Bonus Features In Online Slot Machines

• Published: July 5, 2013
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A bonus is something that players get without having made a contribution. Software providers have made their online slot games more interesting and lucrative by providing a number of different types of bonus features. As such the rules displayed within the slot games describe these features. However it helps the player to have an idea of what is on offer. Bonuses in online slots come in two forms. Players can directly be given bonus credits which are added to their account balance. Alternatively players can been given a number of spins for which they do not have to make any wager but can collect the payouts. These are referred to as free spins.

These different types of bonus features are usually triggered when a designated combination of symbols appears on the reels after a spin. Bonus credits are awarded in two ways. The first is known as bonus game on the reels. This is the simplest type of bonus feature. Players have to click on one of the designated symbols on the reels that triggered this feature. They will be awarded random bonus credits. In some bonus games on the reels players may be given more than one pick. Though this feature may be lucrative it is not very interesting.

The more interesting bonus feature is known as bonus game on the second screen. When this feature is triggered the reels vanish and a different setting is displayed on the screen that has something to do with the theme of the online slot game. A number of thematic objects will be displayed on the screen and the player will have to select a number of them to win random bonus credits. Sometimes the number of picks is not predetermined but is generated through the bonus game. The most common type allows the players to keep on picking objects unless one of them reveals what is termed as a booby. At that point the player collects the bonus credits won so far and is returned to the main game. Some of the latest online slot games offer multi level bonus games. In these games if the player picks the right object he is taken to a second setting in which more lucrative awards are offered.

The most interesting bonus feature is the free spins. This is also usually triggered through a designated combination of symbols. However, in some of the newer games this feature is triggered randomly. The most important rule about the free spins is that they are played with the same betting parameters as the spin that triggered this feature. The player does not have to make the wager, but a notional wager is needed for calculating the payouts. Free spins are lucrative in themselves, but are made even more attractive through a number of additional features. The most common of these is a multiplier. Very often all payouts in free spins are multiplied and then credited to the player’s account.

In the earliest online slot games the number of free spins and the multiplier was specified in the rules. Later on software developers introduced the concept of these parameters been announced randomly after the feature was triggered. Today in some online slots players are presented with a number of options and can make a choice. However, the most interesting way of determining the number of free spins and the multiplier is through a bonus game. In some of the slot games of this type a virtual race is conducted on the screen and the position of the player’s chosen contestant in the race determines the free spins parameters.