Slot Machine Symbols - Standard, Wilds, Bonus Symbols & More!
A slot machine needs symbols, and with slots having existed for 130+ years, there is a long history of icons to explore. Whether you regularly play casino games or are just getting familiar with them, you have likely seen plenty of slot symbols. But have you considered what they mean and where they came from?
The History Behind Slot Symbols
Slot machines were first created and developed in the late 1800s. Although the format has changed dramatically since then, many symbols found on today's reels are the same as, or closely related to, those used more than a century ago.
Long-standing traditional icons still found on slot machines include the Liberty Bell, Horseshoe, Single, Double, and Triple Bar symbols, as well as Red Sevens.
The rise of the fruit machine introduced several familiar fruit icons that remain popular. Cherries, berries, watermelons, plums, lemons, oranges, and blueberries may all appear on the reels. Along with the early regular symbols above, they are particularly common in Classic Slots.
Types of Slot Symbols in Modern Slot Machines
Slot machines and their symbols have developed over time, although many modern games still draw on the icons used in earlier machines. Today's slots generally include regular symbols, which are commonly divided into low-paying and high-paying symbols.
Many games also add special icons, including wild symbols, scatter symbols, bonus symbols, and other symbols.
This section explains the different symbols you are likely to encounter 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 mechanic, matching symbols may need to line up on an active payline, appear across subsequent reels, form a cluster, or simply be visible in the game area. Meeting the game's condition creates a winning combination and a payout.
Remember that one slot machine can work differently from another. The number of symbols required and the way they must land on the reels to create a win will therefore vary.
Low and High-Value Slot Machine Symbols
Standard reel icons are typically separated into the highest-paying and lowest-paying groups. This makes it easier to see the likely payout for matching symbols on a pay line.
- High-Value Slot Machine Symbols
High-value symbols provide the strongest payouts when they land on a winning line, in a cluster, or through another qualifying mechanic. Their potential value often comes with more detailed artwork than low-pay symbols, and their designs commonly reflect the slot's theme.
For a luck-themed slot, these icons might be four-leafed clovers, horseshoes, pots of gold, leprechauns, or a rabbit's foot. In a classic fruit slot machine, the leading symbols may be the fruit listed earlier. Some games instead use their main characters as the symbols associated with the best payouts.
- Low-Paying Symbols
These standard reel icons produce the smallest possible payouts on online slot machines. They are often playing-card symbols from 8-A or card suits, although some games use theme-related artwork for both low-value and high-value symbols.
Wild Symbols
Not every slot machine includes a wild, but this is probably the best-known special symbol after the traditional icons described above. In its standard role, a wild helps create symbol combinations that might otherwise be impossible.
The main function of a wild on a slot machine reel is to substitute for another symbol when that can complete a winning combination. For example, if a bar symbol lands on reels one and two along an active pay line, a wild on that payline on reel three can complete the combination and award the payout linked to the bar symbol.
Some wilds also have a payout of their own. In those games, landing matching wilds on the same payline 3 or more times can produce a payout.
Different Types of Wild Symbols
Wilds can do more than substitute for other icons, with many modern games giving them additional abilities. The following are some of the most common wild variations:
- Expanding Wild Symbols
When an expanding wild lands in some slot games, it grows to cover every position on its reel. That can improve the possibility of forming a winning combination, and the same wild may contribute to multiple wins.
- Random Wild Symbols
Instead of arriving as part of the initial spin, a random wild may appear in reel positions after that spin has finished.
- Stacked Wild Symbols
Some slot games use stacked wilds. A standard wild generally appears alone on a reel, whereas this modern variation can show several wilds arranged on top of one another.
- Sticky Wild Symbols
A sticky symbol remains locked in its position for the next spin or throughout the remaining spins of a free spins feature. When the symbol is a wild, its continued presence can increase the potential for winning combinations on those spins.
- Scatter Wild Symbols
Scatter symbols and their role in starting bonus features are discussed later. In some games, however, the same icon serves a dual role as both a scatter symbol and a wild.
- Floating Wild Symbols
Floating wilds are less widespread than several other wild variations, but some video slots include them. Like random wilds, they appear unpredictably, moving across the reels and changing a number of standard symbols into wilds.
- Walking Wild Symbols
Walking wilds remain on the reels while changing position after each spin. The length of time they stay, the number of spaces they travel, and their direction all depend on the individual slot game.
There are still more variations to discover, including spreading, overlay, wild duplication, and soaring wild symbols, among others.
Scatter Symbols
Another widely used special icon in many video slots is the scatter symbol. This bonus symbol is often among the rarest icons to appear after a spin, and that scarcity usually has a purpose.
For one thing, scatter symbols with an attached payout, known as scatter pays, count wherever they land on the reels rather than needing to sit on a winning line. Their other major role is to trigger a bonus game, which also does not depend on a payline.
In most online slots that include them, landing a certain number of scatters activates the main bonus feature. This is commonly a free spins round, though it may instead be a re-spins bonus, a Hold & Win bonus game, or another feature offered by the slot machine.
Landing additional scatter symbols during a free spins bonus can also award extra free spin rounds.
Bonus Symbols
Bonus symbols are often mistaken for scatters because they share a similar feature. Their specific purpose is to trigger bonus games, sometimes when they land three or more times anywhere on the reels. They generally do not have a separate payout value. Some online slot games include both scatters and bonus symbols, which usually suggests that the game offers more than just a single bonus feature.
Multiplier Symbols
Multiplier symbols are another familiar feature on casino slots. When they land, they can increase the payout attached to a win. The multiplier value varies by game and may be 1x, 2x, 5x, or an extremely large figure, depending on the title and the way its multiplier mechanic operates.
These icons may appear as standalone slot machine symbols, form part of a wild or scatter, or be awarded through a cascading win.
Stacked Symbols
Wilds are not the only icons that can appear stacked on the reels of online slot machines. Depending on the game, standard symbols, bonus symbols, and scatters may also be displayed in stacked formations.
Expanding Symbols
Expanding symbols grow to cover all or part of the reel where they land. As a result, they can contribute beyond a single winning line. Depending on the slot, this mechanic may operate in the base game or as a benefit within a bonus game.
Sticky Symbols
A sticky symbol is another feature to watch for when playing online slots at your favourite online casinos. It remains fixed on the reels for a re-spin, throughout free spins, or across several base game spins, depending on the slot's rules.
Comparing Slot Machine Symbols - Which Are the Best?
The original GCCans review says its team has reviewed thousands of slots games, giving it an understanding of which symbols players may most want to see at online casinos.
Standard symbols can produce wins and help maintain a casino balance, but bonus symbols generally offer the possibility of larger wins. Scatters start bonus rounds, while wilds form winning combinations by replacing other symbols, except other bonus symbols.
Our View of the Best Slot Machine Symbols
Every symbol has a role, including the low-paying card icons. Nevertheless, players seeking the possibility of a larger win will generally be looking for special features such as wilds, scatters, bonus symbols, multipliers, expanding symbols, and the other variations described above.
We hope this guide has clarified the different symbols used on slot machines. From the Liberty Bell and fruit icons to bonus symbols, it covers the principal features you are likely to encounter in your favourite slot games.
