Bonus for Slot Players: A Quick Quiz

John Grochowski 02:49 Feb 26th, 2006 Slots

Whether you’re hunting for jackpots, out to have fun with bonus rounds that play much like arcade games or just taking a break from poker or blackjack, chances are you’ve at least dabbled in video bonus slots. Nearly everyone has.

They’ve been the fastest growing segment in offline gaming for years, and they’re a natural for online gaming.

Let’s have a little fun with the bonus slots in a quick five-question quiz. Answers and explanations follow:

1. Modern slot machines:
A. Are always pure games of chance.
B. Sometimes incorporate elements of knowledge or skill
C. Are mostly tests of skill

2. A combination that pays off even if the symbols aren't on the same line is called:
A. A scatter pay
B. A wild-card jackpot
C. A programming error

3. On a video slot machine, if the reels fade from the screen and are replaced by another scene, the player is getting:
A. A second-screen bonus
B. Taken to the cleaners
C. A double-or-nothing challenge

4. American slot designers:
A. Developed the modern video slot with scatter pays and bonus rounds in the early 1990s
B. Were inspired to move into video by the success of Australian manufacturers
C. Stick to three-reel slots, and leave the video to overseas slot designers

5. Compared with three-reel slots, five-reel bonus slot games:
Have fewer winning spins that return less than the amount wagered
Have more winning spins that return less than the amount wagered
Have about the same percentage of winning spins that return less than the amount wagered

Answers:

1. Modern slot machines: B. Sometimes incorporate elements of knowledge or skill. Slot machines have traditionally been games of pure chance, but a few modern games allow the player to influence bonus paybacks with knowledge or skill. One prime example is Progressive Gaming’s (formerly Mikohn) Ripley's Believe It or Not slots. In the bonus round, the player sees trivia questions with multiple-choice answers. Bonus payouts are higher for correct answers than for incorrect responses.

2. A combination that pays off even if the symbols aren't on the same line is called: A. A scatter pay. One of the charms of video slot machines is that players can find themselves with a nice win when they least expect it. Part of it is that players sometimes have difficulty sorting out all the paylines featured on five-reel bonus games, and just don't see the winning combinations unfolding. But sometimes the payoff is just a complete surprise, because it comes from symbols that aren't adjacent on any line. Many games incorporate scatter pays, in which a symbol is designated to bring a payoff whenever a certain number lands on the screen. Sometimes it takes as few as two like symbols to launch a scatter pay, although three is more typical. Scatter pays then get larger if the screen shows four or five of the designated symbols.

3. On a video slot machine, if the reels fade from the screen and are replaced by another scene, the player is getting: A. A second-screen bonus. Bonus rounds are the most interactive portions of video slots. When the player hits a particular combination on the first screen, the reels fade and is replaced by a scene with the bonus game. It's all designed to keep the player active, interested--and in his or her seat.

4. American slot machine designers: B. Were inspired to move into video by the success of Australian designers. Multiline, multicoin slots with scatter pays and other bonuses were well established in Australia and in Pacific Rim nations by the time Aristocrat brought them to the American market in 1996.

5. Compared with three-reel slots, five-reel bonus slots: B. Have more winning spins that return less than the amount wagered. On three-reel slots, most wins are for several times the amount wagered, but less than 20 percent of spins will be winners. On five-reel bonus slots, 30, 40, even 50 percent of spins or more might bring some return, but the majority will be for less than the size of the bet.

John Grochowski’s website is: www.casinoanswerman.com