What are Cluster Pays Slots?

Cluster Pays slots stand out because they don’t use traditional paylines. Instead, wins form when groups of matching symbols connect horizontally or vertically anywhere on the reels. The mechanic has essentially ripped up the slot machine rulebook and led to the creation of slots offering more dynamic gameplay, especially when coupled with other exciting mechanics and features like cascading reels and multipliers. 

What Makes Cluster Pays Slots Unique?

The cluster pays mechanic, made famous by NetEnt’s Aloha! Cluster Pays in 2016 is unique because it was one of the first to do away with regular paylines. Matching symbols no longer had to fall in line across specific winways on the reels. Instead, like they do in mobile puzzle games, combinations of matching symbols could payout anywhere as long as they were connected. 

The mechanic is also made better when used in conjunction with others, such as cascading reels and progressive multipliers. Spins can create multiple wins as winning symbols disappear, more drop in and payouts are doubled, tripled or more. 

Key Features & Benefits of Cluster Pays Slots

There are many key features of cluster pays slots, namely how it determines wins completely differently from regular slots and can offer more engaging gameplay on every spin. 

How Cluster Pays Work

The cluster pays mechanic typically works by: 

• Wins form when clusters of a specific number of matching symbols touch horizontally or vertically across the reels.
• The minimum cluster size varies by game, often starting at around 4 or 5 symbols.
• The larger the clusters, the bigger the payouts as per the slot’s paytable.

Key Features & Innovations

Often, it is other features used in conjunction with the cluster pays mechanic that allow it to transform the crypto slots is used on. Good examples are the following: 

• Cascading Reels: Winning clusters disappear to make room for new symbols and fresh wins. It can lead to spins that record chain reaction wins as each new cascade creates combinations.

• Multipliers: Many Cluster Pays slots add growing multipliers during cascades. With each new cascade, multipliers can increase progressively to add further winning potential for the next. 

• Special Symbols: Wild, mystery and expanding symbols often add additional layers of excitement.

• Bigger Grids: Most Cluster Pays games use larger reels (6×6 or bigger) to maximize the potential for symbol combinations.

How to Start Playing Cluster Pays Slots

Playing cluster pays slots is as easy as finding a casino that hosts the titles you want to play, funding your account and spinning the reels. We’ll use the process to get started here at mBitcasino as an example: 

1. Visit the mBitcasino website and hit the ‘Register’ button.

2. Provide an email and create a secure password.

3. Log in and click into the ‘Cluster Pays’ category to find slots to play.

4. Choose a game and start playing.

Origins and evolutions

The origins of the cluster pays mechanic are not totally clear-cut. However, while there were a few software providers who had tried to use puzzle game-style mechanics in slot games prior, it is NetEnt that is typically credited for pioneering cluster pays in 2016. The first slot to allow cluster wins was Aloha! Cluster Pays, a title that is still massively popular today.

Since then, the developer and many others have continued to use and evolve the mechanic across countless other crypto slots. 

Popular/Best Cluster Pays slots 

We feature some of the best and most popular cluster pays games at mBitcasino. We have a specific category for slots that utilize the mechanic, but if you want some upfront recommendations, check out the following: 

• Sugar Rush 1000 (Pragmatic Play): The original Sugar Rush went on to win industry awards like the 2023 Global Gaming Awards ‘Slot of the Year’, and the sequel builds on that title with juicier payouts. It offers a 7x7 grid with the cluster pays mechanic combined with tumble reels and progressive multipliers worth up to 1,024x the stake. 

• MergeUp (BGaming): Aside from the obvious cluster mechanics, BGaming’s MergeUp catches the eye due to an impressive 97.25% RTP. It also features a bright design and features such as cascades, multipliers and free spins. 

• Gems Bonanza (Pragmatic Play): Taking place across a huge 8x8 reel configuration that leaves plenty of space for players to land cluster wins. Gems Bonanza also spices up the action through modifiers such as colossal symbols up to 5x5 in size and wild transformations.

• Rich Wilde and the Tome of Madness (Play’n GO): While the original Rich Wilde slots used paylines to determine wins, some later versions, such as Tome of Madness, use cluster pays. Like other titles using the mechanic, you can expect lots of sidekick features, such as portal effects, eye marks, random wilds and symbol removals. 

• Fruit Party (Pragmatic Play): Yet another cluster pays slot that comes from the Pragmatic Play stable is Fruit Party. This fun and exciting title offers a max win of 5,000x the stake and is packed with multipliers that can stack up to boost combination payouts by up to 256x. 

• Tanked (Nolimit City): If it's high volatility you want when playing cluster slots, NoLimit City is the provider to check out. One of the best titles in the studio’s range is Tanked, a slot with a huge 25,000x the stake maximum win and features like splitting symbols, reel expansions and nudging wilds. 

• Piggy Cluster Hunt (Hacksaw Gaming): Packed with exploding wilds and progressive multipliers of up to 10x, spins on Piggy Cluster Hunt promise lots of action and some massive potential wins. In fact, get lucky on this 7x7 slot and you could trigger a maximum win of 15,000x the stake. 

Register now at mBitcasino to play these Cluster Pays slots. Spin them in demo mode for free, or deposit with crypto to take advantage of our welcome bonus and play for real wins.

FAQ 

What slots are similar to cluster pays slots?

Mechanics such as Scatter Pays and MegaClusters are two of the closest to cluster pays games. They both tend to feature cascades and do not require paylines to determine wins. 

Are there free Cluster Pays slots? 

You can play cluster pays slots for free without risking your crypto or fiat currencies by playing their demo. Spins are played using virtual currency that holds no real-world value. 

Can I play Cluster Pays slots with crypto?

Yes, cluster pays slots feature at crypto casinos just like all other types. You can spin using BTC, ETH or whichever coins the casino supports. 

Where can I play cluster pays slots?

Most traditional and crypto online casinos feature slots that use the cluster pays mechanic to form wins on the reels. We feature hundreds of titles that use the exciting puzzle game-like mechanic at mBitcasino.

What volatility are cluster pays slots?

Cluster slots come with a variety of volatility levels, whether low, medium or high. Therefore, there’s a type of slot that matches the bankrolls and play styles of all players.