What is a Bonus Game or Bonus Round in Slots?
Bonus games are a cherry on top of every video slot, boosting the player’s winning odds with an extra game, triggered when special requirements are met. Although bonus games have become an indispensable part of video slots, there once was a time when slot players had to settle with no more than lining up the matching symbols. As the technology evolved, video slots have transformed into complex software, coming a long way from the uncomplicated one-liners; the bonus games nowadays incorporate elements of progress-based, arcade, and strategy games, keeping the players engaged by constantly changing the pace and the structure. By default, the slots with best bonus games are the ones that challenge the players and make them invest an extra effort in triggering the prize – be it a multiplier, cash reward, or an extra spin.
If we disregard the Free Spins, the most common form of bonuses is the so-called picking game which has the same rules as the iconic Minesweeper; the players must reveal random fields until a “wrong” pick terminates the feature. Another popular side game is an adventure-style bonus round with different levels of difficulty, ranging from easy to extremely hard. The players will get to choose the level themselves, opting for lower (sometimes even guaranteed) prizes or higher, yet more volatile potential payouts.
How a Bonus Game is Triggered?
As mentioned, bonus games are usually initiated when the players meet the predefined conditions. This, however, is not always the case, and the extra rounds can be triggered randomly, on every base game spin.
The requirements for unlocking the bonus game can be found under the slot’s paytable, and the most common triggers are:
- Bonus symbol – a special set of icons that sets the bonus game in motion when aligned in a certain way
- Fortune Wheel – mini fortune wheels integrated into the slot, which can activate a free spin session or unlock the bonus game, depending on the flag’s position
- Bonus Meter – filled by collecting specified symbols throughout the base game spins or during the free spins. Once the meter is filled, the bonus game will be triggered.
- Picking Game – by revealing fields across a grid; each pick award the bonus game, coin prize, or free spins
- Bet increase – certain bonus games can only be activated when the players press the bets
- Completed missions (progress-based bonus games) – successfully performing a certain mission can trigger an extra game or result in a coin prize
Top 8 Slot List with the Best Bonus Games
Shortlisting the slots with the best bonus features is not an easy task, especially with new games launched daily. To qualify, the developer must keep the slot game bonuses simple, yet intriguing, without compromising the nature of slot’s random mechanism. After all, we are talking about the games of chance, and the slot bonuses should reflect that. The titles compiled below are the best representatives of what slots’ features should incorporate – innovation, challenge, and tempting payouts.
Wild Worlds
Software: NetEnt
Released: April 2019
Volatility: Medium
RTP: 96.47%
Wild Worlds is a cluster-pay slot played across 5×5 reel grid that offers a payout potential of 1,000,000 coins. Featuring a team of poultry superheroes who must save the planet from invading alien forces, Wild Worlds slot introduces an array of bonus rounds, including the Hero Attacks bonus.
Each of the three heroes has corresponding symbols added to the Hero Meter; once the meter is completely filled, the heroes attack the alien monsters, gradually destroying their nemeses. The degree of damage will depend on the hero symbol itself:
- Blue Hero Special Attack – one damage point to all alien monsters
- Pink Hero Special Attack – one damage point to 4 random alien monsters
- Green Hero Special Attack – 4 damage points to one random alien monster
The time needed to completely destroy the aliens will depend on the monster’s “rank”. The Captains will have to be “shot” with 15 damage points before awarding Free Spins, while the Bosses require 105 damage points. Eliminating the Boss will transfer the player to a different realm, where more Captains are waiting to be eliminated.
Additional bonuses and features:
- Hero Wilds – the Hero symbol wins transform all corresponding icons into Wilds;
- Destroy Feature – triggers randomly after several “dry spins” and locks all matching-color symbols on the reels. All other icons (except for Scatters are destroyed);
- Free Spins – there are 3 different modes of Free Spins:
– Dark Forest with Spreading Wilds
– Ice World with Heavy Wilds
– Fire Lands with Random Wilds
Where to play Wild Worlds
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Platooners
Software: Elk
Released: June 2018
Volatility: Medium to High
RTP: 96.3%
After 2016 release of Bloopers, Elk decided to revisit the popular characters, launching 178-payline Platooners two years later. The bonus game mission is to destroy the Snake of Fortune and collect higher payouts.
