Slot machines have been a staple of the casino gaming landscape for over a century now. With their relatively simple gameplay and fewer rules to learn than some table games, Slots are still one of the most popular casino games out there.

And thanks to that popularity, as well as the shift towards online play, there are now a greater variety of slot games than ever before. From the classic three-reel fruit machines to the most advanced multi-payline video Slots, players have so many options to choose from.

That’s why we’re here – to explore just a few of the major types of casino Slots you’ll find online, and the differences that set them apart.

Classic Slots

Let’s start simple with the classic style of slot game. These are patterned after some of the earliest designs of slot machines, often using retro symbols like fruits, horseshoes and lucky sevens.

The main feature that tends to set classic games apart is their use of only three reels, as many modern Slots feature upwards of five reels. This makes classic slot games a bit of a simpler experience than others, with players only having a single payline and a smaller number of reels to watch.

They may have fewer bells and whistles than other Slots but classic games have strength in simplicity.

Multi-line Slots

Slots with a higher number of reels will also commonly offer more paylines to add to the gameplay experience. A multi-line game can feature dozens or even hundreds of potential paylines for players to wager on, giving them much more to pay attention to.

Potential winning combinations can occur on horizontal, diagonal, crisscrossing, zigzagging or looping paylines, just to name a few!

Before their spin players are generally given the choice to select how many paylines they want to activate, increasing their wager with a higher number of lines. This allows them to customise the game to match their preferences. But there are some varieties of multi-line slot games that always have a fixed number of paylines active.

Progressive Slots

This type is defined less by its gameplay than by its potential jackpot. Unlike other types of slot games that feature fixed jackpot amounts that never change, progressive Slots have jackpots that grow over time.

Every time that a game is played on one of the connected machines or online game instances a small fraction of the wager is added to the overall jackpot. This allows the total to potentially climb to amounts far higher than a fixed jackpot will offer.

While the odds of a player landing the jackpot combination are relatively low the possibility of a big payout is always there.

Themed Slots

Another common type of slot game you’ll find online is themed varieties. Popular films, TV shows, game shows and other entertainment properties can form the basis of a game’s theme, such as The Walking Dead or Deal or No Deal.

Licenced characters and music, as well as themed sounds and imagery, populate these games. It gives themed Slots a very different flavour compared to a classic fruit machine.

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Developers have created even more twists on the Slots formula since the shift to online play, we didn’t have time to feature all of them here! Still, now you should have more of an understanding of some of the major options on offer.

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