Not all high-volatility slots are worth the risk. We tested 20+ games and found that some “big win” slots went over 500 spins without a bonus. If you want steady action, stick to low-volatility slots with 96%+ RTP. Learn why, along with the types of slots and differences between them, and even some tips for land-based casinos in the end. Stick with us and learn all about slot types & more!

• Understanding Classic Slots
• Exploring Video Slots
• All About Jackpot Slots
• In-Game Features Explained
• Key Slot Features to Enhance Your Play
• Slot Types by Theme
• Playing Land-Based Slot Machines
• Bonus Chapter: Tips and Strategies

Understanding Classic Slots

Any 3-reel online slot game is considered a classic title since, at first, only this version was available. The legendary name one-arm-bandit was the alias for the 3-reel machine back in the day. The traditional fruit machine slots have this number of reels, hence the name classic slots. Titles like this usually have between one to five pay-lines.

Most popular classic slots

Exploring Video Slots

Although the classic 3-reel version is still available, many new types of slots have become accessible. The titles have diversified into different types of slot machines, each with its features and options. All the different categories are featured on the best online casinos, so let’s go through each one to see what makes them stand out.

5-reels

The 5-reel version is the most popular kid in school regarding types of slots. Some famous titles for this type of slots have dedicated promotions just for one game. Many Book of Dead free spins no deposit UK offers are dedicated for this game, revealing just how much fame it has among players. The number of pay lines can differ depending on the game. It usually is between 10 to 50 but can even go over 100 in some cases.

5-reel top RTP games

Since there are thousands of 5-reel slots, we know it can be challenging to find the right one. For this reason, we searched for the top 5 slots with the highest Return to Player.

6-reels and 7-reels

This type of slots is relatively rare compared to the other two already described. Although there is no short supply of more than 5-reels in land-based casinos, going online, the number is not that high. Some slots that have 6-reels or more are:

• Aloha! Cluster Pays
• Sweet Bonanza
• Vikings Winter
• Hammerfall

Progressive slots

These types of slot machines have a unique feature that makes a portion of every bet made by a player accumulate into a pot. Compared to progressive jackpots, this type of slots increases the pot only for the one player that plays. You can call it an individual progressive.

Megaways

When it came out, this type of slots was an innovation. What makes it stand out is the sheer number of pay-lines which can go over a thousand varying on the game. This high number is owed to the fact that megaways feature more symbols than your regular game. Each reel can have up to seven unique icons for every reel. A few examples are:

• 88 Fortune Megaways
• Buffalo Rising Megaways
• Genie Jackpots Megaways
• Gorilla Gold Megaways

All About Jackpot Slots

Out of all the different types of slot machines, jackpots are the most famous. Considering that the potential generated value can go much higher compared to regular slots. Over the years, there have been some outstanding values generated by players. Top 5 jackpot winners:

• $24 million of Mega Fortune
• $22.4 million on Mega Moolah
• $19.9 million on Mega Moolah
• $17.3 million on Arabian Knights
• $11.6 million on Mega Moolah

However, keep in mind that numbers like this are a scarce sight. With this out of the way, let us look at the two jackpot categories that slot sites always have available to players.

Flat tops

Flat tops are the name given to regular jackpots with an expected value usually given by the online casino. The number of reels can fluctuate depending on the game between five to three. But most titles feature 3-reels. These are three varieties of jackpots dependent on the pot size: mini, medium, and mega.

Progressive

If you see slots that advertise significant values, most probably, they are progressive jackpots. What makes it stand out is that a portion of every gambler’s bet increases the total trophy that’s available to everyone. Thus, the pot becomes bigger and bigger over time until someone hits the right combination. The trophy resets to its predetermined value when someone gets the correct sequence. Also, keep in mind that all progressives feature 5-reels. How to recognise progressive jackpots? Any progressive titles will have a jackpot meter shown in-game. It’s sometimes called a jackpot ticker since it ticks upward when the pot increases.

In-Game Features Explained

Apart from the different conventional types of slot machines that focus on how they function, other categories are based more on how they feel. This subjective perspective is essential since it impacts the user experience even more than functionality in some cases. And, most importantly it can make a game memorable. So, without further ado, let’s see what features, themes and new technologies can influence our game experience.

Virtual & Augmented Reality

Technological innovation has brought us online gambling, and now it started to bring virtual and augmented reality. But what’s the difference between the two?

Virtual reality

Virtual reality gambling means that individuals who use a VR headset will see a completely different environment. This can even be a digitalised version of a land-based casino with all the games usually found on an iGaming platform. Apart from this, players can interact with one another from the comfort of their homes.

Augmented reality

Compared to virtual reality, which creates an entirely different surrounding, the augmented version headset places digitalised objects on what we see in our residence. For instance, augmented reality adds different objects, like a slot machine, on top of our visual field. We can still see the same room, but with some extra things added. They are not there, but to us, it appears like so.

Key Slot Features to Enhance Your Play

Games with reels have so much popularity developers made special features that can be present in different type of slots. Apart from the particular slot features, casinos offer free spins promotions dedicated only to this kind of game. The features can be available on different types of slots machines depending on what game you choose. Their goal is to make the experience more dynamic for players.

Cascading reels

This is an alternative to the standard spinning reels, which makes the symbol of each reel fall. The reels of this type of slots disappear when a successful combination appears, making way for new symbols.