The Snake of Fortune is triggered when a combination of at least three Scatter icons is formed across the reels. The game starts with 15 rounds and the difficulty level increases on every next stage, ranging from easy to hard. The same goes for the monetary prizes, which will reach the highest value on the third and final level.
Throughout the bonus game, small coins will award the ammo refills while the Mystery Coin grants the following:
- Cash win
- An extra Attack
- A bomb that can destroy larger segments of the Snake
- Ammo refill
Additional bonuses and features:
- Action Spins – a randomly triggered bonus with Expanding Wilds (the green Rockets character), extra Wilds (added by the red Grenades icon), and additional paylines, (activated by the yellow Bullets symbol).
Where to play Platooners
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Ivan and the Immortal King
Software: Quickspin
Released: November 2018
Volatility: High
RTP: 96.29%
Quickspin is well-known for their visually astonishing interpretations of folk tales, and this time the developer is taking us all the way back to medieval Russia, introducing Ivan Tsarevich as the central character.
To defeat the Immortal King and seize his treasure, Ivan must destroy the items that contain the King’s life source – similar to Harry Potter’s quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Ivan’s rebellion against the King is sometimes supported by Baba Yaga witch, who appears in the Baba Yaga Surprise bonus game, hiding four random symbols (placed in adjacent reel positions). The removed icons will then be replaced in the following manner:
- Up to three icons will be substituted by the Bonus Scatter during the main game; the remaining symbols will be replaced by the Progress Scatter in the Free Spins
- One random icon will replace the hidden symbols and produce a guaranteed win
Additional bonuses and features:
Free Spins are initiated by the Bonus Scatters, and played across three different levels:
- 3 Scatters – 10 Free Spins on the Chest Level with x1 multiplier
- 4 Scatters – 14 Free Spins on the Hare Level with x2 multiplier
- 5 Scatters – 18 Free Spins on the Duck Level with x3 multiplier
Higher levels with more spins (and up to x20 multiplying value) are awarded for every 3 collected Progress Scatter icons.
Where to play Ivan and the Immortal King
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Battle Royal
Software: Play’n GO
Released: December 2018
Volatility: High
RTP: 96%
Inspired by the highly controversial private life of Henry VIII, the developer of Battle Royal has been rather successful in adapting the King’s indiscretions to a 20-payline video slot, with beheaded queens as central figures of the bonus game.
The Scatter symbols that lands on the 1st and 5th reel activate one of the two bonuses: Free Spins or Long Live the King picking game with six wooden chests. The chests will reveal a cash prize and release a ghost of Henry’s dead wife, ending the feature if the jilted wife catches the lewd King. Should you happen to open a chest that contains a key, the King will escape the dungeon and win a multiplier.
When the Free Spins – Heads will Roll session is revealed, a guillotine will decapitate 5 out of 6 Henry’s wives, turning the first beheaded icon into Wild. The feature will last until only one wife is left, and the player will have to move the symbol to a randomly selected reel. If the wife escapes death once again, a cash prize will be awarded.
Additional bonuses and features:
- Royal Flush – all symbols are transformed into a randomly selected icon
Where to play Battle Royal
The first two choices for all players who enjoy the diverse gaming catalogue and rich promotional program would be Mr Green and Videoslots.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Megaways
Software: Big Time Gaming
Released: November 2018
Volatility: High
RTP: 96.24%
If you have dreamed about being on that famous hot seat, Big Time Gaming will give you the opportunity to simulate the experience and multiply the total payout by risking everything in the Hot Seat Free Spins Gamble bonus game. The rules are simple – pick one of the four options and keep your fingers crossed.
The feature is triggered by a combination of three Scatters (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire logo), triggering 8 bonus rounds at the same time. The players can reach out for help (just like in an actual TV show), and select lifeline assistance every time they gamble:
- 50:50 – two of the incorrect “answers” will be removed, leaving the player with only two possible solutions
- Phone a friend – thankfully, you will not be required to actually call anyone; instead, the system will highlight the best choice
- Ask the audience – by choosing this option, the players will be able to compare the odds of all four options (A, B, C or D) and select the one that’s most likely to be “correct” (statistically).
Depending on the number of consecutive successful choices, the players can win up to 50 Free Spins; the levels 2 and 7 are the so-called safe fields, with the guaranteed 10 or 20 bonus spins.
