Know Your Wilds – Your Guide to Wild Symbols in Bitcoin Slots

27/09/2021 | Categories: Gambling Guides | Published by: BTCGOSU | Last updated: 01/04/2022

So, Do You Think You Know All About Wild Symbols?

If you’ve played bitcoin slots for any length of time, you will surely have come across wild symbols. At their most basic, they can substitute for any standard paying symbols you may need to land a winning combo. They can seldom replace special icons. In some games, they can appear on all reels or just selected ones. They may also pay out the top non-progressive prize in games or be worth noting at all, but you knew all that, right?

These are the wilds you are most likely familiar with when playing “most” bitcoin slots online. However, there are plenty of top crypto casino games out there that come with a great variety of wilds, and they behave differently.

The more you know about how bitcoin slots work, the better educated you will be to choose a game that gives you a great shot of success. Here then, is our guide to the many different types of wild symbols you should expect to see in top bitcoin slots.

Expanding, Stacked, and Colossal Wilds

Some of the most common wilds in bitcoin slots are expanding, stacked, and colossal Wilds. These regularly appear in video slots and can dramatically alter your chances of success. What does each of them do, though?

An expanding wild gets its name because when it appears (and if it can form a part of a winning slot combo), it will expand to cover the entire reel on which it shows up. These play regular roles in promoting decent wins.

By contrast, stacked wilds get their name because they are effectively several wild symbols placed one on top of the other. They may (or may not) cover an entire reel, but they will appear in number and cover “most” of the reel or reels they appear on.

Finally, you have colossal wilds. These symbols are usually triggered at random but can sometimes appear naturally. These are wilds that aren’t just stacked but also several reels wide. Some can cover the entire reel set, resulting in impressive wins, to say the least.

Random, Spreading and Trailing Wilds

Random wild symbols are becoming more common in games. Any bitcoin slot that doesn’t offer wilds from the off is hardly going to impress. However, some games can provide you with random wilds on top of conventional wilds. These act in largely the same way, but their placement on the reels is usually less random than you think and is designed to help you land wins.

Spreading wilds are common in NetEnt and Playtech slots. These wild symbols have the potential to spread to adjacent reels when they appear, effectively providing you with a potential winning combo out of nowhere.

Trailing wilds work in a similar way to spreading wilds. However, there is usually an animated cutscene involved. A character may dart across the reels, and in many cases, the trail they have taken will leave behind wild symbols. This may also occur for characters climbing up and down the reels. Trailing wilds may also be triggered when two wilds appear at opposite ends of the reels, with the path between them transformed into wilds.

Multiplier Wilds and Scatter Wilds

Multiplier wilds are a personal favorite of many bitcoin slot players. In most cases, there will be a small multiplier attached to the wilds, possibly 2x or 3x, and this will be applied to whatever is won if the wild features in the winning combo. However, some bitcoin slots have “random” multipliers applied to these wilds, and in some cases, they can multiply against one another to give you an epic cash prize.

Scatter wilds are arguably one of the most prosperous symbols you can land. These take on the roles of both scatter symbols and wilds, cutting down on the number of junk symbols that can appear in BTC slots. If they don’t serve the function of either a scatter or a wild, there’s a good bet that you can use these symbols for the other on a spin.

Walking Wilds Often Trigger Re-Spins

Walking wilds appear almost exclusively in NetEnt slots, with Jack and the Beanstalk being a fine example. When walking wild symbols appear, you will usually get a re-spin. The symbol will remain in place for that re-spin before “walking” to the next reel, either to the left or right. You’ll continue bagging re-spins until the walking wild disappears from either the first or fifth reel.

Everybody’s Favourite Sticky Wilds

Who doesn’t love a good sticky wild? These are one of the older types of wild symbols you can find in Bitcoin slots. A sticky wild gets its name because it chooses to “stick” on the reels for the next spin or triggers a re-spin where it can be used.

When sticky wilds appear in a free spin bonus (where they remain for the duration of the round), they may be called frozen wilds or locked wilds. However, they essentially serve the same purpose. Sticky wilds may remain for a single re-spin, a free spin bonus, or remain in place indefinitely until a win is acquired.

Doubling Up with Cloning and Synched Wilds

Again, it is worth looking at NetEnt slots if you want to learn about synched wilds. These are wild symbols that can appear on a single reel, and when they do, they will sync or link several reels together to display the same symbol. They effectively become colossal wilds, as discussed above.

Cloning wilds are a touch different. These usually come into play when you are playing a bitcoin slot with several reel sets. If a wild should land on the primary reel set (if there is one), then there is a good chance it will be copied, cloned, and duplicated on another reel set, if not all of them.

Collecting Wilds and Super Spins

Some bitcoin slots will allow you to collect wild symbols when they appear. This most commonly occurs in free spin bonuses, but the feature may also appear in the base game. Ordinarily, once a specific number of wilds have been “collected”, they will trigger a super spin. This super spin will see all the accumulated wilds redispersed onto the reels. This usually precedes a considerably valuable, if not a truly gargantuan win. Playtech’s The Mummy is notable for featuring the type of wild collection and super spin mechanic in its unlockable free spin bonus.

And Finally, Aren’t Mystery Symbols the Same as Wild Symbols?

We know what you’re thinking. Mystery symbols can substitute for others and provide big wins, so these are probably another type of wild symbol, right? Technically, no. Mystery symbols cannot substitute for any symbol you may need to win a paying combo. Rather, they all transform into one standard paying symbol at random. If that symbol helps you to land a win, great. If not, then it is useless. Proper, bona fide wild symbols are seldom useless. Therefore, we don’t consider mystery symbols to be wilds.