Wilds and More

Why a glossary

Slot descriptions are full of terms that are rarely explained. This glossary covers the mechanics you are most likely to meet, in plain language. Features change how a game looks and plays, but none of them change the basic fact that every spin is random. A feature can make a game more varied or more complex. It cannot make a payout more likely to be due.

Paylines and ways to win

A payline is a fixed path across the reels. A win occurs when matching symbols land along that path, usually starting from the leftmost reel. Classic slots may have a single line, while modern ones may have 10, 25 or more, and you can sometimes choose how many are active.

A ways-to-win game drops fixed lines. Instead, matching symbols pay when they appear on adjacent reels from left to right, in any position. A 5-reel grid with 3 rows has 243 ways, because each reel offers 3 positions and 3 multiplied by itself five times gives 243. More rows mean more ways.

Megaways

Megaways is a licensed mechanic in which the number of symbols on each reel changes on every spin. Because each reel can show a different number of rows, the total number of ways to win changes from spin to spin and can reach into the tens of thousands. The name refers to this shifting count, not to any change in the odds of a particular result.

Cluster pays and pay anywhere

Cluster-pays games have no lines or ways. Instead, a win forms when a group of matching symbols touch each other on the grid, usually horizontally or vertically. The size of the cluster decides the payout.

Pay-anywhere games go a step further. Matching symbols pay based on how many appear on the screen at once, whether or not they touch. A typical rule might require a minimum of eight matching symbols anywhere on the grid.

Tumble and cascading reels

In a tumble, or cascade, feature, symbols that form a win disappear from the grid. The symbols above them fall into the empty spaces, and new ones drop in from the top. If the new arrangement forms another win, it is paid and the process repeats. A single paid spin can therefore produce several wins in a row, and the sequence ends when no new win forms. Some games add a rising multiplier for each successive tumble.

Wilds

A wild is a symbol that can stand in for other symbols to complete a win. Most wilds do not replace scatters or bonus symbols. The rules are in the paytable. Wilds come in several common types.

A sticky wild stays in place for a set number of spins or re-spins. An expanding wild stretches to cover its entire reel when it lands. A walking wild moves one position, usually one reel to the left, after each spin or re-spin, until it leaves the grid. A multiplier wild increases the value of any win it helps to form, sometimes by a fixed amount and sometimes by an amount that varies.

Scatters

A scatter is a symbol that pays or triggers a feature based on how many appear anywhere on the screen, not on a line or in a position. Scatters are the most common way to start a free spins round or another bonus. Some also pay a small amount of their own, as a multiple of the wager.

Free spins and retriggers

Free spins are a set number of spins awarded without a further wager being deducted from the balance. They are usually triggered by a number of scatters, and the paytable states how many spins each count awards. During the round, the game may add modifiers, such as extra wilds or rising multipliers.

A retrigger awards additional free spins while the round is already running, typically when more scatters appear. Some games cap the number of retriggers or the total number of spins. Winnings from free spins are still part of the game's overall maths, so they are already included in its RTP.

Respins

A respin is an extra spin awarded by a feature, often with certain reels or symbols held in place. A game might hold a wild and respin the other reels, or award a respin when a particular symbol lands. Respins are normally awarded without an extra wager.

Hold and spin, and money collect

In a hold-and-spin feature, special symbols that carry cash values lock in place when they land, and the remaining positions respin a few times. Each time a new special symbol lands, the respin counter resets. The round ends when the counter runs out or the grid fills, and the values on the grid are added up.

Money collect is a related mechanic in which one special symbol gathers the values shown on others on the screen and pays them together. These values are usually multiples of the wager.

Bonus buy

Bonus buy lets a player pay a set multiple of the wager to start a bonus round directly instead of waiting for it to trigger. Not every game includes it, and it is restricted or banned in some markets, so it may be missing from the version offered in your region. A demo may show the option even where the real-money version does not. Buying a bonus does not remove the randomness of the round.

Progressive and fixed jackpots

A fixed jackpot is a top prize with a set value, usually a multiple of the wager. It does not change from spin to spin.

A progressive jackpot grows as a portion of each wager is added to a prize pool, so its value rises until someone wins it and it resets to a starting amount. Some pools are linked across many games or sites, and some belong to a single game. Because of how they are funded, progressive jackpots are very rarely won, and the odds of winning one are normally not shown on the screen.

Play responsibly

Gambling should be treated as entertainment, never as a way to make money. Set time and spending limits before you start, and stop when you reach them. The legal age to gamble is 19 in most provinces and 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. If gambling stops being fun, contact a provincial help line or a support service in your area.