Types of online slots

Thousands of slots look different on the surface, but most fall into six families. The family tells you how a game pays before you have read a single rule.

Classic slots

Three reels, one to five paylines, fruit and bar symbols. They are fast and easy to follow, and they suit players who want a quick game without features. Diamond Strike from Pragmatic Play and NetEnt's Super Nudge 6000 are good examples.

Video slots

The standard modern format: five reels or more, anywhere from 10 paylines to 243 ways, with free spins, multipliers and bonus rounds layered on top. Book of Dead and Gates of Olympus belong here.

Megaways

Big Time Gaming's mechanic changes how many symbols land on each reel every spin, for up to 117,649 ways to win. Matching symbols pay on adjacent reels from the left, wherever they sit. Bonanza Megaways started the trend; Extra Chilli Megaways followed.

Cluster pays

No lines at all: you win with groups of five or more identical symbols touching each other. Winning clusters usually vanish and new symbols fall into their place, so one spin can chain several wins. Reactoonz and Jammin' Jars are the reference titles.

243 ways

On a five-by-three grid, any matching symbol on consecutive reels from the left counts, whatever its row. That gives 243 combinations per spin without paylines to track. Thunderstruck II and Immortal Romance use this layout.

Progressive jackpots

Part of each bet feeds a shared prize that can reach millions. The quoted RTP includes the jackpot, so the regular game pays back less, often under 90%. Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune are the best known. Our jackpot guide covers them in detail.