Slot machines and fruit machines are often mistaken to be one and the same. The reason behind these could be because they work in a very similar fashion. However, fruit machines and slot machines are very distinct from each other. Although they look alike and their functioning appears similar, fruit machines are unique in themselves. We will take a further look into what makes these two games different, so read on if you would like to know.
The fruit machine is a type of slot machine
The first thing you should know about fruit machines is that they are a type of slot machine.
Now, let’s talk about how both of them work so that the differences between them can be explained clearly. Both of these games have really simplistic gameplay. Here’s how they work:
- You need to insert money into the machine.
- Then you need to select a bet size.
- At last, you spin the reels and wait for the results.
A slot machine will always have a spinning reel, but a fruit machine has added unique features, which we will discuss in the subsequent points.
What makes fruit machines unique?
Usually, fruit machines have three spinning reels (sometimes they could have even 4 or 5 spinning reels) and one payline. Because of its added specific features, a player can have some control over the outcome in a fruit machine, unlike a slot machine where everything depends on luck. A player can use specific features such as Hold, Nudge, and Repeat in a fruit machine, which can affect the outcome of the game depending on the selection.
Unique features of a fruit machine
The specific features of fruit machines are what make them different from a regular slot machine. Out of the many specific features that a fruit machine possesses, there are three main ones: hold, nudge and repeat. The purpose of hold is to enable the player to hold a certain symbol in hopes of spinning a win in a game. The nudge feature allows the player to nudge the reel so that a winning combination can be attained. The Repeats feature is essentially an extension of the other features as it allows the player to repeat the previous function, such as nudge or hold.
Therefore, these three features are generally not present in any slot machine but form the characteristics of fruit machines. The presence of these features allows the players to have more control over their outcome. But they are not the only unique characteristics of fruit machines. Before the invention of fruit machines, slot machines were completely based on luck and did not require any kind of skill. But with the arrival of fruit machines, the world of slot machines has been revolutionized. Now, you can strategically use the features of hold, nudge, repeat to land a winning combination on a fruit machine. It is still very much dependent on luck, but the addition of these features does allow you to use a bit of skill.
Some bonus features of fruit machines
Apart from the main features, there are some cool bonus features on a fruit machine that makes playing it much more fun than any regular slot machine. Here is an outline of some of those features:
- Bonus Trail – It is a kind of a trail that you see on some of the board games, which entails rewards and pitfalls in the game depending on the outcome of every spin.
- Cash Pots – When you are using the Bonus Trail feature, your wins are displayed in the Cash Pot located on the fruit machine screen.
- Cash Ladder – This shows you the multiplier on which you are right now. This means that all your wins in the bonus trail will be multiplied by the number displayed in the Cash Ladder.
- Gamble – This is an interesting feature for gambling enthusiasts as it enables the players to double (or lose) the winnings after they have landed a winning combination.
Thriving in the UK outside the casinos
The UK is always much ahead of the world when it comes to gambling-related activities. Therefore, it is no surprise that fruit machines were invented in the UK to create a loophole around the country’s laws, which only allowed skill-based betting in the 1960s.
Now, these distinct types of slot machines have become immensely popular in the entire UK, and they can be found not just in casinos but in pubs and restaurants all over England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They have developed into a nice alternative for going to the casino and gambling away lots of money. Instead, you could just go to your nearby pub or restaurant and have a bit of fun with these cool fruit machines.
How do slot machines work?
Regular slot machines are purely based on chance. They have an RNG (Random Number Generator) built-in through which the machine creates the random combination of symbols on each spin. These popular game machines can be categorized into the following types:
- The Single Line Slot: It has one payline and three spinning reels. Such machines are the simplest form of slot machines. They have a very limited number of winning combinations, thus making it hard for a player to win. Sometimes though, they do have bonus rounds or even Progressive Jackpot Slots. They are also commonly known as a classic slot.
- Multi-Line Slots: They have more than one payline with three or more spinning reels. They can also have bonus rounds or Progressive Jackpot Slots like the single line slot machine. They have slightly more winning combinations than the single line slot machines, though.
- Bonus Slots: They can have any number of paylines and any number of spinning reels. They boast of a bonus round in which the player has to go on another screen to play the round. It allows the player to have a chance at winning a random number of credits.
- Progressive Slots: Some slot machines have progressive slots that offer a jackpot prize that can be won by one player. The game played can be on any of the above-mentioned categories of slots. The jackpot prize is usually a very high amount of cash prize.
That’s all!
