Slots Games

Up until 1984 the casino slot was an entirely electro-mechanical affair, with real physical reels spinning away inside them. However in that year slot machines took a leap forward as it was the year that theoretical mathematician Inge Telnaes received the patent for the 'virtual stop', heralding the arrival of the 'video slot' and a new era in casino gaming. The 'virtual stop' allowed the creation of a slot game that could exceed the physical limitations of the previous generation of machines, by replacing the real reels with a screen displaying video simulations. Not only could these new video slots feature more symbol stop positions per reel - the electro-mechanical casino slots could only manage a maximum of 22 stop positions before the reel became too large to be practical - but being entirely software driven it was easier to add more reels and paylines to the traditional three-reel, single payline format that had ruled the casino arcades for decades.

Video slots quickly caught on amongst keen casino slot players with early hit machines like IGT's Cleopatra adopting a five-reel, multi-payline style that quickly became the de facto format. With more stop positions and reels in play video slots' odds against winning could be increased, but to counter the criticism that the new games were less favourable to players than older casino slots, game developers took the chance to add in bonus features such as sequences of free spins to keep players engaged and deliver some attractive potential for large wins. Two other features that quickly became widely adopted into the video slot format was the use of Wild symbols on the reels, capable of substituting for other symbols, and Scatters to trigger rewards by simply being in view.

Being entirely software driven the video slot format was a natural fit for transition to online casinos, and so it was no surprise to find that many popular real-world casino slots were ported very quickly onto the Internet after the advent of the earliest online clubs in the mid 1990s. The success of slot machines in the real-world was quickly repeated at online casinos and scores of virtual video slots became an essential part of any self-respecting online club's offering. Indeed, so popular have these games been that it has driven a whole new era of game development expanding massively on the number of video slots and features players can choose from today at an online casino. Interestingly nowadays its online video slots that are spawning real-world casino slots rather than the other way around!

Although new online slot games are emerging that seemingly dispense with 'reels' and / or paylines altogether the 'traditional' video slot format of five reels, five or more paylines and some bonus feature still reigns supreme with players. Playing online video slots is as simple as playing the real-world casino slots that preceded them - choosing which to play from the hundreds of different games vying for your attention is the hard part. For that reason we think you'll be glad of this site's reviews of many of the most popular video slots as the first step to finding the reel deal you're after.