Slots Games

You may already be a slots ninja, blessed with encyclopedic knowledge of progressives, paylines and paytables but we at Best Slots appreciate that some of our readers are very new to playing slots so here's a basic introduction to these gambling machines and their online incarnations to get the absolute beginners started.

The Basics of Slots Games

Slot machine games are the oldest and most universal 'casino machines to be found in real-world and virtual gambling venues. On first acquaintance with a typical arcade of slot games it might appear that there are lots of variations however the principle of their gameplay is pretty much the same no matter how many flashing lights, reels and buttons specific slots games might possess. The basic slot machine game is a game of chance. A player credits some money to let them spin a set of reels (usually three or five) on which are sequences of specific symbols. Slot games' reels are then automatically brought to a stop after a short period spinning, displaying a combination of symbols across a 'payline' that spans all the reels. If that combination matches one of those fixed in the slot machines 'paytable' (a menu of the winning combinations possible for that machine) the player wins that reward.

Developments in casino slot games and the online slot games they have influenced means the basic game may be augmented with a few features to add a little spice to proceedings. These include multipliers, multiple paylines and progressive jackpots. For more details on these commonplace slot machine games' features have a look at our 'Casino Slots' page on this site. Fruit machines are another adaptation of classic slot machine games peculiar to the UK market, which add little skill games and options to the rules that many players find attractive. To learn more about these slots games with their bonus trails, cash ladders, nudges and holds take time to click through to Best Slot's page on Fruit Machines.

Playing Online Slot Games

Playing online slots is extremely easy providing, or course, you have a computer with the minimum spec needed to run an online casino's slots games. Most modern PCs and Macs are more than capable of running a typical licenced online casino's "Instant Play" / "No Download" slot machine games as they're programmed with software that's common for Web-based applications. Some casinos offer download software that has to be installed on your computer to run, and these can offer superior graphics and sound but only work on Windows PCs. Download casino software is now less common that it was when domestic Internet connection speeds were painfully sloooooooow, so it's most likely that a club's slot machine games will be Instant Play and compatible with your computer. (N.B. All the online casinos recommended by BestSlots.co.uk use Instant Play software for their slot games.)

Obviously there's no slot to stuff coins into your computer (by all means have a go, just don't blame us if there's a weird grinding noise and one of your computer disk drives stops working!) so you need to open a player account with an online casino into which you can deposit funds using a debit /credit card of other online payment system to enjoy that casino's online slots games. That said, one of the joys for newcomers to online slots is that you can easily find free slot machines games which are a great way to learn how to play these games without splashing any cash. Did we say free slot games? Really, genuinely free slot machine games? Yup. Read on and we'll explain more.

Get Familiar With Free Slot Machine Games

Playing free slots games is definitely recommended for any player trying out online casino slots for the first time (you may find the free slots games are a 'play for fun' option of that casino's software). Free slot games are the way to 'try before you buy' but do also take time to read a machines rules and paytable before you play for real-money to ensure (a) you know what that slots game will pay for certain combinations and (b) what to do if any bonus feature is activated which requires some further input from the player. Such features may well be time-limited so you don't want to miss out on winning some decent cash because you're faffing about wondering what to do next! Naturally, you can't expect free slot games to pay out real cash prizes but it's still a thrill when a win spins onto a payline, and a great way to 'train' for playing slots games tournaments.

As mentioned earlier, finding free slots games online is pretty easy as most casino software has 'for fun' modes. All the online casinos we list offer free slot machine games (progressive slot games being the one type of machine you won't find with such a 'demo' mode) so you'll usually be able to enjoy any game we feature in this way. The usual route to playing a casino's free slots games is to launch the selected game from that casino's menu - once activated you'll be offered the options to play it for real-money (for which you will need to be logged in to your player account and have funds deposited to play with) or 'for fun'. The latter choice is obviously what you click to get the freebie!