Cluster Pays Slots

A few years ago, the cluster pays format was introduced to the world. This idea came from NetEnt, who first developed it with the Aloha! Cluster Pays slot game. Since then, they have added a few more titles to the mix. Other software developers have also tried this method and created a few titles of their own.

But what comes next? Could we guess what might be waiting in the wings for the slot game world?

What is cluster pays?

Cluster pays describes the way you can win prizes in games that work according to this method. Instead of paying out for a payline combination or one of the many ways to win across a standard set of reels, a larger game screen is seen. This might measure 6 x 6 or larger, to accommodate the winning ways.

The idea is to find a matching cluster of icons that are touching each other. This must occur either horizontally or vertically to be counted. The more you get in the group, the bigger the prize.

Are there other winning possibilities we might see?

It is difficult to guess what the next possibilities might be. Will we see more unusual options, such as prizes paid whenever the same icon appears in all four corners of a slot game? It's possible.

Cluster pays revolutionized the industry. We would love to see something similar happening again soon, too. Perhaps the traditional reel sets will get bigger or change shape in some other way to facilitate different ways to win.

How will slot games pay out in future?

No one knows, and that is half the fun of it. You can imagine how thrilling it would be to discover another way to win at slot games, just as we discovered the new cluster pays payment mechanic a few years back. It seems like only yesterday we discovered that, and yet it has popped up in many new games since then.

One of the winning elements that made this format so successful was the ability to create bigger wins with more identical symbols in the cluster. This keeps players interested and engaged and hoping to win bigger prizes too of course.

Will you be able to try something else in future too? We await the next big slot game development coming soon. You know something is going to happen, right?