As slots get more volatile, one scenario that players tend to get frustrated about is the fact that sometimes the bonus simply doesn’t pay. This isn’t a new thing of course – players have been getting skunked by bonuses on games like Buffalo for decades. But it doesn’t mean they like it any more now than they did then:
Sort of a question: It is frustrating to get a bonus, particularly one that doesn’t pay anything just for getting the bonus, and then going through the entire bonus and win $0 or less than your bet. This feels like false advertising or something, because the concept of a bonus is to win something extra, not win nothing or less than your bet.
Beth
We’ve shared the story of a slot maker that tried to solve for this by introducing a bonus guarantee. The idea was a reaction to a previous generation of machines that could award $0/small bonuses that players hated.
So they offered what was initially a 10x guarantee on the bonus if it didn’t hit it. But players then hated that, because it rang a loud bell and slapped a giant logo on the screen declaring the bonus guarantee when the bonus was bad.
Over time, they tinkered with the idea, including the floor they guaranteed, and made it less in your face. They still do it on the occasional slot, but quietly in the background.
Of course, many games just award some sort of prize for triggering the bonus, which serves the same function if the bonus doesn’t work out. But to your point that can be frustrating.
The more a slot maker invests in any bonus of a game, by offering a bigger upfront payout, a guaranteed minimum, etc., the more money they have to take from somewhere else. It could be the bonus occurs less frequently, or they have to take some money from the line hits to cover those bonus payouts. The bonus itself might not have as much potential because it has to pay at least a certain amount each time around.
It’s not false advertising if the pay table doesn’t promise a win on the bonus, but it doesn’t make it satisfying either. Fortunately for us as players, different slots take different approaches, and we can certainly walk away from games that don’t deliver.
There’s definitely games where the bonuses have to deliver – think hold and spin bonuses where you’ll always at least get to collect the coins that land to trigger the bonus.
So if bonus minimums is a criteria for you, rest assured there’s games on the casino floor that can take care of you!
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