Have you ever wished that the special features on your favourite pokies would stick around for just a little longer? If so, then sticky wilds might just be what you’re looking for. These wild symbols don’t just help you make winning combinations, they do it over and over again, virtually guaranteeing wins for multiple spins.
A sticky wild is any wild symbol that remains in place for multiple spins in the same location on the reels. These symbols are normally part of bonus rounds, as they are very powerful and can lead to major wins for players. However, a few games do include them during normal play, albeit usually with some reservations or additional costs to the player.
The basic function of sticky wilds is identical to that of a normal wild symbol. A sticky wild symbol will substitute for any normal symbols on a poker machine, helping to make winning combinations on every payline they are a part of.
The difference between sticky and normal wilds is what happens at the end of each spin. While a normal wild acts like any other symbol, the sticky wild will stay in place at the end of the spin, guaranteeing that it will appear again in the same position as last time. This can be very valuable, especially if there are multiple wilds staying in place or if the sticky wilds are on the first few reels.
The length of time that sticky wilds will stay on the reels varies between pokies. Sticky wilds are often used as a part of a free spins game, with sticky wilds lasting anywhere from just a couple spins to the entirety of the free spins round. In at least online poker machine, the sticky wilds feature can last for as long as the player wants it to, though they must pay extra in order to keep it in place.
There are many games that use sticky wilds as a special feature in a variety of different ways. One excellent example is the South Park poker machine, created by NetEnt. In this game, sticky wilds appear in one of the special features: the bonus round that is based on Stan, one of the four main characters from the animated series the pokie is based on.
In this round, the sticky wilds actually determine the length of the special feature, rather than the other way around. The bonus round starts with on sticky wild in the centre position on the middle reel. This sticky wild will only last for two spins; however, others can appear on the reels at random during this time. As long as a spin starts with at least one sticky wild on the reel, the bonus round will continue, ending only if there are no more of the symbols in play.
One game that uses the concept of the sticky wild in a unique way is the Mamma Mia poker machine from BetSoft. In this game, the player can determine before each spin where and how many sticky wilds appear on the reels. There is no limit on how many sticky wilds can be placed on the reels, nor any restriction on where or in what combinations they can be positioned.
Obviously, this feature is pretty powerful, since the player can set up guaranteed wins if they wish to do so. However, it comes at a price: for every sticky wild added to a spin, the player must pay more to play that spin. Different wild positions will affect the pricing differently: adding one wild on the fifth reel when playing for the maximum of 150 coins might just add one or two coins to the price of your spin, while adding a wild anywhere on the first reel will more than double your costs. It is possible to play spins that cost tens of thousands of coins if you fill the reels with enough sticky wilds!
These examples should help you understand just how powerful a sticky wild feature can be. If you’ve never played a poker machine that featured a sticky wild, those mentioned here are just two of the hundreds of great pokies that use sticky wilds. You can play more games with this feature by opening an account at one of our recommended online casino sites today!