Wild symbol

The wild card is an image that counts as any other symbol available in the game. A comparison is a joker in card games children play. Most types of slots have the wild symbol, but things get a little more complicated in some games.

Sticky Wilds

This kind of card does what it says. When a sticky wild appears in any possible position, it will remain there for one or more rounds giving more opportunities.

Transferring Wilds

This image can move between reels, thus changing their position, giving the player more opportunities to hit the right combination for a pay-line.

Extra spins

Some titles have an in-game feature that offers extra spins when the right combination appears. The number usually depends on where the images appear and in what order. One of the most popular games with this feature is the Book of Ra slot game. If you want to try the Egyptian themed game, we list the Book of Ra UK casinos available to our gamblers.

Gambler feature

This is one of the first features that appeared in different types of slot machines. The bonus feature appears when the correct symbol combination appears; a “Gamble” button will highlight when this happens. Clicking the button will trigger a pop-up screen where the player must choose if a card is red or black. The player can lose or double his generated value depending on the outcome. One famous game with this feature is Book of Dead, which is available on multiple platforms. We made a list with only the top Book of Dead UK casinos to simplify things for our players.

Slot Types by Theme

There are many themes when it comes to slots, ranging from fantasy to movies or tv shows. Some online casinos have a dedicated search option for filtering slots based on their theme.

Seasonal Slots

There is a type of slots that have the theme focused on one season. This can be spring, summer, autumn, winter and also related to holidays like Christmas or Halloween. Each one can have unique features that go along with the theme. Here are some examples for each season:

• Freaky Fruits
• Summer Ease
• Sweet Harvest
• Santa’s Wilde Ride

Mythological Slot Games

Mythological titles are another great addition to the gambling world, adding the mystery that gods of old had to our modern-day lives. The themes range from Greek gods to the Norse and Egyptian legends. Some titles are:

• Divine Fortune
• Hercules and Pegasus
• Hall of Gods
• Asgard

Fantasy Slots

Another popular theme different types of some of the best slot machines have is fantasy. These titles include popular fictional references like dragons, elves, wizards, and anything related to magic. Some available games that have this theme are:

• Beauty & the Beast
• Elven Princess
• Magic Spell
• Dragon’s Myth

Movies

These titles are known as branded slots since they are based on movies or tv shows. Although their odds are usually not great, they are an interesting addition. Usually, the symbols have images with the same character from the movie. Some of them are:

• Justice League
• Gladiator
• Planet of the Apes
• Anchorman the Legend of Ron Burgundy

Playing Land-Based Slot Machines

Online slots are not the same as the different types of slot machines usually found in land-based casinos. For this reason, we made a separate list of what players should expect when entering the brick-and-mortar version of an iGaming platform. The following types of slots are seen in the best European casinos and most smaller ones.

Big Bertha

This is the name given to the giant slot machines usually located at the casino entrance. The number of reels is three, four, or even higher. However, their big downside is that the payout percentage is usually relatively low.

Touch-screen machines

If mobile phones can have touchscreens, why not slots as well. Since their introduction in gambling parlours from all over the world, they only increased in reputation.

Buy-your-play

This kind of machine accepts between one to five coins for one spin. The number of coins inserted influences how many successful combinations are possible for that spin. Inserting one coin will count only one combination of symbols as successful. Having another one will not give any payout.

Multi-game machines

As the name implies, this type of slots come with multiple titles available to players on the same machine. Gamblers can easily switch between the game available, which in some cases can range from blackjack to keno.

Move the gambling session to your own home Have you ever thought of having your very own slot machine? Our team of experts has compiled a guide on finding the best slot machines for sale, so you can become the owner of your own gambling realm.

Bonus Chapter: Tips and Strategies

If you’re unsure about what slot types to pick, we’ve assembled some questions that can help you choose. Find out what’s right for you and something about yourself.

The questions

What’s your favourite pastime?

• Staying indoors (5 points)
• Going out (10 points)
• Hanging out with friends (15 points)

Do you like to have more options to choose from?

• Yes (10 points)
• No (5 points)
• I adapt (15 points)

What’s more appealing, how do things look or work?

• Looks are everything (5 points)
• Interesting functions keep me engaged (10 points)
• Balance is always the way to go (15 points)

What’s more important?

• The experience (5 points)
• The payout (10 points)
• Call a friend (15 points)

The results

Add up the points and see what’s your result.

Score 55 to 60 points

Your go-to slots are always located in a land-based casino, no matter the type. You like to go out and hang out with friends and people in general. You do not enjoy games that much if you cannot share them with other people. If you’re reading this, you are the heartbeat that keeps the party going.

Score from 45 to 50 points

The suitable games for you are megaways, anything with unique features and virtual reality slots. You have a positive attitude in life and are always curious about new things. Innovation is you’re game the more complex, the better. When virtual and augmented reality becomes big, you will ride the hype train.

A score of 40 points

Jackpots and anything progressive is for you. You’re like to see what you are working towards when doing something. If you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, you’re just not interested or motivated. For you, bigger is better since high numbers inspire your motivation.

A score of 35 points

Anything that has a movie or tv show theme is perfect for you. You like to keep up with the latest trends and are the go-to friend for famous insight. Depending on what interests you, no new addition escapes your eye.

Score 30 and under

The best route for you is classic slots. You’re relaxed and consider the best route is the known route. If something new does not prove its usefulness, you’re not interested.