gameplay
Slot features
The mechanics beyond base-game spins — buy features, sticky wilds, cascading reels, mystery symbols. Concentrated where a slot's RTP lives.
Also known as: bonus featuresslot mechanics
The mechanics on modern video slots beyond simple spin-and-match. Provider innovation over the last decade has produced a rich vocabulary:
- Free spins bonus: N spins triggered by scatters, often with multipliers
- Sticky wilds: wilds that stay in place for multiple spins
- Expanding wilds: wilds that fill an entire reel
- Cascading reels (avalanche/tumble): winning symbols disappear, new ones fall in, chain wins possible
- Mystery symbols: symbols that reveal identity at end of spin
- Multiplier wilds: wilds that multiply the win they participate in
- Buy feature (bonus buy): pay a multiple of your bet to skip to the bonus round
- Megaways: variable ways-to-win engine, 117,649 max
- Cluster pays: wins based on groups of 5+ connected symbols instead of paylines
- Hold-and-win / Money Respin: cash symbols get locked, respins fill remaining reels
- Random modifiers: base-game random events (wilds sprayed on, multiplier applied, extra reels)
- Progressive jackpot integration: mystery jackpots that can trigger anywhere in the base game
Slot RTP is heavily concentrated in these features. Base game runs at 92-94% RTP for many titles; the bonus feature might run at 300-500% RTP. Triggering a feature is where the RTP “arrives”.
See our buy feature glossary entry and the Megaways entry.