Some game formats have become tried and true formats for slot machines. The Hold and Spin bonus is an example of this, but if you’ve never heard of it, you’ve certainly seen it:
What is a hold and spin?
Patti T.
Hold and spin is the name given to the bonus format that Aristocrat originated in the Lightning Link series where you land six or more cash prizes (known in the industry as “cash on reels”) to trigger the bonus.
Three spins are awarded to collect more prizes. If you land another, the spin counter resets. The bonus ends when either three spins go by without landing another prize, or all spaces are filled, which yield the awarding of an additional prize (in the case of Lightning Link and its siblings, it’s the Grand progressive jackpot).
The cash on reels element and the hold and spin bonus have both been endlessly iterated and adopted over the past decade, both by other manufacturers (Ultimate Fire Link, Lock It Link, Prosperity Link, etc.) and Aristocrat itself (Gold Bonanza, Mighty Cash, Coin Trio, etc.).
Part of the reason why so many variations now exist is players eat it up – the games tend to do quite well. Just look at some of the game series that came out around the same time as Lightning Link reached the US. Both Ultimate Fire Link and Lock it Link have developed successful directions of their own, and continue to release their own new versions a decade later, due to their enduring success.
The Hold and Spin bonus on Lightning Link is designed to occur roughly once every 100 spins on average, a pattern that was followed by others. This was part of a shift by slot makers to having more difficult to hit bonuses but more money in them, something certainly showcased by these games.
So that is a Hold and Spin bonus, and what you can expect when you find a game with this sort of bonus on it. It’s ingrained in slot DNA at this point, and it all started with a single series of games.
I enjoy reading some of these insights. But I have a question. Why do many people crank the volume to full 100%?
I have tinnitus and hearing loss sitting next to one or more machines blasting gives me a headache often ruins that road. Some have said that “full volume pays better”. One said the you tube guy said it pays about8% more.
Is that true?
Thanks.
When it comes to volume and payback, it’s not true – check out our article on volume for more!
As far as why people crank it up, sounds is an important part of slots for many players, and some players want to immerse themselves more than others, so a percentage will crank it up, just as some would headphones listening to music or watching TV.