Before a slot can pay, it has to decide what counts as a win. Today’s games use one of three systems — paylines, cluster pays or scatter pays — and the choice changes how often you win, how big the grid is and which features make sense. The games we review cover all three, plus a variation where lines pay in both directions.
Last updated: 22 October 2026
The pay systems at a glance
| System | What makes a win | Games we review |
|---|---|---|
| Paylines, left to right | Matching symbols on a fixed line, starting from reel 1 | Lobster House (20), Bullets and Bounty (19), Better Wilds (25), Super Fruits Wild (10), Mighty Hot Wilds (10) |
| Paylines, both ways | The same, but a line can also start from the last reel | Miss Cherry Fruits (20) |
| Cluster pays | 4+ matching symbols touching horizontally or vertically | Merge Up, Merge Up 2, Sugar Merge Up (6×6) |
| Scatter pays | 8+ matching symbols anywhere on the grid | Gator Hunters, Gator Hunters 2 (6×5) |
Paylines
A payline is a fixed path across the reels. Symbols must match from the leftmost reel along that path, usually three or more in a row. All lines are active in the games we review, so the stake is spread evenly across them.
- Line bet vs total bet. With 25 lines, the line bet is 1/25 of the total. In Better Wilds five Red 7s pay 500× the line bet — 20× the total bet.
- Wild placement matters. When Wilds land only on the middle reels, as in Lobster House, every winning line still needs a regular symbol on reel 1.
Paylines that pay both ways
In Miss Cherry Fruits a combination counts from the left or from the right. The 20 lines then produce more winning patterns, and an expanded Wild on a middle reel can complete wins from both sides at once.
Cluster pays
A cluster is a group of matching symbols that touch each other horizontally or vertically — diagonals do not count. In Merge Up a cluster needs 4 symbols on a 6×6 grid; after paying, part of it disappears and the rest is upgraded to the next gem, so one win can set up the next. Harvest Wilds needs 5 symbols on a larger 7×7 field. Cluster games almost always use cascades: winning symbols are removed and new ones drop in.
Scatter pays
In a scatter-pays game position does not matter at all: 8 or more matching symbols anywhere on the grid win. Gator Hunters uses a 6×5 grid with tumbling wins, which is why it needs other mechanics — Eaters and Revolvers — to rescue spins that end with nothing.
The pay system does not decide the RTP or the volatility on its own. Gator Hunters (scatter pays) and Miss Cherry Fruits (paylines) win on almost the same share of spins — about 17% — but with very different ceilings.
How the systems compare
| Paylines | Cluster pays | Scatter pays | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical grid | 5×3, 5×4 | 6×6 and larger | 6×5 and larger |
| Easy to read? | Yes, but lines are hidden in some games | Yes, wins are visible groups | Yes, just count symbols |
| Usual extras | Wild multipliers, respins | Cascades, cell multipliers | Tumbles, multiplier symbols |
| Hit frequency in our reviews | 17.04%–46.47% | 29.41%–32.89% | 17.23%–18.28% |
Cluster and scatter games nearly always come with cascades. How a chain of wins works, and why it counts as one spin in the hit frequency, is explained in our cascades guide.