In a slot with cascades (also called tumbles or avalanches) a win does not end the spin: the winning symbols are removed, the ones above fall into the gaps, new symbols drop in from the top, and the game checks for wins again. One paid spin can produce a chain of wins. Cascades almost always come with cluster pays or scatter pays, and they change how other features work — multipliers can build within a single spin, and some features only start when the chain ends.
Last updated: 22 October 2026
Which of our reviewed games cascade
| Slot | Pay system | What happens after a win | What builds during the chain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merge Up | Clusters of 4+ | Part of the cluster vanishes, the rest upgrades to the next gem | Cell multipliers (free spins only) |
| Merge Up 2 / Sugar Merge Up | Clusters of 4+ | The same, plus a Bomb / Bubblegum from top-level clusters | Cell multipliers, also in the base game |
| Gator Hunters / Gator Hunters 2 | 8+ anywhere | Winning symbols removed, new ones drop | Nothing during wins; Eaters and Revolvers start when the chain ends empty |
| Harvest Wilds | Clusters of 5+ on 7×7 | Winning symbols removed, new ones drop; stored water drops add respins after the chain | Sunflower Wild multipliers, multiplied together up to x256 |
The payline games we review — Lobster House, Bullets and Bounty, Miss Cherry Fruits, Better Wilds and the Inspired fruit slots — do not cascade: a spin is evaluated once.
Merge Up: cascades that upgrade symbols
In the Merge Up games a winning cluster does not simply disappear. Some of its gems vanish and the rest move up one level, so the next cascade starts with stronger symbols already on the grid. A cluster of the top gem turns into a Scatter (in Merge Up) or a Bomb (in Merge Up 2) — which means a long cascade in the base game can lead straight into free spins.
Cell multipliers are where cascades matter most. Every cell that is part of a win is marked; each further win on it doubles the value, up to x128. In Merge Up 2 the marks last until the end of the spin and its cascades, so a long chain in the base game can reach high multipliers without a bonus round.
Gator Hunters: what happens when the chain stops
Gator Hunters uses cascades the other way round. While wins keep forming, nothing special happens. Only when a cascade ends without a win does the game step in:
- an Eater may appear, remove symbols and turn into a Wild;
- if there is still no win, up to six Revolvers fire bullets that add to a total multiplier.
The result is a game where “dead” spins are often not dead — and where the hit frequency (17.23%) understates how often something happens on screen.
Cascades make spins longer. In Great Britain a spin must take at least 2.5 seconds (UK slot rules), and a cascade chain adds to that, so a cascading game gets through fewer spins per hour than a payline game — useful to know when you set a time limit.
Cascades and hit frequency
A whole cascade chain counts as one spin. When a game reports a hit frequency, it is the share of spins with at least one win, not the number of wins: Merge Up’s 32.89% means about one paid spin in three has a win somewhere in its chain. How cluster and scatter pays compare with paylines is in our pay systems guide, and the different multiplier types in our multipliers guide.