Discover how wild symbols were introduced in video slot machine games, the various forms they can take, and how they soup up your reel-spinning experience.

History and Importance of Wild Symbols: Their Role in Shaping the Slot Experience

Slot machine wild symbols are among the most enticing elements of playing video slots. Thanks to their colourful and unique designs, they are irresistibly attractive, making slots with wild icons increasingly popular for online casino nz players and gamers from around the world alike. However, besides their visual appeal, wild symbols can appear with various functions in different slots, making them one of the top special icons that shape the player’s gameplay experience.

Without a doubt, slot machine symbols have come a long way and have deep-rooted histories. However, special icons like the wilds were not included in the first-ever slot machines, but they gradually became popular over the years, breathing a new life into the gameplay. Today, wilds are synonymous with almost every modern slot game. They have different functions, the foremost being substituting for other icons on the reels to complete winning combinations. Therefore, their introduction marked a significant shift into more advanced slot games before other types of special features came into the scene.

What Do Wilds Do in Slots?

These special icons appear at random with other regular characters on the grid to potentially create or complete a pay line of winning combinations. So, wilds are pretty significant icons to target when trying to maximise the chance of winning a slot round.

As special characters, they can vary from one slot to another, making it essential for players to understand how different types of iconic symbols function. The types of wilds you’ll encounter in modern video slots include the following:

• Standard;

• Expanding;

• Stacked;

• Moving/Shifting;

• Contagious.

Here’s a closer look at how each of them works when it shows up on slot machine reels:

Regular or Standard Wilds

Such icons have one function– replacing other regular symbols on reels to form winning combinations. However, in most cases, wilds will not substitute for other special symbols like scatters and bonus characters. Better still, they can form winning combos on their own and may also display a multiplier value applied to the winning prize, allowing you to win bigger payouts.

Expanding Wilds

As the name suggests, expanding symbols will land and expand to cover the entire reel. They may or may not trigger another bonus feature. For slots like Starburst from NetEnt, whenever a wild symbol is revealed, it expands and offers a free re-spin. Several icons can land at once and expand on specific reels.

Stacked Wilds

The difference between expanding and stacked icons is that the latter will appear on the reel in vertical stacks on top of each other. Depending on the game, they can fill the entire reel or be limited to two or three stacks on the respective reel.

Sticky Wilds

Sticky wilds are like regular ones, but once they appear on the reel, they remain stuck for the next spin or multiple subsequent spins. Depending on the slot, they can land during the base games or free rounds.

Moving/Shifting Wilds

Moving wilds will appear and move from one reel to another. For example, if the symbol lands on reel 3 in a 5-reel grid layout, after a spin, the symbol may move one reel to the left or right and land on reel 2 or 4. It will then move to an adjacent reel after another spin and then disappear on the next spin. However, some moving wilds remain persistent during the free spins feature. In such cases, instead of disappearing after reaching the first or the last reel, they’ll move to the opposite reel and continue until the player runs out of free spins.

Contagious Wilds

Contagious wilds, as a rule, turn adjacent icons wild. Depending on the game design, one wild can be contagious and expanding or stacked at the same time, making such symbols much more attractive for users.

Benefits of Playing Slots With Wild Symbols

Generally, each wild symbol variant has its strategy that allows players to anticipate and experience the gameplay of each slot from different angles. Ultimately, their appearance typically boosts the player’s chance of winning.

So, whenever they show up, they create opportunities for players to turn what would’ve been a non-winning spin into a winning one. The thrill of hitting wild symbols may increase when they appear in other bonus features like free spins, where their functions become even more pronounced with bigger boosters. 

Choose Slots With Wild Symbols!

For sure, wild symbols have come a long way since they were introduced in video slots. And from the look of things, they will only get better as providers keep finding more innovative ways to engage players through these special characters. Top online casino sites offer plenty of slot machines from different software providers that feature at least one type of wild symbol. Check them out, and remember to read the specific rules related to each wild symbol, as they may differ from one slot to another.