Additional bonuses and features:
- Extra Reel – horizontal reel that adds symbols to vertical 2-5 reels
- Reactions – winning spin will start a reaction, removing the winning symbols and replacing them with new icons (either falling down or moving right to left)
- Free Spins – 4 or 8 bonus rounds with progressive (unlimited) multiplying value
- Megaways – fluctuating payline system that changes the number of paylines on every spin, forming up to 117,649 betways
Where to play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Megaways
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Jackpot Raiders
Software: Yggdrasil
Released: May 2019
Volatility: Low
RTP: 96.3%
A 20-payline slot with 5 Jackpots – Forgotten, Rare, Mythical, Ancient, and Legendary – unlocked when the player collects five corresponding gems.
The real adventure stars in the Treasure Hunt Bonus Game potentially triggered during the Pick & Click feature. To continue, the players must select their avatar – Bear, a male character who will help you unlock low-risk, modest prizes or Sam, female character who will lead you to more generous winnings, but at a higher risk.
The next step is choosing the route: Safe, Risky, or Very Risky. While the first route offers guaranteed winning, Risky and Very Risky can be quite difficult to complete. The treasure chest at the end of the route can contain up to 1,800 coins and every successful mission will advance you to the next, more difficult level.
Additional bonuses and features:
- Jackpot Free Spins – bonus rounds with x3 multiplier, unlocked by a Scatter combination, collectible Maps, or in the Pick & Click game
- Sunken City Free Spins – bonus rounds with x10 multiplier, unlocked by 5 collectible relics in the Treasure Hunt Bonus
- Pick & Click – classic picking game, launched when 2 Scatters land on the reel. The picks can reveal 20-80 coins, a Compass which awards Free Spins/bonus game, or a map.
Where to play Jackpot Raiders
Yggdrasil has a supply deal with a number of operators and finding this game online shouldn’t take long. If, however, you are looking for an established online casino with great bonuses, Leo Vegas and Slots Million would be your top picks.
Bombs
Software: Playtech
Released: March 2019
Volatility: Medium to High
RTP: 96.61%
A 7-payline slot which can unlock a bonus on any base game spin, by shooting out a bonus bomb across the reels. The bonuses are triggered when a detonating device lands on the same payline as the bonus bomb.
Once it lands on the grid, the bonus bomb will gradually drop down until it disappears completely. The players will have exactly 7 spins to trigger the bonus. Help is available, and by increasing the stake, a new ship will sail to the rescue for just x1.5 player’s bet on top of the original stake.
Additional bonuses and features:
All bonus bombs from the main game will be transferred to the Free Spins and vice versa. More bonuses can be awarded during the Free Spins, and the following features can be triggered after the explosion:
- 10x bet multiplier
- Between 5 and 10 extra Wilds
- 2x –10x win multiplier
- Detonator that triggers all bombs on the grid
- 10 Free Games
- Mystery Bomb that can transform into any other bomb
Where to play Bombs
Bombs, as well as other Playtech games, is available at UKGC licenced BGO and William Hill online casinos. The new William Hill members can test the game with bonus cash – 100% match up to £300.
The Wild 3
Software: NextGen
Released: September 2018
Volatility: High
RTP: 96.78%
The Wild 3 features interactive bonus games, prompting the players to complete 3 out of all the missions listed below:
- Big Win – win 25x of the bet
- Free Games – trigger free games with Wild symbols combination
- Lock ’N’ Load – unlock Lock ’N’ Load re-spin
- Wild 3 – activate one of the Wild 3 features (Racoon, Coyote, or Bull)
- High 5 of a Kind – land a win with high-value icons
- Low 5 of a Kind -land a win with low-value icons
- Spin 100 – go through 100 spinning rounds
- Win 20 – accumulate 20 winning spins
A successfully completed mission will trigger the Rob the Rich Feature with 15 Money Bags. The players will be rewarded with 3 picks, revealing cash prizes, mystery symbols, or additional picks.
Additional bonuses and features:
- Wild Racoon Feature – Wild Racoon randomly replaces other symbols
- Wild Coyote Feature – Wild Coyote replaces the Cactus icons
- Wild Bull Feature – all Wild wins will be multiplied by x2, x3, x5 or x10 if the Wild Bull lands on the reels
- Lock ’N’ Load – initiated by Bonus icons on reels 2 and 4, if no Wilds are present on the middle reel
- Super Bet – increase the bet for extra Wild
Where to play The Wild 3
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