With more online casinos coming online, there’s no denying that we are in the golden age of slot games. Sure, you can get plenty of thrilling slot machines playing at retail casinos. However, the continued meteoric rise of online casinos, including sweepstakes sites, means that access to more categories of slots is available than ever before. Explore this article to go on a fantastic slot game journey from classic to today’s titanic Megaways slot games.
Penny and Classic Slot Games
Even with so many million-dollar jackpot slots available, it’s easy to overlook the genesis and the continued impact that classic slots have. Because of their low volatility, classic slots remain in demand, especially at social casinos, because you can make your budgets and sweepstakes coins stretch further.
Also, they have fewer features and bonuses, which makes them ideal for new slot players to jump in and enjoy. Another benefit of more simple gameplay is the higher RTP rate. Most penny and classic slots feature a 96% or higher RTP rate. While some three-reel games with a single pay line are still available, many of our beloved classic slots, like the Ugga Bugga online slot, give players the best of both worlds.
You get three reels and anywhere between five to ten pay lines. Some upgraded classic slots even offer a free spin round while maintaining its uniquely high RTP rate.
Video Slots
Even with today’s impressive jackpot and Megaways slots, they are essentially the latest generation of video slots. The concept of video slots dates back to the mid-70s when Vegas and Reno casinos were trying to spice up their slot game lineup. For the most extended type, the slot machines are the only vintage three-reel games with a single pay line.
To add more diversity, the first wave of video slots began propping up. Although things took off slowly, come the 1980s, video slots quickly grew among the members. What really helped the early age of video slots take-off was the concept of progressive slots like The Wheel of Fortune. Based on the legendary television game show, The Wheel of Fortune continues to pack players and tourists from around the world for a chance to win million-dollar jackpots.
The allure and concept behind video slots is to add new themes beyond the traditional fruity themes. Also, video slots also introduced the concept of bonus features like free spins, which is something we take for granted today.
Come the mid-90s, the first wave of online casinos went online. While the vintage three-reel slots were the most abundant, the transition to video slots was instant. The early game developers like NetEnt and Microgaming wasted no time developing and implementing the first wave of video slots.
The chance to immerse themselves in exotic themes like outer space with NetEnt’s Starburst slot game helped carry the growth of online video slots into the 2000s. Come 2010, taking full advantage of today’s technology, the genre of video slots went through a massive upgrade at both retail and online casinos. With the release of Gonzo’s Quest in 2012, the perfect blend of promotions, graphics, and immersion took off.
Gonzo’s Quest, like Starburst, is still widely available at retail and online casinos. Also, Gonzo’s Quest led the way for today’s Megaways slots.
Megaways Slots
Today, it’s neck and neck between Megaways and jackpot slots. As we mentioned, Gonzo’s Quest set the stage for the incredibly popular genre of Megaways slot games. Starting with the avalanche feature winning with Gonzo’s Quest triggered the avalanche feature. That means one win expands the reels to well over 100,000 as long as you keep winning. Also, the winning multiplier continues to grow.
Pragmatic Play is the leading developer for today’s Megaways slots. Some of the most popular casinos that you can find online and at sweepstakes are Gates of Olympus and Caishen. Also, the rise of the Megaways slots also pioneered the rise of Egyptian-themed slot games. Today’s popular Egyptian-themed slots like Mercy of the Gods feature the epic Megaways bonus as well as other promising and rewarding features like stacked wilds and re-spins that are part of the Megaways package.
Jackpot Slots
Without question, the jackpot slots continue to take the cake among today’s slot game categories. One spin is all it takes to win multi-million dollar jackpots. The concept of progressive slot machines dates back to the 1980s at local casinos. Come the late 1990s, Microgaming ushered in the first wave of progressive slots.
Even though progressive slots are highly volatile, you can’t beat turning over several frustrating spins into millions, like with the massive Fruit Blaster game worth $6.5 million. So, the allure of winning the big bucks continues to get players to come in droves despite the high volatility. The concept of jackpot slots also grows to daily jackpots like at FanDuel Casino.
Final Words
Hopefully, you’re fired up about playing the fascinating slot themes and categories. You don’t have to win a million-dollar jackpot to win big playing slots. Other popular slot categories that are ready for the taking are the hold and win and hold and spin slots. Both are similar and really do up the concept of stacked symbols. With AI technology playing an ever-growing role in casino game development, you can now look forward to even more custom variants.
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