Most classic slots don’t use cascading reels as part of their winning mechanics. By introducing this mechanism, you can get a winning combination award and clear symbols from the reels, creating space for new ones to fall and potentially form additional winning combinations that wouldn’t be possible without spending extra bets.
Below, we’ll explain how they work and how one slot can keep paying out.
How Cascading Reels Function on a Slot Machine
The slot will look pretty much the same on the surface. Once the symbols appear, the game checks the grid based on its predefined payout system, such as paylines or ways to win, and if it’s a winning combination, it pays those symbols and removes them from the grid.
Symbols already sitting above them usually fall into the empty positions, with new symbols entering to fill whatever space remains. The game checks the new layout again. If that produces another win, it happens again…and again and again.
Or the spin is over if nothing wins.
So the basic process is:
- A winning combination lands
- Winning symbols disappear
- Existing symbols move into the gaps
- New symbols arrive
- The game checks for another win
- Cascades continue until no new winning combination appears
It can look more complicated on screen because of all the animations.
How One Slot Spin Can Keep Paying Out
The original stake starts the round, and the cascades are part of that same game cycle. But a successful cascade doesn’t guarantee another win; the new arrangement still needs to create a qualifying combination.
Hypothetically, if the original spin produces a 2x win, those winning symbols disappear, and the replacements create another 1x win. They disappear too, and the next cascade produces a 4x win.
You’ve now had three separate payouts from the sequence started by one paid spin.
Some slots add another layer by increasing a multiplier after consecutive cascades. You might start at 1x, move to 2x after another win, and keep increasing from there until the sequence ends.
Finding Slot Games With Cascading Reels
The easiest option is to check the game description or information page.
Don’t only search for the word “cascading” either. The same basic mechanic can appear under terms such as:
- Tumbling reels
- Avalanche reels
- Rolling reels
- Cascading symbols
- Collapsing symbols
Online casinos like https://www.10bet.co.za/games/ often indicate in the slot’s advertisement whether it uses cascading reels (or whatever name they use for it).
The feature can work differently. Open the paytable/help section of the game you are interested in, and look at what changes happen when you win. This includes how much you win, when multipliers add up during consecutive cascades (or if they ever do), and when these multipliers reset.
It’s also good to check if the cascading reel will feature in the base game, only in a bonus feature, or both.
You will know once you get into the game, since winning symbols are removed (as opposed to staying on the reels until the next paid spin). However, checking the rulebook first is better than presuming that all slots with a falling symbols mechanic work the same way.
