What are Jumbo Blocks in slots?

For many years, slot games the world over tended to follow the same kind of processes. Games would be different for sure, but when slots were mainly mechanical and even the first computerised games all just had the standard sized symbols on the reels.

Sure, these symbols could be of many different things and there are slots based on a myriad of different themes and which have masses of different symbols on the reels within those. Some games tend to stick with older types of symbols, such as the ever-popular fruit symbols, bar symbols and lucky seven symbols.

However, for many, many years, regardless of the number or type of symbols on the reels, one thing was always the same about them, the size of them.

That began to change when the Internet first began to take hold and we began to see the first slot games developed for online casinos. At first, games tended to stick to the tried and tested formula used in real world slot games, so you tended to see a lot of similar games to what you would find in your local pub, arcade or casino.

However, as technology developed, so did the ambitions and aspirations of the design teams and it didn't take the best too long to recognise that having a slot game devised entirely of software, offered them massive scope to offer something very different to your standard real-world based slot. The limitations imposed by having a mechanised slot are not apparent when a game is in digitised form.

This simple realisation has led to an explosion of different features that you can now find on online slot games that would simply have not been possible in even the most technologically advanced real-world slot game 20 years ago. One of those innovations is the ability for a slot game to convert from using standard sized symbols into much larger symbols that cover more than one space on one or more reels. We call these features Jumbo Blocks.

What are Jumbo Blocks?

Jumbo Blocks are super-sized versions of some of the standard symbols that you would find in a slot game. They are not used in all games and they differ from expanded or stacked symbols in that they can be expanded not just on one reel, but across several reels.

Jumbo Blocks tend to be sized anywhere from 2x2 up to, in theory at least the complete set of symbols you can see on the reels, so on a 5x3 slot, that would be a 5x3 Jumbo Sized symbol. However, in most games Jumbo Blocks tend to be shaped as squares, so they tend to come in sizes of 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 and in some of the games with more reels and symbols on the reels, 5x5 or even 6x6.

What governs the size of Jumbo Blocks is simply the game design and how many reels and symbols are on the reels within the game.

While a Jumbo Block is shown on screen as a single giant symbol, once it covers a set of positions on the reels, the position on that reel becomes the symbol shown on the Jumbo Block. So, for example, if you landed a 3x3 Jumbo Block symbol on the middle three reels of a 5x3 reel game, and then landed the same symbol as on the Jumbo Block on the first reel. This would pay out as a four-symbol win across the different pay lines in the game. If you added another of the same symbols on the fifth reel, that would be a five-symbol win and likely across multiple winning pay lines too.

One thing to note with Jumbo Blocks is that when they do appear on reels, they tend to mean that the reels that the Blocks are on tend to show the same symbols and the reels are locked together in unison for that spin. This is different to having blocks of similar symbols which appear on the reels together as in this case, the reels still spin independently of each other and it is just chance that you have ended up with a block of the same symbols on the reels.

How do slot games utilise Jumbo Blocks?

In truth, there isn't really a standardised way that slot games tend to use Jumbo Blocks in their game-play. In some games, such as the Wheel of Wishes slot, the Jumbo Blocks are only shown on the reels when you trigger a bonus feature (such as the Power Spin mode in that Wheel of Wishes game).

However, in some other games, Jumbo Blocks are used on the reels alongside standard symbols in the base game and do not have to be triggered by a bonus in any way. The Halloween Slot is a good example of a game where this feature is used in both the standard game and the Free Spins bonus round to good effect.

As such, how a game utilises the Jumbo Blocks feature is down to the specifics of the game design itself, rather than the bonus defining how it is used within a game. That is a good thing however, as it means that slots development studios can (and have) come up with plenty of different ways in which to incorporate Jumbo Blocks into games.

I would also expect to see more games featuring Jumbo Blocks of symbols to be released in the future simply because it is an effective, popular and flexible bonus feature which can be used in many different and yet creative ways.

Are Jumbo Blocks of great benefit to the player?

At first glance, it would appear that having Jumbo Blocks is a benefit to the player and this is indubitably the case, although their effectiveness and value to the player does depend on a number of other factors too.

In terms of the key benefits, the ability to have a large section of the reels covered by a Jumbo Block, meaning the same symbol covers those reels, can be hugely beneficial to the player, especially when landed with at least one, but better still stacked, symbols of the same type as the Jumbo symbol on the other reels. Better still, if you can land a Wild symbol, or Stacked Wilds on the reels surrounding the Jumbo Symbol, this can lead to some very sizeable payouts.

