Slots Mechanics: Avalanche / Cascading Wins (Rolling Reels)
We are going to be taking a closer look at some of the more popular slot mechanics in this series of articles. The online slot market has got very competitive and one of the ways that developers are trying to grab our attention and hook us into their games is though slot mechanics. These are getting pretty innovative!
The Avalanche / Cascading Wins mechanic is very popular and has mushroomed as a feature into all sort of games. Let’s have a look at what makes this mechanic tick.
How do Avalanche / Cascading Wins Work?
The basic idea is to give you multiple chances of making up a win from a single spin. I am guessing that this feature was inspired by games like Candy Crush where symbols disappear and new ones drop into place, but in the slots world it was made famous by Gonzo’s Quest, a NetEnt slot, which was famous at the time for both its innovative reels (slabs falling down rather than reels spinning) and its Avalanche feature. Play Gonzo’s Quest here and see what we mean.
It was featured in the bonus round in Immortal Romance 2 years earlier, but it was Gonzo that made the big waves with this feature.
In Gonzo’s Quest, if you make a win, the symbols making up the winning combination explode into dust and new ones drop in, or rather “Fall” in giving you a second stab at a win. This mechanic can result in consecutive wins without having to pay for another go. In the case of Gonzo’s Quest, there is also an increasing multiplier that nudges up for each consecutive win, so that your wins are boosted by a bigger and bigger amount.
And that is how Avalanche Wins work.
Other Games with the Avalanche Mechanic
This mechanic is also called the Cascading Reels, Tumbling symbols or Rolling Reels mechanic. All of the designers seem to have got in on the act! And they have all called the feature different names, but essentially the idea is the same: a chance of multiple, consecutive wins on a single spin.
So what other games use this cool mechanic? Here are some of our favourites:
Reactoonz 2
Play’n GO’s Reactoonz 2 slot game is another where this mechanic features heavily. The play takes place on a 7×7 grid and the maximum win is a hefty 5,083x your bet.
This is a Cluster Pays slot as well by the way- we’ll cover that in another article. In this slot, you also have certain symbols that explode all of the symbols on the grid leading to a supercharged cascade. Boom!
The original Reactoonz game also has Cascading Reels.
Esqueleto Explosivo
Thunderkick stayed pretty close to the original formula on this Cascading Reels slot themed on the Mexican Day of the Dead. Not only is this game gorgeous to look at (and hilarious to play with the singing skulls), but when you make up a win, the winning symbols disappear and new ones drop into place. Play Esqueleto Explosivo here.
There is also a multiplier that nudges up after each win. Thunderkick call this the !Mucho Multiplier”!
Another cool feature in this game is the Explosivo Wild which is the yellow skull in aviator sunglasses. He blows up the closest 8 symbols next to him when he drops onto the reels, and a fresh batch of sugar skull symbols will drop in.
Sweet Bonanza
One of the most popular games to feature this mechanic is Sweet Bonanza from Pragmatic Play. Let’s just say this game was undoubtedly inspired by Candy Crush! It’s catapulted into a Top 10 position in many markets like the UK, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
Sweet Bonanza has 6 reels and 5 rows and a big max pay of 21,100x your bet. You can see why it is so popular. Candy Bombs can multiply wins by up to 100x.
This is another Cluster Pays game (Cluster Pays and Avalanche Wins often go hand in hand) that pays out when 8 or more identical symbols land on the grid. And then you are into the Cascading Wins. You can play Sweet Bonanza here at Wombat Casino.
Other notable games include Ecuador Gold, Moon Princess, Rise of Olympus and Cygnus.
Summary
Since the launch of Gonzo’s Quest in 2013, the Avalanche Wins / Cascading or Rolling Reels / Tumbling Reels feature has gone from strength to strength and I am sure that we will continue to see it on new releases.
That´s fine by me, I love this feature!