Go wild and scatter those free spins - your ultimate Slots glossary

Do you know the difference between cascading wilds and stacked wilds? Can you tell your scatters from your spins? You could be a huge fan of playing Slots at an online casino, but in reality, you have no idea of the terminology involved. Playing online Slots opens your eyes to a whole host of themes, with games offering different bonuses, pay-outs and even progressive jackpots.

The ultimate Slots glossary is your go-to guide for when you're next using your casino bonus to spin those reels. Here, we will give you all you need to know about Slots lingo, so you'll be ready to - hopefully - win-go!

Game enhancements

• Auto-play: this feature allows you to spin the reels for a pre-determined number of times in succession, without pressing the ‘spin' button. To deactivate the feature, simply press the ‘auto-play' button again
• Bonus features: most Slots feature bonus rounds and side games. To unlock these, a certain number of symbols (or specific symbols) will need to land on the reels. Players will then be transported to a different screen, away from the base game to fulfil their bonus
• Free spins: in-play, this feature is usually activated by landing a combination or specific number of symbols. But casinos may reward players with free spins as part of a promotion. Free spins will offer their pay-outs set at the minimum wager value, or based on a player's previous wager. Winnings will be added to a player's account
• Progressive jackpot: this is a monetary prize based on a series of games, often shared out amongst different operators. It is a separate prize pool, which can be won in addition to any standard pay-line wins. This is an ever-increasing jackpot, which factors in the wagers being placed. Once a progressive jackpot is won, its value returns to its starting point

Symbols

• Bonus: these are the ones that activate the bonus or side-games. The pay-table will often explain which symbols these are, and how many you need to unlock any bonuses
• Scatter: known as a Slots player's best friend, the scatter symbol is what you need to land, if you're looking to unlock bonuses, free spins and a whole host of other benefits. In most cases, a certain number of these symbols will need to land on a specific pay-line. They are the most valuable symbol
• Standard: standard symbols will be specific to the theme of game you are playing. Alongside standard themed symbols, you'll also find the high-value playing card symbols (usually 10 through to A), and these offer the smallest wins. These icons won't have any special functions, but their values and combinations will be found on the pay-table
• Wild: the most lucrative symbols, wilds substitute symbols to create winning combinations. They cannot transform into scatters or bonus symbols. But there are many different varieties of wild available, and each has its own properties. For example, sticky wilds will stay in place on the reels for subsequent spins. Other types of popular wild symbols include expanding (meaning they get bigger and fill more space on the reels, usually a 2x2 or 3x3 space), cascading (new symbols fall from the top of the reels) and stacked (wilds, which land one on top of another)

Wagers and pay-lines

• Active pay-line: one that is in play, and will result in a pay-out, should you land a winning combination
• Bet per line: the amount staked, per line. It is multiplied by the number of active pay-lines to give a total bet per spin
• Pay-line: the line of which winning combinations on the slot reels must land to win the pay-out
• Pay-out percentage: also known as Return to Player (or RTP), this is the percentage of wagers which are paid out over time, based upon an average. The higher the percentage, the more likely the game is to pay-out
• Pay-table: this explains the symbols and their winning combinations, as well as their pay-out values. The pay-table may also explain any specific game or bonus rules