Scatter Symbols for Online Slots

Submitted by Gary on Tue, 2010-07-27 at 14:52

The Scatter Symbol has become an integral part of online slots development. Game designers must think of new and innovative ways to increase payouts for lucky players, and the scatter symbol makes it possible.

These symbols hold high importance in any online slots game, so they are made to stand out. Originally, developers designed scatter symbols to represent an important aspect of the game. For example, in the popular online slots game Tomb Raider, the scatter symbol is Lara Croft toting her famous pair of pistols. Now, as online slots become more sophisticated and technologically advanced, scatter symbols are animated in various ways.

Unlike most symbols in online slots games, the scatter symbol does not need to appear on an active payline in order to it to activate its special features. In the majority of games, the player must receive more than 3 scatter symbols in order to obtain special payouts. With each additional scatter symbol, the payout will multiply. For example, 3 scatter symbols would multiply your bet by 5, 4 would multiply your bet by 10 and 5 would multiply your bet by 20.

Most online slots games will only allow the scatter symbol to multiply your line bet, but some will actually multiply your total bet. For example, if you bet $5 on 5 lines, obtaining three scatter symbols would multiply your total $25!

Scatter symbols are also used to activate bonus games, so they serve multiple purposes on occasion.