Regular viewers of Brian Christopher’s channel are aware of the concept of a “Bonus in the Bonus.” The idea is during the free spins you might get a hold & spin, or some other feature can occur within a main bonus.
A new version of a bonus in the bonus has cropped up more recently, and the industry has a term for it: a Nested Bonus.
This is an element now popping up in the Hold & Spin formats. The first time we saw it was on the now discontinued Dragon Train, but we’ve seen it pop up more recently on slots like Money Gong, Lion Link Fortune and Fire Lion.
The idea is instead of only having a standard credit or jackpot prize on the reels as a Hold & Spin prize, a special symbol can land as part of a Hold & Spin bonus that, when the Hold & Spin portion concludes, launches a secondary mini bonus with the chance to win more prizes.
To enter the nested bonus you have to trigger the Hold & Spin, and one of the symbols landed within the Hold & Spin, whether at the time of trigger or during the bonus, is the special nested bonus symbol.
An additional progressive is generally found on machines with this nested bonus format, and a particular way to win that progressive within the nested bonus itself.
Since this feature doesn’t occur particularly often within the Hold & Spin, the potential for a good boost to your final bonus prize is also an element of it that can make it exciting for players. On the other hand, it’s making Hold & Spin style bonuses more volatile, since some of the potential money is placed in an even harder to reach nested bonus.
When this style of nested bonus is awarded, some number of new reel spots appear, anywhere from 5-9, where more orbs can land, allowing for a bigger bonus.
As slot developers play with the idea, the diversity of what can be available to players is already evolving. The original format was that if players landed all of the spot in the mini game, they’re awarded the special progressive linked to that bonus.
But Fire Lion already has changed things up, having a more open-ended bonus where a special symbol that can land at any point during the nested bonus and award the progressive. The Fire Lion bonus also continues as long as you land an orb on a given spin.
So for those who like the potential for something unique and different, 10 years into the Hold & Spin format, this is a great feature to look for. Players who enjoy volatile bonuses will appreciate the potential when you land this, but for those who already find Hold & Spin bonuses hard, this might chase them away.
