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Evolution Of Free Spins Features In Online Slots

Evolution Of Free Spins Features In Online Slots

Added: July 2, 2014

Today the free spins bonus round has become extremely complex with a number of innovative features built in. There are video slot games like Immortal Romance and Playboy from Microgaming that have different free spins with different features triggered in series. Present online players cannot imagine that the free spins bonus at one time was extremely simple and devoid of any frills. When this feature was first introduced in slot machines, the stated number of free spins was automatically played out and the player returned to the main game.

One of the first innovations introduced in free spins was the retrigger. If the specified arrangement of symbols appeared on the reels during the free spins then the free spins would be played out again. Then the free spins multiplier was introduced. The payouts during the free spins were a stated multiple of the normal payout tables.

Interactivity is one drawback of online slot games and over time this aspect was introduced in the free spins. The Playtech slot game titled A Night Out exemplifies this. When the free spins are triggered you pick a girl and the number of free spins is displayed. Then you pick a drink for her and the multiplier is displayed. Actually the parameters are randomly decided, but the animated process makes the feature more interesting. In some online slots you are given combinations of number of free spins and multipliers and are asked to pick one of them. When the number of free spins is large the multiplier is small and when the number of free spins is small the multiplier is large.

One of the more recent innovations in the free spins bonus is a counter. When the required symbols appear on the reels then the free spins are not immediately triggered. Instead, a counter increases by one. When the counter reaches a given value then the free spins are triggered. Tribal Treasure from Microgaming and Fairy Magic from Playtech are popular examples.

Sometimes free spins are added when special symbols appear on the reels. This happens in the Sneak A Peek series of slots from Microgaming. Conversely there are slot games in which the free spins bonus can be terminated prematurely. The Realtime Gaming slots game Hockey Hero is a classic example. If two clock symbols appear simultaneously on the reels the free spins are aborted. What makes this feature exciting is that the number of clock symbols on the reels is progressively increased, raising the possibility of a premature end.