If you’ve been playing slots for any measurable time, or you were at least familiar with the industry in the past, then you’ll notice that the games have changed greatly. No longer are casinos filled with classic 3-reelers, where you actually put quarters in to play. Instead, the gaming world has more variety than ever before with lots of detailed video slots available. This being said, let’s quickly look at how today’s slots are very different from the past.
1. Most Slots Games have 5 Reels
As alluded to in the introduction, the vast majority of slots today have 5 reels. It’s just so much easier to add more payouts, features and symbols when there are 5 reels. Of course, in the mid-2000s, some gamemakers were experimenting with 7-reel slots; but these 7-reel games never really caught on at online casinos. As for 3-reel slots, you can still find these in land-based and internet casinos. However, they just aren’t as prevalent as they once were.
2. Many Slots feature Bonus Rounds
Over time, players have slowly demanded more from their slots experience. The reason being is that you can only spin the reels so long before you want to see something different than symbols. So gamemakers began adding more bonus rounds about a decade ago, and this trend has only accelerated in recent years. Now it’s pretty rare to play a slots game without a second-screen bonus round of some sort. More recently, bonus games with skill are being added to attract millennials to the reels.
3. Slots are moving Closer to Movies/Video Games
Keeping with the theme of attracting millennials, many slots today are more akin to movies and video games than traditional gambling. Just take a look at all the licensed video slots to see how popular movie themes are. As for the video-game element, well, the skill-based play is one way that this is being accomplished. Plenty of modern slots also feature cut scenes to make people feel like they’re playing a video game.