The Heavy Importance of a Slots Help Screen

slots-help-screenSlots have moved far beyond the mechanical 3-reel days, where you simply pulled a lever and waited for the outcome. Nowadays, slots games are way more advanced with betting options, up to a dozen or more symbols, bonus rounds and lots of paylines. And this doesn’t even begin to cover the unique rules that you’ll see when moving from game to game. So how do you cut through the confusion of a new slots game? Read the help screen…

What the Help Screen shows

What information you’ll find on the help screen varies depending upon the individual game. But on average, you’ll find the paytable, special symbols (i.e. wild, scatter), bonus round info, and specific rules (if any) on how to quality for the jackpot.

All of this is very important, but the jackpot requirements are especially crucial. For example, you might need to make a $1 side bet to qualify for a progressive jackpot. Or you might have to play all 20 paylines if the jackpot only appears on the 20th payline.

The bonus round instructions are obviously pretty important too because these often feature second-screen games that are totally different from normal slots. So you don’t want to walk into one of these rounds with no idea on what’s going on, then lose your chance at bonuses.

Before you start playing

Any time you fire up a new land-based or online slots game, your first action shouldn’t be hitting the spin button, but rather clicking on the help screen. As we explained above, there’s some very critical information to be found on these screens.

If you don’t understand any of the rules or instructions – which is more common than you think with some games today – then try playing for free until you get the hang of things. Then, when you figure out the game, start putting real money on the line.