One day in the 1890s a Californian engineer called Charles D. Fey struck proverbial gold after making a few alterations to the handful of rudimentary early slot machines, ending up with what has come to be known as the Liberty Bell machine. This was the world’s earliest commercially viable slot machine, and it very quickly spread exponentially in popularity, with slot machines being available in most states not long after.
But here’s the thing: the earliest slot machines were incredibly simple, and they didn’t start acquiring all of the various features that they have now until at least the mid 20th century. In fact, it wasn’t really until the emergence of the online slot market that bonus features in slot games became the new normal. Read ahead for some features of slot games at King Casino explained.
Wild symbols
The wild symbols present in 99% of the slot games on offer in the 21st century are probably the oldest examples of slot bonus features, as they have been around since almost the very beginning. Wild symbols are often stylized differently to the bulk of other normal symbols in slot games, and they will always be pretty obvious.
What does a wild symbol do? Well, in the vast majority of cases wild icons are able to substitute with pretty much all other symbols in order to make winning combinations. Nice!
Free spins bonus
Free spins bonus rounds quite literally do what they say on the tin, as reel-spinning gamblers will be treated to a number of free spins of the reels whenever the free spin bonus is in play. Most modern online slots will have some kind of free spins bonus round, and this is usually unlocked by finding a certain number of scatter symbols.
The great thing about free spins is that they can be incredibly lucrative, and this is especially nice when you are on the last legs of your bankroll.
Base mode and bonus rounds
Most of the more complex modern online slots on the market at the moment will be split between a normal base mode, and then a number of separate bonus rounds in which the whole aesthetic makeup of the slot machine can change. Take Vikings Go To Hell, for example, in this game the base mode takes place above ground, but the bonus round takes players right in front of the fiery gates of hell.
Not only are bonus rounds incredibly exciting these days, but they also have the potential to be highly lucrative, one of the main reasons why they are so popular at the moment.
Multipliers
Of all the prizes that gamblers can acquire from things like bonus rounds multipliers are by far the most exciting, because they can actively multiply your wager by often outrageous amounts. It is not uncommon for some slots to offer a maximum jackpot of at least 1,000x your initial stake, and this can translate into some pretty large wins indeed.
