Wild symbols explained by FairWin

4 min readApr 20, 2018

There are Wild symbols in almost every slot game. Players wait for them to appear on the screen as they bring additional winnings, sometimes accompanied by exciting visual effects. So it is interesting (and profitable) to know as much as possible about them. Here we will tell you about the types of wild symbols and what benefits they can deliver.

Basic Wild Symbols

The main function of a Wild symbol is to substitute for other game symbols and help make winning combinations. Many slots allow them to perform this task for all except Scatters and other special symbols that can start bonus games. Wilds usually land randomly, but in some games they only appear on certain reels. To see the way the Wild symbol works, check the paytable.

Wild symbol from FairWin’s slot Yggdrasil

Sticky Wilds

Sticky Wild symbols stay on the reels for more than one spin and thus multiply your chances to win big. Yggdrasil’s Legend of the Golden Monkey has just such a symbol that stays as long as you keep winning on it.

Multiplying Wilds

Sometimes Wild icons bring additional multipliers. Such multiplying Wilds will increase each win they create, usually doubling or tripling it. Some games have more than one Wild symbol and offer higher multipliers when both participate in a winning combination.

Duplicating / Replicating Wilds

Duplicating Wilds possess the ability to turn regular symbols into Wild icons. It can be random symbols or icons in adjacent positions. You can find this feature in FairWin’s new game Yggdrasil, where the Raven symbol transforms all contiguous icons into Wilds, potentially multiplying the winnings.

Shifting Wilds

Shifting Wilds could be perceived as a variation of sticky Wilds as they do not leave the reels during many spins, though changing their position. As a rule, they move horizontally and contribute to winning combinations until they disappear from the reels. Strange as it may seem, but developers are apt to turn the spins with these symbols into a battle — for example, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice by Playtech or RTG’s Rocket Men, where Wilds are rockets that fly from Trump to Kim or from Kim to Trump and destroy one of the countries in a nuclear explosion!

The following three types share one thing in common — they all occupy more than one reel position.

Stacked Wilds

Stacked Wilds look like ordinary Wild symbols piled on top of each other, as a rule taking an entire reel and further increasing your chance to score. Stardust by Microgaming is one of the games that feature stacked Wilds.

Expanding Wilds

Expanding Wilds initially occupy one position on the reel and then spread to take the whole reel. Although essentially the same as stacked Wilds, expanding icons look more impressive and afford the developers to get creative with different ways of animating the symbols. Playtech’s Fantastic Four with its expanding Mr. Fantastic is a vivid example.

Grouped Wilds

There are other ways to group Wilds. Take, for example, 3×3 Wilds in NetEnt’s Fruit Spin. Guns n’ Roses slot by the same developer can boast of its Appetite for Destruction Wild — a kind of a grouped Wild shaped like a cross which can cover up to 5 positions.

Other Wild features

Warlords: Crystals of Power has a whopping 3 wilds, each with a different behavior — Barbarian Hammer leaves a 2x2 Wild mark on the reels, Samurai Sword awards from 2 to 5 Wilds in a line, Priestess Arrow grants from 1 to 5 random Wild icons on any reel.

Some features get Wilds to appear randomly on the reels, like in Kim’s Little Game from the Rocket Men slot — Kim pushes his red button, causing rockets (Wilds) to fall from the sky and land on the reels, adding significantly to your winnings.

These are not all the types of Wild behavior. The list is limited only by the human imagination. So go and explore various games for yourself. Don’t forget to check out our game “Yggdrasil” with its special Raven Wild (which will be added to the game shortly) and other games by FairWin, each with a different feature to increase your winnings and your fun.

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