Have you ever wondered about online slot pay tables, where to find them, how to read them and what impact they can have on your experience when playing a particular slot game? If so, this explainer is for you.
With online casinos featuring thousands of different slots, understanding how each game works can be tricky, especially for newcomers looking to experience the thrill of the reels.
That’s why online slot pay tables are such an integral part of any playing experience. Whether you’re getting to grips with all the features of a new release, or looking to familiarise yourself with a classic, the pay table is a valuable source of information that is a must for all casino players to look through.
Typically found via an icon located next to the reels, this bank of information lets players know everything from the value of symbol combinations to the ways of activating a bonus round.
Jo Purvis, Director of Marketing and Relationships at UK-based games studio Blueprint Gaming, runs us through in more detail the importance of online slot pay tables and how they differ from game to game.
Why Do Game Developers Provide Pay Tables?
At Blueprint Gaming, we have developed a diverse slots portfolio featuring a variety of different game themes, meaning each slot’s gameplay is unique.
For instance, our Pub Fruit Series uses different mechanics to our more traditional online slots, which is why a pay table is developed to allow players to understand how the gameplay works before they start spinning.
A typical pay table includes info on the following:
Symbols and their coin values
Bonus features
Free Spins
Paylines
Jackpot details
Game rules
Why is it so Important for Players to Read the Pay Table?
Developers adopt different math models and so every game differs, which is why reading through a slot’s pay table is important.
Also, today’s slots often have greater levels of gameplay and it’s imperative that players know how each modifier and bonus round works.
Given the many layers of gameplay now found within slots, certain features with a high hit rate may not be discovered by many, but a pay table will provide the key details required for players and help to entice players to seek the harder-to-see features, thus increasing player retention on the slot.
Take The Goonies™, one of our most successful releases to date which can be played at online casinos such as PlayOJO and Videoslots.
The gameplay includes a multitude of games and modifiers inspired by the classic film.
The pay table allows us to clearly explain to players the difference between Chunk’s Truffle Shuffle and Mikey’s Hidden Treasure, while identifying the larger number of ways in which you can win big through the game’s numerous features.
What are Online Slot Paylines?
Paylines, also referred to as a betting line or winning line, is the combination of symbols that results in a win.
Physical slot machines traditionally only have between one and five paylines due to the mechanical nature of the product and the limited number of reel combinations.
Wins on these products would be won if three matching symbols created a horizontal or diagonal line, but online slots have the flexibility to offer varying paylines.
For instance, we have incorporated the Megaways™ mechanic (under licence from Big Time Gaming), into many of our games recently and the paylines differ enormously to our original games, with up to 117,649 ways to win.
The pay table from Blueprint Gaming's Return of Kong Megaways slot
Again, with our range of games offering different paylines, the pay table becomes an important tool for us to clearly explain how the mechanic works and when players will receive big wins.
Today’s slot games, some with over 100,000 pay lines, can cause confusion with players trying to follow the winning combinations and if the symbols that land in view make a winning line or not.
Disputes over paying lines are commonplace, so displaying a game’s actual paylines on the pay table not only helps to educate the player, but is also a valuable tool in finalising any player dispute.
Do Online Slot Paylines Pay in a Certain Way?
Traditionally paylines pay from left to right, but the online environment has allowed developers to change this and move to more flexible models that bring a different experience for players.
Another type of payline is adjacent pays, which cover left-to-right, centre and right-to-left matching symbols, which are more commonly found in five-reel games.
Here is a quick run-down of the main paylines:
Left to right - Symbols must match from the first reel on the left and be in succession from left to right to win.
Right to left - Symbols must match from the first reel on the right hand side and be in succession from right to left to win
Pay both ways - The game pays both left to right and right to left. Most modern online slots will pay both ways.
All ways - Symbols can be anywhere on the reels so long as they are on successive reels.
Cluster pays - Symbols need to form a cluster to pay. Clusters are usually between three and five symbols but very from slot to slot.
What about Jackpot Slot Pay Tables?
Jackpots within slot games are a fantastic addition and really help to raise excitement levels, as any spin can result in the player winning a life-changing sum of money.
You can find information about jackpots within the pay table.
Blueprint Gaming’s Jackpot King progressive system has created multiple millionaires since launching and provides an additional way for players to win big from the standard paylines.
We continue to evolve Jackpot King, with the latest incarnation featuring the Royal and Regal pots, which must be won before reaching £3,500 and £35,000 respectively.
