Slot glossary
The terms used across this site, each in a sentence or two. Every fact sheet links here.
Last updated
- RTP (return to player)
- The share of all money staked on a game that it pays back over a very large number of spins, set by the game's maths. A 96% RTP means 96 back per 100 staked on average in the long run. It says nothing about a single session.
- RTP versions
- Many studios, Hacksaw included, offer casinos the same game at several RTP settings. The version a casino runs is shown in the game's info or help screen, so check it before you play for real money.
- Volatility
- How a game spreads its payouts. Low-volatility games pay small amounts often; high-volatility games pay less often but can pay much more at once. We show it on a 1 to 5 scale where the source gives one.
- Max win
- The largest win a game allows, written as a multiple of the bet. A 10,000x max win on a 1.00 bet is 10,000.
- Bonus buy
- An option to pay a fixed multiple of your bet to start a bonus round straight away. Not every market allows it. All Hacksaw bonus buy slots.
- FeatureSpins
- Hacksaw's name for paid spins that cost more than a normal spin in exchange for a better chance of a bonus or a boosted feature. The cost and the effect are shown in each game.
- Hit rate
- The share of spins that return any win at all. A 25% hit rate means about one spin in four pays something, often less than the stake.
- Cluster pays
- A pay system where wins come from groups of matching symbols that touch each other, instead of lines across the reels.
- Paylines and ways
- Fixed paylines pay along set lines. "All ways" games pay for matching symbols on adjacent reels from left to right, wherever they land on each reel.
- Tumbling reels
- Winning symbols disappear and new ones drop into their place, so one spin can produce several wins in a row. Also called cascades. Hacksaw slots with tumbling reels.
- Multiplier
- A value that multiplies a win. Increasing multipliers grow during a spin or a bonus round and apply to the wins that follow.
- Megaways
- A reel mechanic licensed from Big Time Gaming where the number of symbols per reel, and so the number of ways to win, changes on every spin.
- Scatter
- A symbol that pays or triggers a feature wherever it lands, not only on a line. Scatters usually start the free spins.
- Wild
- A symbol that stands in for other symbols to complete a win. Some wilds also carry multipliers or stay in place.
- Free spins
- A bonus round of spins that don't cost a stake, usually with extra features such as multipliers or sticky wilds.
- Hold and win
- A bonus where special symbols lock in place and each new one resets a small number of respins. The round ends when the respins run out.
- Base game
- Normal play outside any bonus round.
- Demo (free play)
- The real game running with play money. Results work the same way, but nothing can be won or lost. Demos on this site are for adults (18+).
- OpenRGS
- Hacksaw's platform for partner studios. Their games run on Hacksaw's systems and are distributed through Hacksaw, but are made by the partner studio. Studios on this site.