The Features That You Love: What do UK Players Want to see in a Slot?

There’s a lot of ways to pick a game but it doesn’t get any easier when there are thousands of titles at each UK slots site you see.

One way is to look for features. Slots are fairly easy to define at a base level – they deliver a random event that rewards players for matching sets of symbols. And then they split up into a whole load of other features and options.

And players have strong opinions about this.

Let’s see what UK players like!

1 – Wilds

Wilds are the commonest of all features and they’re featured in nearly 14,000 games on our listings. That’s because slot games are based on poker and wilds are a common feature of poker variants, so it’s natural to feature them in slots.

They’re very easy to understand and very easy to use. Basically, you just sit and wait for them to pop up and then celebrate. Of course, wilds then split off into a number of other types of function, with expanding symbols, walking symbols, infectious symbols, symbols with multipliers and so on and so on.

The top games with wilds (really, pretty much every game you find will have them) are Starburst, Rainbow Riches, Book of Dead, 9 Pots of Gold, and Bonanza Megaways.

2 – Free Spins

We love free spins. And so do you! And again, we’re into a world of complexity with this should-be-simple feature. A free-spins round is what it says it is: a set of games for which the player does not pay. They are most commonly awarded via scatter symbols, often in numbers that relate to the number of scatters that award them. Usually, the bet carries into the round from the base game, and the rounds will often have extra features like multipliers, special symbols, extra wilds or extra high-paying symbols.

The most popular UK games with free spins rounds are Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead, Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways, 9 Pots of Gold, Bonanza Megaways, and Gold Cash Free Spins.

3 – Respins

Respins are growing in popularity from our unscientific view. Respins can stand in for free spins rounds or they can be an addition. Respins give players a second chance to win, usually following the first win, but sometimes following a loss and sometimes at random.

Their popularity may be helped by the growth of Megaways games, which have this feature as standard. Respins are also common in games with tumbling or falling symbols as they provide a nice visual effect, especially if you blow up winning symbols. These respins usually continue until the end of the win but can be single awards too.

The most popular respins games are: Starburst, Slingo Starburst, Gold Collector, Chilli Heat, Reel Rush, and Amazing Link Zeus.

4 – Multipliers

Do you know why multipliers are popular? They are popular because they promise big prizes! Multipliers usually arrive attached to a symbol, usually, a single number will signal the number by which prizes featuring the symbol will be multiplied. Multipliers can be awarded as prizes or added as extra features in the free spins round. They may be limitless or random of the climb up a limited, linear scale.

The most popular multiplier games in the UK right now are Rainbow Riches, Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways, Bonanza Megaways, 9 Masks of Fire, and Immortal Romance.

5 – Gamble Games

We show our age when we say that we like this feature because gamble games are one of the most old-fashioned features in all slots. They are generally associated with classic or retro games, so you can also expect a particular set of aesthetics to come along with these games. How do they work? Usually, they are a binary predictive choice that asks players to guess whether a hidden card will be red or black. The prize is usually a doubling of the awarded prize, and the consequence of getting it wrong will be to lose all of the money you’ve won or fallen down a prize ladder to the previous step. Sometimes you’ll be given a four in one choice between suits of cards, but there’s no particular reason why they should be tethered to cards other than tradition.

The most popular gamble feature games are Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead, Slingo Starburst, Shaman’s Dream, Eye of Horus, Legacy of Dead, and Power of Thor Megaways.

6 – Scatters

Are scatters a feature? We think so! They are most often associated with free spins games, but they can also trigger other prizes, even simple standard awards. A scatter is simply a symbol that awards a prize without being adjacent to the matching symbols. Most slots prizes are awarded for sets of symbols that align along with pay lines, scatters award those prizes wherever they appear on the reels.