Slot machines are the most popular game in both online and land-based casinos. However, casinos often be searching for ways to keep people playing them more often and playing them longer. One way of accomplishing that was creating multi-line bonus games. These multi-line bonus games were developed in Australia and came to the states in 1996. Rather than the traditional 3-reel, single-payline format, these slots usually have up to 5 reels and 25 paylines. As opposed to one payline going horizontally as with traditional slots, with multi-line slots you can get a payout going horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Multi-line slots have a larger number of symbols, since you'll find more lines, and each has a different value. In land-based casinos, most multi-line bonus games are video slots.
Multi-line bonus slots have symbols called scatter symbols. They are symbols that unlock some special bonus round, a mini-game where the player has the chance to win bonus prizes at no risk. Unlike other symbols, they do not have to be in the active payline to be counted. Bonuses are a clever way to keep people playing the game, as many people shall continue playing regardless if losing cash on the hopes of hitting a bonus.
Slot bonuses come in a wide range. Sometimes they come in the form of free spins, extra coins to wager, free points (if you're playing in a point-based tournament) and more. Bonuses will be the best chance players have of recouping their losses, though on the subject of slots just about everyone will lose in the long run, anyway.
The bonus rounds unlocked through the scatter symbols come in lots of different forms. Sometimes three to five objects appear on the screen as well as the player must choose one, receiving whatever bonus is linked to that object. It's sort of like the old "see what his comment is here behind Door #2" game show trick. Other times, a scatter symbol for a zero cost spin will turn up and also you are automatically given a no cost spin without playing any bonus game. Another common bonus game is a matching game, where there's a grid with hidden symbols and if you match two symbols you are given a specific bonus.
Some bonuses are offered in the form of banking. Here, players accumulate bonuses throughout the course of the game and rather than using them right away, they are banked, where they're added together and when the bank reaches a specific goal, it is paid out to the player. Within this system, players are rewarded for playing the game for a longer period of time. With online slots, the bonus games will be more complex. They usually share a theme with the slot as well as have more of an interactive type of gameplay. Some examples include batting practice in a baseball-themed game and trying to knock out an opponent in a boxing-themed game.
In spite of the type of bonus game, multi-line bonus game online slots are wildly popular. In the end, everybody loves to get free stuff. Hitting bonuses gives the players the top chance of making their money back and gives them a experience of accomplishment, which is essential any time you are pumping a great deal of coins into a machine.