What are Win Both Ways slots?

For many years, there were a few unwritten rules when it came to slot games and perhaps the most adhered to of all the rules, was the fact that when it came to landing a win on a slot game, any win had to be a sequence that started on the leftmost 'first' reel and progressed across the reels from there.

In fact, winning left to right across the reels became ingrained into games so much from the start of slot gaming, that many people just assumed that this would be how slot games would work for ever. Even as we moved into the computer age and the microchip, which allowed developers to come up with all kinds of features and bonuses for their slot games, the vast majority of games followed this simple rule.

However, since the turn of the digital age there has been a growing school of thought that slot games don't always have to award wins from left to right solely. There are other potential ways to win on games that can be considered. This has led to the development of features such as Cluster Ways games, All Adjacent Ways slots and perhaps the most popular of all this new generation of games, Both Ways to Win slots.

As we will explore when we look at how the Both Ways to Win feature on a slot works, this is a particularly beneficial bonus available for players for a number of reasons and as such, it has proven especially popular with slot players when it has been incorporated into games. Again, we will explore exactly why these types of games are so popular with players, and the way that they are set up in the main body of this article.

Suffice to say that at present, Microgaming and their partner studios are just one of a number of slot development companies that are really starting to get to grips with Win Both Ways slots and the good news is that players like you and I, are the ones that reap the benefits when these new games finally hit casinos.

While Win Both Ways slots sound fairly self-explanatory, is that always the case? Let's take a closer look now at this particular type of bonus and explore how it is set up and how it works in many of the games in which it is available.

How does the Win Both Ways feature work?

As the name suggests, a Win Both Ways feature allows players to win both ways across the reels on a spin. Typically, this means that the player can win from right to left across the reels, in addition to the standard method of left to right.

This tends to be the way that this feature is generally used in most Win Both Ways slots, but of course there has to be other controls on the games for casinos to operate these types of games, so what you will tend to find is that Win Both Ways slots may not offer Free Spins bonuses, instead they may offer different kinds of bonus games (Respins with Expanding Wilds seems to be a very popular bonus of choice in these particular type of games, for example).

Furthermore, given that players can land wins both ways across the reels, the casino further mitigates it risk by generally offering only a small number of lines in play on each spin. This tends to be 10 lines or thereabouts on this type of slot. However, given that on each of those ten lines you can win left to right and right to left, it does equate to more chances for players to win on each line.

To help players win across the relatively small number of pay lines in play there are some bonus features that are generally in play on these games. We have already mentioned that we tend to see Expanding Wild symbols in play (generally on the middle three reels of the slot) and these can trigger up to three Respins of the remaining reels with the Wild (or Wilds) expanded on the reels and held in place. These respins are free for the player and the first and second respins can trigger additional respins if a second or third Wild is landed on the reels.

Another possible way that players can win with Win Both Ways is by having a number of stacked symbols on the reels. When symbols are stacked up to three or more symbols high, they can fill the reels and if you can land several of the same symbols on the reels, you can win across different pay lines and even win both ways on the same spin, sometimes using different combinations of symbols.

One thing to note here though is that if you land five symbols on a line, you do only trigger one win of that value. You don't win on that spin from left to right and right to left. However, you tend to find that these five symbol triggers tend to pay out considerably more than three or four symbol wins and that more than compensates for winning just the once on these wins.

It should also be remembered that while the 'rules' for the Win Both Ways slots outlined above are generally observed, there are a number of examples where games to divert from the norm and offer something else. There are, for example, Win Both Ways slots of 10 pay lines that offer Free Spins bonus rounds as well, and there is even one famous game which offers players a shot to win the incredible Mega Moolah progressive jackpot prize.

There is no doubt that Win Both Ways slots have been hugely popular since the first of these games was released into casinos a few years back, but what is it about them that players seem to enjoy so much? It does seem unusual that a slot that only offers 10 ways to win (or 20 if you double up the lines when you win both ways) can be so popular when there are games that offer 50 lines, 243-ways to win, or even thousands of ways to win.

To answer that, we need to get a grasp on what the benefits are to the player of Win Both Ways slots and the good news here is that those benefits are several in number.

Is Win Both Ways beneficial to slot players?

