Everything You Need To Know About Cluster Pays Slots

What are Cluster Pays Slots?

Cluster Pays is an arcade slot mechanic and they typically are played on a square grid of symbols, as opposed to the standard rectangular shape of video and classic slots. Mind you, not all Cluster Pays slots require this layout, it is just the most common.

In Cluster Pays slots, players form winning combinations by landing groups of symbols, rather than simply matching symbols from left to right – or vice versa – along paylines. To form a cluster (a group of matching symbols), each symbol has to connect either vertically or horizontally. Clusters cannot be formed diagonally on the reels. If you are familiar with the classic Candy Crush mobile game, Cluster Pays slots have a similar requirement in order to form winning combinations.

One of the most attractive things about cluster pays slots is that they are usually packed with bonus features. So far, we have not found a slot of this type that does not have an avalanche feature or cascading reels. This means all that when a winning cluster lands, after the payout the cluster is removed from the reels to allow more symbols to fall from above and hopefully form another win. This process can repeat itself indefinitely.

Where Do Cluster Pays Slots Originate From?

The first software provider to develop a Cluster Pays arcade slot was NetEnt with Aloha! Cluster Pays. The game was released in 2016 and revolutionized the gaming industry. The slot did not use any paylines to form winning combinations. Instead, players simply had to match symbols either vertically or horizontally. In the original game, a cluster of 9 matching symbols was needed to form a winning combination. Aloha! Cluster Pays is played on a 6x5 grid. Thus, having launched the first Cluster Pays slot, NetEnt opened the gateway for many more arcade slots with similar structures. We take a look at the first Cluster Pays slot below.

Aloha! Cluster Pays

Aloha! Cluster Pays is a 6-reel, 5-row arcade slot that is set in sunny Hawaii. The reels feature Tiki masks, flowers, shells, pineapples, coconuts and more. To form a winning combination, a cluster of at least 9 matching symbols must land.

The slot is full of bonus features. The first and most important one is the Sticky Win Re-Spins feature. Essentially, after a winning cluster is formed, all successful symbols lock into position and a re-spin occurs. This gives you the chance to add to your winning cluster and potentially receive a higher payout. If an additional symbol contributes to the already existing combination on your screen, the same process repeats. It locks into position, alongside the cluster, and another re-spin occurs with the remaining positions. This keeps on happening until no new symbols adds to the cluster, or the cluster fills the entire grid – maximizing the win for that symbol.

The second bonus feature in Aloha! Cluster Pays is the Free Spins bonus round. This is triggered when you land a minimum of three scatter symbols. After doing so, you receive 9 Free Spins. With more scatters, you could potentially receive 12 Free Spins. In the Free Spins bonus round, it is possible to trigger additional free spins. Here is how the calculation is made:

• 3 scatter symbols – 1 additional free spin
• 4 scatter symbols – 2 additional free spins
• 5 scatter symbols – 3 additional free spins
• 6 scatter symbols – 4 additional free spins

The benefit of playing the Aloha! Cluster Pays Free Spins bonus round is that with each spin, the chances of winning increase. After the first two spins, all flower symbols are removed from the reels. Once four spins are complete, all shell symbols are also removed. After six spins the coconuts will also not feature on the reels. Lastly, on the eighth spin, all pineapples as also removed. This means more chance of landing higher-valued totems symbols without the lower valued symbols available.

Last but not least, your final Free Spin should always end in a win. If you do not form a winning cluster on the final free spin, you are given an additional spin. This gives you a second chance of forming a winning cluster – however, if still unsuccessful, unfortunately there is no additional try. Remember that during the bonus round, Sticky Win Re-Spins can still occur, giving you a chance of boosting upon every winning cluster.

Ultimately, Aloha! Cluster Pays is a low volatility arcade slot from NetEnt that has an RTP of 96.42%. In many online casinos, you will find the chance to play the slot for free in demo mode, to adjust to the wild gameplay. It makes up for an interesting gaming session.

Finn’s Golden Tavern Cluster Pays Slot

Finn’s Golden Tavern from NetEnt is another classic example of a Cluster Pays slot. In this game, the action takes place on a 5x5 grid and the game has an Irish luck theme. Finn’s Golden Tavern only requires a vertical or horizontal line of 3 or more symbols to form a winning combination. The soundtrack for this slot is Irish folk music, played on flutes. The game is set in Finn’s local tavern.

On the reels, players can expect to find a compass, candles, beer mats, dice and barrels full of beer. There are also gold coins that are the most rewarding symbols in the slot. They can have cash prizes of 5, 10, 20 or 50 attached to them.

In Finn’s Golden Tavern, Avalanche Reels are in play. Thus, whenever you form a winning combination, all successful symbols are removed from your screen, allowing new symbols to fill up the vacated positions. This gives you the chance to form additional winners after a successful spin.

There are also random coins that can boost your chances of winning. Whenever you land the Treasure Chest scatter symbol on the middle position, all low value symbols around the scatter transform into coin symbols. The golden coins will all have prizes attached to them – as listed above – which combine to give you a cash prize.

Whenever you fail to form a winning combination, you can randomly trigger the Fist Slam feature. Although this does not happen after every unsuccessful spin, it can occasionally occur, with Finn slamming his fist onto the reels and moving coin symbols around to give you a cash prize payout.

The most exciting bonus mechanic in this Cluster Pays slot is the Free Spins bonus round. If the scatter symbol appears in the middle position on the reels, the free spins bonus round is triggered. During the bonus round, the player receives 5 free spins to start with.

At the left-hand-side of the reels, a free spins multiplier meter comes into play. Essentially, the idea here is to fill up the meter with the use of wild symbols that land during avalanches. The multiplier will increase by 1 for every 5 steps towards filling up the meter.

In addition, the Free Spins feature can also benefit from a Coin Bonus. This is triggered when the scatter symbol lands in the middle position of the reels. In doing so, a number of coin symbols are placed randomly onto the reels and combine to give you a cash win.

Pros and Cons of Cluster Pays Slots

Pros

There are a number of good things and bad things about Cluster Pays slots. The good include the fact that most of these games have many bonus features. This leads to additional wilds, free spins, sticky wins, cascading reels and much more.

Cons

The negative connotation we can put towards Cluster Pays slots is their overcomplication. Because so much is happening, at times it is difficult to keep up with all the action. This means not knowing what symbols to look out for or understanding how a bonus mechanic can pay off. Mind you, with a bit of practice and after becoming familiar with the mechanic, Cluster Pays becomes more enjoyable and less chaotic.

Closing Remarks

If you want to try a unique way of playing slots online, Cluster Pays slots are the way to go. These slots include various ways of forming winning combinations and are usually jam-packed with exciting features. Although they may be difficult to grasp at first, you are guaranteed an exciting time when playing these games.