Slide a Wild Online Casino Slot Games

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When wild symbols were initially introduced in video slot games they simply substituted other symbols to make winning combinations. Over time innovations in online slots led to the creation of different types of wild symbols. They became multipliers because payouts were enhanced when they appeared in winning combinations. More than one wild symbol began to appear on the same reel. This was given the name stacked wilds. Then the wild symbol expanded to cover the entire reel as a single icon. This was the expanding wild. Exploding wilds randomly converted other symbols to wild symbols. In split wild symbols the symbol counted as two symbols instead of one. But generally in one slot game the wild symbol had only one of the characteristics.

A recent innovation is the Slide a Wild slot game in which the wild symbol takes on different characteristics. The wild symbol may appear on only one reel but the player can select the reel. This does not mean that the wild symbol has to appear on the selected reel in every spin. It means that if the wild symbol appears then it will appear on the selected reel. In each reel the wild symbol takes on a different characteristic, which becomes the basis for the selection.

A slot game with this Slide a Wild feature is Crocodopolis. This game can be played at Virgin Casino. The Croc is the wild symbol and in this slot game it takes properties as follows. On Reel 1 the payout is doubled if Croc substitutes in a winning combination. On Reel 2 the payout is tripled if Croc substitutes in a winning combination. On Reel 3 when Croc appears it expands to cover all three positions on the reel. Payouts are calculated and credited after the expansion. Croc expansion will only occur if it results in a winning combination. On Reel 4 the Croc appears as an expanded wild as well, just as it does on Reel 3. But on Reel 4 the payouts are tripled. On Reel 5 Croc is a stacked wild and all symbols on this reel are replaced with the Croc symbol. Payouts are tripled if Croc substitutes in a winning combination. The process of selecting the reel on which the player wants the wild symbol to appear is very simple. There is a bar above the set of reels that has a slider labeled "Slide a Wild". Players can place the cursor on the slider, left click the mouse and move the slider above any reel. When the slider appears above a reel it graphically exhibits the property the wild symbol will take in the reel. Therefore the player need not check the game rules time and again.

What the Slide a wild feature does is make the game more interactive. Players now have one more decision to make apart from the usual betting parameters. This decision does not involve skill as is involved in blackjack, but the choice is based on the risk the player is willing to take and the returns that he expects. Take for example the Crocodopolis slot game. On Reel 1 there will be only one wild symbol and it will only double the payout. On Reel 5 all symbols will be wild symbols and the payouts will be tripled. Hence the return will be greater in Reel 5. But a wild symbol on Reel 1 is more likely to result in a winning combination than a wild symbol on Reel 5. Therefore the player has to choose between a larger return that would materialize less often and a smaller return that would materialize more often.

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