For any seasoned pokie player, the base game is just the prelude. It’s the opening act. We’re all really waiting for the main event, the headliner, the moment when the screen erupts, and we’re granted entry into the hallowed ground of the Free Spins bonus round. This is where the magic happens and where the biggest wins are almost always found.
But not all free spins features are created equal. Some are simple, offering just a set number of spins. Others are elaborate, multi-layered masterpieces of game design, packed with unique mechanics that can turn a modest bet into a massive payout. This isn’t just a list of games; it’s a look at what makes a free spins round truly exceptional and a showcase of some pokies that have legendary bonus features.
What Makes a Free Spins Round a Ripper?
- Increasing Multipliers: A common feature where every win or every cascade increases a general win multiplier for the rest of the round. This can lead to exponential growth in payouts.
- Special Symbols: The introduction of new symbols that only appear during the free spins, like sticky wilds, expanding wilds, or symbols that remove lower-paying ones from the reels.
- Retriggers: The ability to win more free spins during the round itself, often by landing more scatter symbols. A good retrigger can extend the bonus round indefinitely and lead to huge wins.
- Player Choice: Some games allow you to choose your own bonus feature, letting you pick between more spins with a lower multiplier or fewer spins with a higher one, putting you in control of the volatility.
Pokies with Legendary Bonus Features
- Bonanza (Big Time Gaming): This is the game that made the Megaways™ mechanic famous, and its free spins round is a masterclass in building excitement. You trigger it by spelling out the word G-O-L-D with scatter symbols. The feature starts with a 1x win multiplier, and for every single winning cascade, the multiplier increases by +1, with no upper limit. If you can get a few retriggers (by landing gold bars in the carts), that multiplier can reach insane levels, leading to truly life-changing wins.
- Money Train 2 (Relax Gaming): This is the holy grail for lovers of high-volatility action. The “Money Cart” bonus round is one of the most intense features ever created. You start with 3 spins and land special symbols with cash values. Every time you land a new symbol, the spin count resets to 3. The magic comes from the special character symbols: the Payer adds her value to all other symbols, the Collector collects all other values, the Sniper doubles the value of other symbols, and the Necromancer can bring used characters back to life. It’s complex, but the potential is astronomical.
- Dead or Alive 2 (NetEnt): This game is famous because it gives you a choice of three different free spins rounds, each with a different level of volatility:
- Train Heist: A lower volatility option with an increasing multiplier.
- Old Saloon: The medium volatility option, which uses sticky wilds, just like the original classic game.
- High Noon Saloon: The legendary high-volatility option. It uses sticky wilds, but with added multipliers. Landing multiple wild symbols on a payline can lead to one of the biggest non-jackpot wins available in any pokie.
These games are legendary for a reason. They demonstrate that the best online pokies craft their free spins rounds to be an unforgettable experience, a crescendo of excitement that players will be talking about long after the session is over.
