Slot machines with bonus features

Slot machines have developed a lot since the building of the classic ‘bell’ game. If at first slots were completely mechanical and had three reels and five symbols, modern slot machines have many more reels – up to 12 – with a great variety of symbols, add-ins, bonus games and such.

Slot machines with the most various bonus features are usually video slots, using the possibilities offered by the modern computer technology to the maximum. These games usually give their players the chance to win extra cash bonuses and other prizes through add-in games.

Slot machine bonuses can be of several types, depending on the form of the add-in or the prize offered by the slot machine.

Bonus games can offer players a number of free spins, or free rounds, that can be used as if they were credits. Sometimes the free spins are used up automatically by the machine, adding any winnings accumulated to the stack of the player. The number of remaining free spins is usually displayed as a countdown. Obviously, other bonus features are usually not available during free spins.

Another bonus feature offered by most video slot machines is the gamble. When this bonus feature is active, players get the chance to double or multiply their winnings through an add-in game. This add-in game is most of the times a guessing game, like high-low guess, or red-black. By guessing correctly, players can multiply their winnings. The gamble feature is usually offered immediately after a winning combination – so that the player has something to multiply.

Sometimes slot machines offer players the chance to win extra credits or free spins through an add-in game – usually different from the gamble feature. This can consist of a slot machine with different set of reels, available only in bonus mode, or other games – guessing games, wheel of fortune, or something similar.

Classic fruit machines – the British version of the classic slot machine – usually offer bonus features to their players, with winnings like free nudges, free spins, chances on the cash ladder or free cash.

Bonus features in slot machines were first introduced in 1994, in a casino slot machine called ‘Reel’em In’ developed by WMS Gaming. This was a ‘multi-line, multi-coin secondary bonus’ video slot machine, moving industry trends away from mechanic slot machines. Also, they were the first to introduce themed slot machines, licensing the Monopoly theme from its respective owners.