One of the most important aspects of mobile slot games is the number of paylines available – the lines in which a payout will be awarded based on winning combinations of symbols.
However, there are two types of paylines, where some games feature adjustable paylines, while others only offer fixed paylines.
Neither fixed or adjustable paylines are better than the other, but players often have a preference – but what is the difference between them?
Fixed Paylines slots
Fixed paylines often offer bets on all or nothing, giving players a set number of paylines and you have to place a wager on all of them before you can send the reels spinning.
As a result of this fixed playing structure and format, the game often has a number of different bonus features, giving players the opportunity to win larger payouts. Some of the bonus features include, wilds, scatter symbols and free spins.
One of the main benefits of playing fixed payline slots is the fact that fixed payline slots do offer much more interesting bonus games and bonus features, compared to other flexible games out there.
Some examples of fixed payline games
One of the most popular fixed payline slots is the Eggomatic slot by NetEntertainment, which offers a 20 fixed payline playing structure and a mechanical rooster symbol which cracks open eggs within the game to reveal exciting prizes.
Some of these prizes can include 7 to 50 Eggomatic free spins, extra wilds, or instant coin wins of 50 to 2,500 coins.
But there are many examples of fixed paylines online slots, with many game providers figuring that with so many games out there, you’ll find the right game with the right paylines for you.
Other examples include:
- Volatile Slot – Golden Rock Studios (10 paylines)
- Wolf Gold Slot – Pragmatic Play (25 paylines)
- Vikings Go Berzerk Slot – Yggdrasil Gaming (25 paylines)
- Eastern Emeralds Slot – Quickspin (20 paylines)
- Fire Joker Slot – Play’n GO (5 paylines)
Adjustable Paylines slots
Adjustable paylines offer players much more flexibility on what bets they would like to play, as you have the ability to choose how many lines you want to bet on.
This can be especially useful if you have a smaller bankroll because if you are running low on funds, all you have to do is reduce the number of paylines by a few, or to lowest possible bet, as you are able to adjust the number of paylines to suit your own budget.
Though many players opt to wager smaller amounts on each payline, ensuring frequent wins but with less of a payout.
When playing an adjustable paying slot, some games allow you to have as many as 20 or 30 different active paylines all the way down to just one payline.
Games with adjustable paylines
Progressive jackpot slots often opt to have adjustable paylines, with different slots having varied ways to win the jackpot.
However, be careful, as one of the main ‘rules’ for winning a jackpot is that all the possible paylines need to remain active.
But, this can be frustrating for players as they may have not activated the payline which a jackpot-winning combination may of fell on.
Otherwise higher variance games with fewer bonus features and adjustable paylines include the Dead or Alive slot game or you could even check out the Cool Bucks slot review.
Other examples include:
- Book of Dead Slot – Play’n GO (1 up to 10 paylines)
- Jungle Jim and the Lost Sphinx – Stormcraft Studios (1 up to 50 paylines)
- Mega Fortune Dreams Slot – NetEnt (
Which type of slots should I play?
It is completely down to personal preference on what slot you decide to play, no matter whether this is with fixed paylines or adjustable paylines.
There is no better way to play, it just depends on the type of experience you are looking to achieve.
For example, if you enjoy lots of regular wins without risking too much money, play slots with lots of paylines for small stakes.
On the other hand, if you are willing to risk more and want potentially big payouts, fixed slots may be the choice for you.
We believe a game is best played with max paylines
The paytable of a game won’t change because you’ve activated 1 or all 5 paylines of a game. You are lowering your chances of getting a win by reducing the number of paylines and chances.
So, generally, as players, we liked fixed payline slot machines. If we don’t like the number of paylines, we switch to another game with more or fewer paylines.
Fixed paylines and adjustable paylines are just two ways some casino slots offer, others include Cluster Pays like the Aloha Cluster Pays slot from NetEnt, Ways to Win like the Siberian Storm slot from IGT, and even Megaways like the Bonanza slot from Big Time Gaming.
Essentially no matter which you pick there’s a game out there to suit your style of gameplay and budget, you might just have to search a little.
The good news is that if you’re not sure which game is for you to check out our advanced slot searching tool which gives you all the payline options for the different slots on mobile and online.
