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Cascading Reels Slots Machines  

The cascading reels slot feature is also known as tumbling reels, depending on the software provider. 

It is a feature that effectively gives you the chance to win multiple combination wins from a single spin. If there is one thing slot players approve of, it is wins that trigger the chance to land more wins. On top of this, to make this feature more exciting, some online slots use cascading reels with multipliers and those that can trigger bonus games.

If you are looking for online slot games with this feature, or you are looking for a guide on how this feature works, all will be explained in this guide.

What are cascading reels in slots?

The idea of this feature is to add more fun to your gameplay by helping you increase the number of winning combinations paid out from a single spin. In other words, cascades can help you turn a single winning spin into multiple combination wins.

As a result, online casinos categorize any online slot that comes with cascades as a cascading reel slot game. Crypto slot games that predominantly use cascading reels are Pay Anywhere (Scatter Pays), Megaways, and Cluster Pays casino games. 

That said, some pay line slots also use cascading reels, such as Florageddon by Yggdrasil, which calls the process drop-downs.

New Symbols Drop in to Replace Winning Symbols

Most cascading slots ensure that reels are constantly filled with symbols in every position. 

The cascade will remove the winning combination from the reels or grid, and the symbols above drop down to replace them. The game will also replace any blank spaces above caused by the cascade by dripping in new ones. This helps to ensure the reels remain full of symbols. 

If the cascade creates any new symbol combination or cluster wins, then the game will pay out for new wins and once again remove all winning symbols. The exact process will continue to repeat itself until the feature does not create any new wins.

Thanks to the introduction of cascading reels, you can win multiple combinations for the cost of one spin. Hence, you will also see the feature referred to as tumbling reels because symbols tumble down the reels as a result of the cascade.

Here’s a 6-step account of how cascades work:

  1. A winning combination lands on the reels, and you get paid
  2. The slot removes symbols that are part of the winning combination
  3. Symbols drop down to replace empty spaces left by winning symbols
  4. New symbols drop onto the reels to ensure all positions on the reels have a symbol
  5. You get paid for any new wins created
  6. The feature ends when there are no new wins from the cascade

Symbols Cascade Until the Reels Are Blank

Cascading Reels Example Rise of Olympus slot.jfif

Another variant of cascading reels will tumble symbols down the reels until there are no more symbols left to cascade, effectively leaving the reels blank or with just a few symbols remaining. This is the opposite of the version explained above, which ensures the reels are full by filling every position on the reels with symbols.

A good example of an online slot that uses this version of cascades is Rise of Olympus by Play’n GO. When you land a winning combination, the winning symbols are removed, and the symbols above will drop in to fill the space. However, as no new symbols replace the spaces above, each cascade will reduce the number of symbols remaining.

The challenge is to clear the reels of all symbols so there is a single row remaining. If this happens, it will trigger the Rise of Olympus free spins round.

In most cases, if you clear the reels, a feature will trigger. With the Rise of Olympus slot example above, clearing the reels triggers free spins. On other slot games, it will trigger mass multipliers, bonus wheels, or jackpot wins.

Cascading Reels Slots Machines Features

Slots with cascading reels can come with various additional features. As with any feature created by software providers, additional modifiers can be added to enhance your gaming experience. In the case of cascading reels, the most common modifiers are multipliers.

1. Cascades with Multipliers

There are two ways software providers integrate multipliers with the cascading reels feature. However, as software providers continue to evolve, you will find crypto slots with new ways to apply multipliers to cascades.

2.Progressive Multipliers

After each cascade produces a winning combination or cluster, a multiplier counter triggers, and each new win will increase the multiplier value.

Crypto slots with cascades and progressive multipliers:

3. Drop-in Multipliers

Games like Gates of Olympus use a multiplier symbol that can drop in only when there is a cascade. I.e., the multipliers are not available in the base game, and only when the cascading reels feature triggers.

Crypto slots with cascades and drop-in multipliers:

4. Cascades Triggering Free Spins

We have already mentioned Rise of Olympus, which uses cascades to trigger its main free spins bonus feature. As long cascades clear the reels of all symbols, leaving zero or just a single line of symbols on the bottom row, the free spins bonus will trigger.

Crypto slots with cascades that trigger free spins:

5. Cascades with Sticky Wilds

Some cascading reel crypto slot games not only give you a chance to land multiple combination wins from a single spin, but they also give you a helping hand by adding sticky wilds to the reels. The feature is simple. If a combination rolls onto the reels and pays, any wild symbols also present will remain sticky as the reels cascade.

Crypto slot online with cascades and sticky wilds:

Two Award-Winning Cascading Reels Slots

We’ve picked two of the most popular crypto slots that use cascades. Each one has a prestigious award from a top industry awarding body well-known on the iGaming circuit.

Gates of Olympus (Pay Anywhere)

Gates of Olympus by Pragmatic Play has won awards for game of the year at the EGR Operators Awards and Gaming Intelligence Latin America Awards 2021. It uses the Pay Anywhere reel mechanic, has an RTP of 96.5%, and a max win of 5,000x your spin bet.

The reason this crypto slot game stands out is that when you land a winning combination, the cascades can drop in multipliers worth 2x to 500x.

You can also try Gates of Olympus 1000, which is the sequel to Gates of Olympus. The same game also uses tumbling reels. It also has higher winning potential as it can drop in multipliers of 2x to 1,000x your spin bet.

Sugar Rush (Cluster Pays)

Sugar Rush is another award-winning slot after winning a Slot of the Year award at the EMEA Global Gaming Awards. It is an action-packed cluster pays slot, which has an RTP of 96.5% and a max win of 5,000x your spin bet. In addition to this, Sugar Rush has a bonus feature, also making it a bonus buy slot.

Whenever the slot removes symbols from cluster wins for the cascade, all positions on the grid that were part of the cluster combination are marked. If the cascade creates another cluster win using a marked position, a 2x multiplier is added to that spot on the grid. If the same position continues to produce cluster wins from the cascading reels feature, the multiplier continues to increase up to a maximum of 128x.

There are also sequels to this slot. Look out for Sugar Rush 1000 and the Sugar Rush Xmas. Both games also use tumbling reels with multipliers and the Cluster Pays reel mechanic.

Want to Try Slots with Cascades as Other Popular Features?

We have covered cascading reel slots with Sticky Wilds, Progressive Multipliers, Drop-in Wilds, and Cascades that Trigger Multipliers. However, these are just a few examples of cascading reel slot games. You can also play slots with cascades that come with Bonus Buy features as well as Hold and Win!

Bonus Buy Slots with Cascading Reels

Hold and Win Slots with Cascading Reels

Looking for more cascading reel action? Use the mBitcasino filters option next to the search bar to find games that commonly use cascading reels. The best two options to select are Megaways and Pay Anywhere!