Wilds, scatters and collectors.
A symbol can help form a paying combination, start a feature or collect another symbol’s displayed value. Identify its job before following the animation. The same label can have different rules in another game.
Wilds: read the substitution and feature rules
A wild commonly substitutes for ordinary paying symbols. Play’n GO describes one example in its Moon Princess Stargazing guide. Check which symbols it can replace, where it can appear and whether its behaviour changes during a feature. A wild may also carry a multiplier, remain in position or collect values.
In The Dog House, the studio describes multiplier wilds on reels two, three and four, with sticky wilds during free spins. “Sticky” describes a symbol staying in position for the relevant feature. Check the feature rules before assuming it will remain after ordinary play.
Sticky, moving or merging?
A wild can stay in play without staying in the same position. Read what survives a win, where the symbol goes next and when its value changes. These are separate rules: a moving symbol does not necessarily grow, and a multiplier does not necessarily apply to the whole round.
| Game | What stays in play? | What should you follow? |
|---|---|---|
| The Dog House | Sticky wilds hold their positions during free spins. | The paying line and the wilds contributing to it. A wild elsewhere on the board is not part of that line. |
| Jammin’ Jars | Jars remain through the free-game feature’s cascades; contributing jars can move. | The jar’s current multiplier applies to a cluster it joins. After contributing, its multiplier increases by one. |
| Fire Portals | Portals persist across free spins and can move within a winning area. | Contributing portals gain multiplier value. Portals in the same winning combination can merge after it pays, multiplying their values together. |
A merged portal’s multiplier describes a symbol value, not a guaranteed payout. Use the exact game’s help to distinguish the multiplier calculation from the credited result. You can read these rules without continuing to spin until the feature appears.
Scatters: check the count and the reward
Scatter symbols often trigger a feature by their number rather than by completing an ordinary payline. The game’s help explains the required count, any position restrictions and whether the scatter also has a separate payout. A scatter trigger does not tell you how large the feature’s result will be.
The original Gates of Olympus starts its fifteen-free-spin feature with four or more scatters. In the original Big Bass Bonanza, three, four or five scatters award ten, fifteen or twenty free spins. Read the full title: a sequel may use different rules.
Collectors: watch what makes a value count
A displayed number may need another symbol or feature condition before it contributes to the result. In Big Bass Bonanza’s free-spin feature, wilds collect the visible money symbols. Seeing a numbered fish is only part of that sequence: watch for the collector and the credited result.
The currency shown in a demo represents virtual credits. A dollar amount on a fish is not a Ghanaian-cedi, Kenyan-shilling or rand offer, and it cannot be withdrawn from CGA. Our African demo access guide explains currency displays and local availability.
A short checklist before opening free play
- Open the exact game’s help and identify its special symbols.
- Read the trigger count, position rules and the conditions for collecting a value.
- Check when a sticky symbol or multiplier resets.
- Follow the credited result separately from the symbols’ animation.
Use free demos to inspect the controls and help screens at your own pace. There is no need to keep spinning until a feature appears. Read our boundaries guide before deciding how much time to spend.
Next, read the payout units and feature conditions together. A symbol’s job does not tell you which stake a displayed multiplier uses.
Free-spin features and casino offers
A free-spin feature belongs to the game’s rules. An operator promotion has its own eligibility and terms. Compare them in free slots versus free spins, and use our edition checklist when two games share a name.
Our sources
These examples use Pragmatic Play’s official pages for The Dog House, Gates of Olympus and Big Bass Bonanza. The help inside the exact version you open remains the place to check its full paytable. Our editorial standards explain how we check and present game information.
The moving-wild comparison also draws on Push Gaming’s Jammin’ Jars page, Pragmatic Play’s Fire Portals page and the rules inside their practice players. These examples concern the original games named above.