Why are Win Both Ways slots so popular? Well my belief is that the number of benefits that they offer, tend to outweigh some of the negative aspects of the slot.

First off, in terms of value for money, Win Both Ways slots offer players some of the best value gaming you can find. If you play a 10 line Win Both Ways slot, then you tend to find that your bet minimum is around 0.10. However, for that bet, you can win both left to right and right to left, which essentially gives you more chance of landing a win, however unlike on other pay line games, you don't have to pay extra to cover these additional ways to win on the slot.

As such, these games offer players good value for money and that value is increased when you consider that any Respins bonus triggered in the game is also free to the player (and can prove pretty lucrative, especially if you can land a couple of Wild symbols together on the reels, especially if they are adjacent).

Another positive is that these are among the simplest slots to play and understand. In addition, all the key bonuses are triggerable from within the base game and trigger much more frequently than, for comparison, a game with a Free Spins bonus game. As such, the bonus features and bigger value wins on a Win Both Ways slot seems much more accessible and achievable for players, even if those really huge wins are still only rarely achieved.

Combine great value, with more easily accessible bonus features and still the chance to win a significant amount of money and you can see why Win Both Ways slots tend to be positively received by slots players. This is especially the case for those games that do offer stacked symbols. Those that don't tend to be a little more difficult to get the bigger wins landed on and as such, they tend to play a little higher variance than those with stacked symbols on the reels.

As you can see, Win Both Ways can be really beneficial to slot players as a feature but casinos do take certain precautions against the slot becoming too 'player friendly', notably by cutting the number of pay lines in the games and in some cases, not offering a Free Spins bonus. Even so, these games are still massively popular and are a real draw for players.

What slot games offer Win Both Ways action for me to experience?

Of course, the best way to experience what a Win Both Ways slot has to offer is to try it out for yourself and the good news is that recently, Microgaming and their partner studios have released a number of different games that fit the bill. Any of the games outlined below offers great Win Both Ways gaming, though I would suggest you try the massively popular Atlantean Treasures: Mega Moolah slot first if you want to try and land a big cash prize as this game is linked to the huge Mega Moolag progressive jackpot prize, which has already seen seven multi-millionaire winners over the course of 2020 so far.

• Atlantean Treasures Mega Moolah - Neon Valley Studios

For me, this is the best of all the Win Both Ways slots you can play at Microgaming casinos. Not only is the game linked to the famous Mega Moolah progressive jackpot prize pool, but it is also a fabulous game to play itself. Based loosely on the famous Atlantis myth, the game has 10 pay lines, Expanding Wilds on the middle three reels and Respins when you land one or more of the Wilds on those reels. Collect the golden pearls that are overlaid the standard symbols in the game and you will give yourself a chance of triggering the Jackpot Bonus Wheel game where you are guaranteed to win one of the four massive Mega Moolah progressive jackpot prizes, Mini, Minor, Major and that huge Mega Jackpot prize.

• Almighty Aztec - SpinPlay

Released in September 2020, this 10 line, 5x3 reel slot features the chance to Win Both Ways across the reels and it also features a Free Spins bonus round, which can see you land between 5 and 12 Free Spins with Wild Reels bonus feature activated. Some players may also be able to Buy this Feature in the game for a stated amount, although this bonus is not available in all countries.

• A Dark Matter - Slingshot Studios

A rather unusual 5 line Win Both Ways slot that offers both a Free Spins round and a variety of different Wild bonus features too including the rare Invading Wilds feature and the chance to have both Stacked and Super Stacked Wilds in the Free Spins bonus game. This is a very atmospheric slot and one that offers a very different way to play Win Both Ways across the reels than is usually offered.

• Aurora Wilds - Neon Valley Studios

A space-themed 10 line, 5x3 reel win both ways slot that is very much in the traditional format of these particular type of games, but which offers the addition of a separate jackpot which can be won in the game.

• Banana Odyssey - Slingshot Studios

Sending monkeys into space on a journey to find bananas is the somewhat unusual theme of this seemingly standard 10-line, 5x3 reel win both ways slot from Slingshot Studios, but what is great about this game is that it also has a Free Spins bonus which can be unlocked in the base game too.

Other games that offer the chance to win both ways across the reels include Dragon Shard and Zeus Ancient Fortunes.