Bonus Symbol

Reel icons which activates the bonus game on video slots.

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A bonus symbol occurs on bonus video slots. The bonus video slots game is a game-within-a-game on a slot machine, because it neither requires extra coins to be wagered to play, nor does it follow the classic reel game most slot machines follow. For this reason, slot machines are divided between reel slots and video slots.

That doesn't mean video slots do not have their reel slots element. In fact, most gameplay on a video slots game will employ the reel symbols format. And the bonus symbol will be found during the reel slots game.

A common bonus symbol is the scatter symbol. If a scatter symbol appears anywhere on the slots screen, it might activate the bonus game. Generally, multiple scatters have to appear on the reels to trigger the bonus video slots game. These scatters can be spread anywhere throughout the 3 or 5 reels in no particular order, which is why they are called scatter symbols. If the right number of these appear, then the bonus game is triggered.

Regular reel play is suspended temporarily and the slot machine player has the chance to win bonus money without risking anymore money. The bonus screen will keep a running tally of the extra money won by the player in the bonus game. The player will be asked to make a series of decisions, usually 50-50 guesses without any strategy or clues to help with the guesses. The player continues to amass extra money or coins, until the player guesses wrong. Often, the player must guess wrong multiple times before the bonus game is over.

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