Welcome to the wonderful world of wacky Netent Wilds! (part 3)

Published on 13 June 2015 by Sebas

Already used in the earliest (mechanical) slot machines built more than 100 years ago, substituting Wild symbols still appear in all Netent video slots. In this third article about Netent Wilds we look at its possible functions the symbol can have in games.

Free Spins are Free Spins, and a Bonus Game is…

… a Bonus Game… Nothing wrong with that but fact is a Free Spin is always a free game round and a Bonus Game is always, well… always (the same) specific bonus game for a specific Netent video slot.

Wild symbols as special game features in video slots however are ‘shape shifters’: in one game they can be a ‘simple’ symbols substituting symbol (to create winning bet line combinations), while in the next slot they could also win you a huge Netent video slot jackpot. So first of all let’s see what the different functions of today’s Wild symbols in Netent slots can be.

The functions of Wilds in Netent video slots

Besides substituting for other symbols Wilds can have the following ‘special game feature functions’ in Netent video slots when they appear on the reels:

• Trigger Re-Spins: one or more appearing Wild symbol activates a subsequent re-spin.. These kinds of Wilds can be found in video slot Starburst, video slot Fisticuffs, video slot Mega Fortune Dreams and video slot Attraction;
• Trigger Free Spins: they act like a ‘Scatter’, the symbol which normally activates a Free Spins mode: The Wild symbols in, for example, Netent video slot Wild Turkey and video slot SteamTower activate the game’s Free Spin mode.
• (Note: Wild symbols don’t ‘substitute’ for Free Spins activating Scatter symbols: they ‘are’ the Scatter symbols… The only Netent video slot in which Wild symbols can substitute for Scatter symbols to complete a Free Spins activating combination, is video slot Victorious)
• Trigger a Bonus Game: in Netent video Scarface (full stacked) Wild symbols trigger the (interactive) Bonus Game. As a matter of fact in this game Wilds also trigger its Free Spins mode and a Nudge feature.

Besides above different extra ‘tasks’ that can be assigned to Wilds in a game (mind you, all on top of substituting for other symbols) they can also be combined with other special game features commonly found in video slots such as multipliers and re-spins. Furthermore, within the same game they can act differently, for example as a ‘regular’ Wild during the main game but in its Free Spins mode as a multiplying Wild.

Most wanted Netent Wild is a jackpot Wild…

The most important Wild symbol in a Netent video slot game is the one that substitutes other symbols in video slot Arabian Nights. In this Netent game you need 5 Wilds on an active bet line (and while playing with a maximum bet) to win its progressive jackpot that can accumulate millions of euro before its won by a ‘wildly’ fortunate player…So even in a special game feature like a Netent jackpot to be won Wild symbols are involved.

Learn more about the different types of Netent Wilds

Now you know more about the history of Wild symbols and the roles it can play as a special game feature in Netent video slots (besides, of course, substituting for other symbols) there’s only one thing left for us to do… have a closer look at ‘how’ exactly Wild symbols can replace other symbols.

Because there are more than a dozen specific ways in which Wilds can behave in Netent video slots and Netent games while still following their natural ‘substituting instinct’ and about which you can read every detail in the next (and final) article in this series. Stay tuned!