Cascading reels
Cascading reels are a slot mechanic in which winning symbols are removed after they pay, the symbols above drop into the gaps and new ones fall in from the top, so a single paid spin can win more than once. The chain carries on for as long as each refill forms a fresh win. It stops the moment a drop lands without one.
How a cascade sequence runs
Every sequence starts as an ordinary spin. If it lands a win, the game pays that win first, clears the symbols that made it and then checks the refilled grid again.
Each further cascade belongs to the stake already placed, so a chain of four wins costs no more than a spin that pays nothing.
The mechanic works with different ways of paying. Gonzo’s Quest from NetEnt pays on 20 lines across a five-by-three grid, while Sweet Bonanza from Pragmatic Play has no lines and pays when eight or more matching symbols land anywhere. Some games cap the length of a chain; others set no limit, so the help screen of the particular title is the place to look.
Where the multiplier comes in
On its own, a cascade adds modest value. What changes the feel of a game is a multiplier that climbs with each win in the same chain.
In Gonzo’s Quest the first win pays at 1x, the second at 2x, the third at 3x and every later win at 5x, rising to 15x in the Free Fall feature. A drop with no win resets the meter to its starting value.
Studios handle this differently, and there is no industry standard.
Names, RTP and common myths
The same pay, clear and drop cycle goes by several studio names: Avalanche at NetEnt, Tumble at Pragmatic Play, and Reactions in Bonanza from Big Time Gaming. Readers sometimes take these for different features, which they are not.
Cascades do not raise a slot’s RTP either. NetEnt publishes 95.97% for Gonzo’s Quest, and that figure already includes every chain the game can produce, averaged over a very long run of spins rather than promised to any one session.
A short chain never means a long one is due.
