Bonus Buys, Multipliers and Scatters: A Slot Features Glossary

Slot info pages assume you already know the vocabulary. This glossary covers the terms you’ll encounter most, grouped by what they affect.

Symbols

Wild — substitutes for any standard symbol to complete a win. Usually can’t replace scatters or bonus symbols.

Scatter — pays or triggers a feature regardless of position; doesn’t need to be on a payline. Typically three scatters launch free spins.

Bonus symbol — a specific symbol that triggers a feature; similar to a scatter but often only counts on certain reels.

Mystery symbol — reveals as a random symbol after landing, so all mystery symbols on the grid become the same.

Wild variants

Sticky wild — stays in place for a set number of spins or for the whole feature. Expanding wild — grows to cover the whole reel. Walking / shifting wild — moves one reel per spin until it leaves the grid. Stacked wild — several wilds on one reel. Multiplier wild — multiplies any win it’s part of.

Grid mechanics

Cascade / tumble / avalanche — winning symbols vanish and new ones fall in, allowing chain wins from one spin. Megaways — variable rows per reel, changing the number of ways each spin. Cluster pays — wins from groups of touching symbols rather than lines. Expanding reels / grid — the playable area grows during features.

Multipliers

Win multiplier — multiplies a single win. Progressive multiplier — increases with each cascade or spin within a feature; often unlimited. Global multiplier — applies to all wins for the rest of the feature. Always check whether multipliers add or multiply when combined; the pay table specifies.

Features

Free spins — the most common bonus round; a set of spins with enhanced rules (more wilds, multipliers, sticky symbols). Retrigger — landing scatters during free spins to award more. Pick-and-click / pick bonus — choosing from hidden items to reveal prizes. Wheel bonus — spinning a wheel for a prize or jackpot. Hold and win / respin feature — special symbols lock in place and award respins until no new ones land. Collect / meter — symbols accumulate towards a feature or prize.

Purchase features

Bonus buy / feature buy — paying a fixed multiple of stake (typically 50x–200x) to enter the bonus directly. Its RTP is calculated separately and shown in the info panel. Not offered on all UK versions. Ante bet / bonus boost — paying a higher stake (e.g. 1.25x) to increase feature frequency.

Post-win options

Gamble — risking a win on a 50/50 (or worse) to double it. Usually zero house edge in the fair versions but still increases variance; some versions have a hidden edge, so check.

Numbers on the info page

RTP — long-run return to player. Volatility — spread of outcomes; low, medium or high. Hit frequency — percentage of spins producing any win. Max win — the cap on payout from a single spin, expressed as a multiple of stake. Bet range — minimum and maximum stake, now capped by law at £5 (£2 for under-25s) per spin in the UK.

Regulatory terms

Reality check — the timed session pop-up. Net position — your balance relative to the session start, which UK games must be able to display.

Why it helps

Knowing that a “sticky expanding multiplier wild” is three separate, well-defined things makes any game’s feature list readable in seconds — and makes it much easier to judge whether a game’s volatility and features fit the session you have in mind.

Understanding a game’s features doesn’t change its RTP. Set your budget before you spin, however the features are described.