What are bonus games?
Bonus games generally refer to additional special gameplay rounds that can be won while playing online slots. While this also includes free spins, it often means much more than that. This can include, for example, pick and click games where instant prizes are possible. How such a bonus round is triggered depends on the specific online slot. Some games have special bonus symbols for this purpose or require a certain combination of symbols.
What types of bonus games are available?
Free spins
While they are often mentioned separately from other extras, free spins are indeed considered bonus rounds. The variety of free spins in modern online slots is now enormous. In addition to traditional free spins, where you simply don't have to make your own wager, there are game rounds with numerous special features such as multipliers, stacked wilds, and bonus symbols. For instance, Play'n GO has even added a free spins round within a free spins round in their Egyptian-themed slot game, Dawn of Egypt.
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Arcade games
Bonus games in the style of arcades are rare but highly entertaining. They allow you to achieve winnings almost like in a video game. However, it's not really about skill here because you control your move within the special game in advance. Good examples of such bonus rounds are Playtech's King Kong and Spamalot. In the former, you fend off attacking planes, while in the Monty Python slot, you have to dodge flying cows.
Jackpot games
Some jackpot slots distribute their main prize through a bonus game. Well-known examples of this are Microgaming's Mega Moolah and NetEnt's Mega Fortune. These slots feature lucky wheels that, in the best case scenario, pay out the jackpot. Access to such special game rounds naturally depends on the specific slot machine. Some trigger the bonus game randomly, while others do so with the help of special symbols during regular gameplay.