Slots games are rapidly growing in popularity and have been for the last few years, meaning that an increasing number of slots are hitting the market each year, all trying to outdo those which came before.One of the main tools that slot games use to stand out from their competition is bonus features, and the most popular bonus feature, by some bonus, is free spins.Normally (but not always) triggered by landing a set amount of scatter symbols on a slot game, free spins rounds give you a certain number of spins that will not affect your balance, but you can still win money from. Often you are more likely to win from these spins than spins in the base game due to additional added features.
Mini-games and re-triggers
Although the majority of free spins are triggered by landing the necessary amount of free spins (this is normally three, although many slots will give you more free spins if you land four or five scatter symbols) there are other ways to pick up this bonus feature.Some slots have mini-games that offer various prizes including cash prizes, often, one of the benefits of these min-games is that you can trigger a free spins bonus as a result.There are also many slots which allow you to trigger the free spins round from in the free spins round. For example, if you are in a free spins feature that offers you ten spins, and one of those spins lands you three scatter symbols, that can, on certain slots, trigger another ten free spins. There are slots with no limit on the amount of times you can retrigger free spins, which can result in some huge wins if you’re lucky.It must be noted that this is not the case with all slots, as there are many which will not allow you to retrigger your free spins, so if this additional feature is something you’re looking for, read up on your chosen slot up front to see if this is a benefit that is included.
Multipliers
Most free spins features play out at the same amount as your wager in the base game, but some features come with multipliers, and these can make a real difference.Free spins features could have a set multiplier, or a multiplier that can be triggered by landing certain symbols, but the ones that often create the most impressive wins are those which have increasing multipliers from spin to spin during the feature, meaning that each spin can end in a larger profit for the same winning combination.Again, not all free spins features come with multipliers.
Choices
Another tool for free spins features which is becoming increasingly utilised by slot games is offering you, the player, the opportunity to pick the benefits of your free spins feature.This could mean that you get to choose how many spins you want, and how big a multiplier, obviously the fewer free spins you take, the higher the multiplier, and vice-versa.This allows a player the freedom to choose the feature that best matches their playing style. If you like a risk, then fewer free spins with a higher multiplier will appeal. However, if you prefer more chances to win smaller amounts, then more spins and a lesser multiplier will likely be more suitable for you.Slots come in many shapes and forms, and with various combinations of the above features and more. It is always worth reading the pay-table of a slot game before you play it for the first time, to get an idea of what is, and indeed isn’t, on offer.