When it comes to the pay table of slots, most symbols require some sort of a line-up. The traditional way was via pay lines – symbols appear in sequence on a specifically declared line on the reels. If symbols appeared but didn’t line up on a pay line, you wouldn’t get paid.
There’s also all ways pays – symbols don’t have to appear on any particular line. But they do have to appear on consecutive reels, usually starting from the left (or occasionally, from the right).
But aside from those two, there’s also a third format that doesn’t require either all ways pays or pay lines – it takes on its own unique format. That’s the scenario for scatter pays.
Scatter pay symbols are those that can be awarded regardless of where they appear on the reels, with the number of symbols determining the award. The number of scatter symbols needed for a prize to be awarded will vary – oftentimes two or three are sufficient, but it all depends on the game’s design.
The design of scatter symbols will often be outsized relative to lower paying symbols, to make them visually stand out. This is a common slot design practice to make certain symbols more visually dominant than others, to be able to see at a quick glance the hierarchy of the value of the symbols.
Scatter symbols are most commonly used for bonus symbols – three or more bonus symbols anywhere on the reels is a great example (as well as being able to retrigger them during a bonus as well). On many slots, more scatter symbols might offer more free spins, a bigger credit prize for landing, or both.
The cash on reels symbols used with the hold and spin are another example of scatter symbols – they can appear anywhere on the reels, as long as you get enough of them, to trigger the bonus.
Some slots, generally older ones, also had a scatter symbol as part of the base game pay table, so you could get paid credits without a bonus. This form of scatter symbol is more rare nowadays, but can still be found on occasion.
