Is It Worth Having More Than Five Reels In A Slot Game?
Slot games tend to come in two main varieties. They will either have three reels, much like many of the original one-armed bandit machines, or five reels. The latter has arguably soared to new and greater heights online, so it would surely be logical to assume players would like to see even more reels in play.
But is that true? We thought we'd delve into how many reels is ideal right here.
Can too many reels be a bad thing?
It's possible, yes. While you can find a few six-reel games, and even a couple seven-reel games, they haven't taken off to any great extent. The ones we have found tend to be lacking in something, although it could just be they are more basic than we might have expected.
There are a few good six-reel games out there, but no software developer seems eager to go beyond that. The only exception is when a game uses cluster pays, as this requires a larger format to make it work.
More reels can mean more paylines or ways to win
This is one of the good elements of finding a game with more reels. The more you get, the more paylines you can have. Mind you, it is possible to have up to 100 paylines on a 5 x 4 slot, so there is little need to go higher than that.
The one exception is a slot that offers ways to win. It is possible to have well over 1,000 ways to win with a larger grid, which some players enjoy betting on. The format also means a smaller total spin bet can be placed, which means the game is still affordable.
Five reels seems to be the favorite among many
While there is a group of players that loves the three-reel slots, there are certainly many people who always go for the five-reel games. We count ourselves among them. We believe there is a point beyond which a slot game becomes too cumbersome and complex to warrant including more reels.
Five is a nice number and provides lots of potential for developing a game that is great to play. We'd make an exception for a few six-reel slots, but many of these use the sixth reel in an unusual way anyway. What are your opinions on this? Would you play anything beyond five reels?