In some games too, Jumbo Symbols can be the key to unlocking key bonus features, such as the Jackpot Bonus Game on the Wheel of Wishes slot Power Spin feature.

However, the value of Jumbo Blocks is also determined by a number of factors. This can be something as simple as the symbol that the Jumbo Block is (you ideally want higher value or better still Wild Jumbo Blocks rather than lower value symbols) but perhaps more important is the position in which Jumbo Symbols are landed.

Once again, the closer to the first three reels in most modern left-to-right win slots, that the Jumbo Symbol lands, then the more likely it is to be of benefit to the player. The further to the right of the reels it lands, then it is less likely to be of benefit to the player, unless the player can land the same symbols on all the reels preceding it.

Some games also have different sized Jumbo Symbols, so of course, landing a larger Jumbo Symbol tends to be better than landing a smaller one on the reels.

One thing to note too is that just because you land a Jumbo Symbol of any value or in almost any position on the reels, its effectiveness is still determined by the symbols landed on the other reels in the game. You can land a Jumbo Symbol plumb in the middle of the reel covering all symbols in those positions, but often you will find that the other reels do not match up and in this case, the Jumbo Symbol just effectively becomes a blocker symbol stopping a win from triggering.

The best position to land a Jumbo Symbol is in full across the first three reels of the slot as this would usually mean that you are guaranteed to land a win.

What Slot Games Offer a Chance to Play with Jumbo Blocks?

It is fair to say that Jumbo Blocks are a relatively recent addition to slot games online but they have proven to be popular in a number of games, including some very popular progressive jackpot games. Outlined below are a number iof games where you can access the Jumbo Block features.

• Sisters of Oz Wowpot

Regardless of whether you choose to play the progressive jackpot Wowpot version of the game, or the standard Jackpot version, the Sisters of Oz slot offers the chance to trigger 3x4 Jumbo Blocks of the four different Sisters of Oz. The four different coloured sisters can each have their own Jumbo Block in the base game and during Free Spins which means that they offer you a good chance of a win as they are the highest value standard symbols in the game.

• Wheel of Wishes

Wheel of Wishes is the original Wowpot progressive and it uses Jumbo Symbols in its Power Spin mode, which can be accessed either through landing two or more Scatter symbols in the base game, or by selecting Power Mode, which ensures all spins are Power Spins but which costs 10x the standard amount. During a Power Spin, the middle three reels are populated by high value, Wild and Scatter Jumbo Symbols 3x3 in size. You then need to match these with the symbols appearing on the first and fifth reels (which will randomly display the same symbol in all positions on every fresh spin) to land a win. If you can land the Jackpot Bonus Scatter Jumbo Symbol in full on the middle three reels, you will then trigger a shot at the Jackpot Bonus Wheel game and a chance to spin to win one of the four Wowpot progressive jackpot prizes.

• Goldaur Guardians

You need to trigger the Free Spins bonus game in Goldaur Guardians to see the Jumbo Symbols in action but they are 3x3 symbols in size and appear on the third, fourth and fifth reels during the Free Spins bonus. Only high value symbols and Wilds and Retrigger symbols appear as Jumbo Symbols to help increase the players chances of a better value win.

• Playboy Gold Jackpots & Playboy Gold

The Jumbo Block feature is used in both the base game and also during the Free Spins mode on the Playboy Gold Jackpots slot. Symbols can be 3x4 symbols in size and appear on the middle reels of this unusual 5x6 reel slot game. The slot that came before this, Playboy Gold, also features Jumbo Symbols used in the same way on this 6x10 reel slot game.

• Wicked Tales Dark Red & Halloween Slots

I have grouped these two different slot games together here because they utilise their Jumbo Blocks in the same way in each game; Wicked Tales and Halloween. In both these games, the Jumbo Blocks can appear in the base game and during Free Spins and they appear on a set of three roving reels, which are linked together but which can move positions across the set of reels on each spin. The Jumbo Blocks can only appear on this set of three reels. During Free Spins, only one of the higher value symbols is selected as a Jumbo Block to try and assist the player in landing a better value win.

• Amazing Aztecs

This 5x3 reel, 243 Ways to Win slot offers a special bonus feature called the Giant Respin bonus, on which you can have locks of 2x2, 3x3 or even 4x4 of one of the top paying symbols on the reels. The more of these Jumbo Blocks you can land on your Giant Respin bonus, the better your chances are of landing a bigger value win.

All these games offer you a great insight into the way Jumbo Blocks can be used in different ways in games and if you fancy trying out these bonuses, then they are a great place to start.