History of Slot Paylines
Throughout the history of slots, firstly the land-based machines, and now the online video slot games have gone through a lot of changes. In the past, slot machines only had three reels and one single payline that was in the middle horizontal reel and this method was used for many years, proved to be successful and to bring people excitement.
When the first slot machine with three paylines was introduced, people noticed that whenever they would miss the middle reel, there are two more chances to land a winning combination on a payline. This was a small revolution that only made players and manufacturers want more and more paylines, which will increase the chances of a win by a lot. The most recent phenomena are the games with up to 243 paylines, which offers a nice amount of winning chances, making slot games more interesting than ever.
Famous Games with 243 Paylines
- Thunderstruck 2
- Game of Thrones
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Immortal Romance
- Bust the Bank
How The 243 Paylines Work
The slot machines that are gifted with 243 paylines work in the same way as all the normal online video slot games. Most of the time there will be five reels, with three symbols on each reel (this may vary, of course) and same as every online video slot game, you need to set the denomination and the coin value before the spin. The only difference is that in these games, you can’ t chose the number of paylines that you wish to be activated, as there are practically no paylines.
The game rewards its prizes when you manage to land at least three of the same symbols in a row, adjacent to each other, you got yourself a win. It doesn’t matter on which part of the screen this will happen, as long as there are same symbols next to each other, the game will pay out the prize. All the paylines pay out the same prize – there is not a payline or part of the screen, or some special reel that has more value.
Why Exactly 243 Paylines?
When you first noticed the number, you must’ve thought what was the deal with 243, and why exactly this number is the number of paylines that is being used in many of the online video slot games.
This means that there are 243 possible lines that will award lucrative prizes to the player. This depends on the number of reels in the game and symbol positions on them, but to have a game with 243 paylines, you always have to have a grid of 5x3.
Math-wise, if you had two reels, the combination would have been 3x3, which means nice possible winning paylines. Add one more reel, and you have 3x3x3 which is 27. Now, when adding five reels, you have 3x3x3x3x3 which is 243, explaining the number.
Advantages of 243 Paylines
As expected, the biggest advantage of the 243 paylines is the fact that there are more paylines than ever in the online slot machine world. One of the biggest frustrations that the slot players were receiving is as the game spins the reels, you land three of the same symbols on the first three reels, only to realize that there is no active payline in that place. This will never be the case with these 243 payline games, as they will award these situations.
On the other side, there is a small downside in the games with 243 paylines. With so frequent wins, and prizes appearing on almost every spin, there are almost no big wins in some of the games. Instead, the prizes are focused on smaller, chopped rewards.
Many of the players know that this is the case, and they find this method more satisfying one, rather than waiting for one big win to occur, which in some cases it never will.
Famous Games With 243 Paylines
With the 243 paylines explained and everything seem to be working pretty fine, let’s take a look at some of the most famous online video slot games that have 243 paylines. We have made a list of top 5 video games that are being played by the slot lovers, so if you are one of them and you missed few of those, this is a good time to give them a try.
Thunderstruck 2
By Microgaming
Regardless of the fact that Thunderstruck 2 is around since 2010, it is one of the most popular games that you can find in the slots market. Thunderstruck 2 offers five reels and 243 paylines, and it revolves around the Norse Mythology. The maximum amount that you can spin for is 300 coins per spin, and there is a small jackpot worth 1000x your coins.
Microgaming knows how to make the most out of its games, therefore, Thunderstruck is unsurprisingly among the top games in the online slot world. To get the maximum out of this game, check out the offerings that our casinos suggest, and grab the free spins and welcome bonuses to kick-start your Nordic experience.
By Microgaming
There are two types of this Game of Thrones online video slot game – one comes in 15 paylines and the other one in 254. Guess which one is more popular?
We will be looking at the latter one, inspired by the famous and well-known HBO TV series written by George R. R. Martin’s novels.
Some of the special features that Game of Thrones has to include Free Spins and chance to play with one of the four major houses in the game, an Iron Throne scatter which awards random cash prizes, and stacked wilds which will make every inch of the screen a paying one. Check out the game on the link above and see what our casino partners can offer. Take some of the free spins and welcome bonuses to kick-start your Westeros experience.
The Dark Knight Rises
By Microgaming
The Dark Knight Rises – a sequel to the Microgaming’s slot series which is based on the Chris Nolan’s movie adaptation. Batman has the major role in this game, awarding the most lucrative prizes. There are also nice videos, stunning visuals, and major effects that make the online video slot game an awesome one.
With the possibility to play from £0.01 up to £150, you are in the game for a massive 7,500x your stack, especially after triggering the Bane’s Weapon special feature. Check out the game on the link below, and grab some of the bonuses and free spins that we offer.
By Microgaming
The Best Vampire-themed game in town, and definitely the most played one – Immortal Romance is a great mix of romantic scenes and vampire-themed symbols. It’s inspired by a video game with four protagonists: Amber, Troy, Michael and Sarah.
The game offers five reels and 243 paylines, together with 10 free spins feature, an interesting Chamber bonus feature where you can win up to 3,645,000-coin jackpot. The game also offers a 2x and 3x multipliers. With RTP of 96.86%, it’s a game you should definitely try, and you can follow the link above and choose some of the casinos that we offer, where Free Spins, Welcome Bonuses and in-game cash are waiting to be claimed.
By Microgaming
The desire to pull off the ultimate bank heist is real, and almost everybody of us has dreamed of it. Going to a bank, pulling off the best heist, and never having to worry about a thing in your entire life. Judging from the number of bank-busting slot games, the desire is huge.
This is one of the many slot games where Banks are the main thing that the topic revolves around, but Bust the Bank is the only one with 243 paylines in it! Microgaming found the best way to stand out from the competition and be the best.
With 5 reels and up to 243 paylines, Burst the bank offers a nice Exploding Wilds and Free Spins. If you want some lucrative prizes, even more, free spins and welcome bonuses.
