Differences Between Expanding Wilds and Stacked Wilds

Expanding wilds and stacked wilds are two of the most popular types of wild symbols found in online slots today. As the names suggest, they function slightly differently during gameplay. This article will compare and contrast some of their key features and mechanics.

What Are Expanding Wilds?

Expanding wild symbols start out as a single symbol on the reels. When they land, they expand to cover entire reels or large sections of the grid. This opens up more potential winning combinations using the wild in place of standard symbols.

Key Traits of Expanding Wilds

• Start as a single symbol
• Expand to cover reels or sections
• Open up more winning combos
• Often have animations when expanding

Some slots on platforms like Casino Star allow expanding wilds to remain expanded over multiple spins. This can lead to big payouts if they stay in place.

What Are Stacked Wilds?

Stacked wilds involve having multiple wild symbols stacked on top of one another on a single reel. This means that entire reels can already be covered in wilds, rather than relying on expansion across reels.

Key Features of Stacked Wilds

• Multiple wilds on the same reel
• Entire reels can be wild from the start
• Lead to more frequent wins
• Don’t require animation to expand

By having whole reels preloaded with wilds, the number of possible winning lines is higher from the beginning of a spin.

Direct Comparison

As shown in the table, while both types of wilds boost your winning potential, stacked wilds start out with whole reels covered, while expanding wilds rely on animations to spread across reels, opening up additional wins.

Which Is Better?

Whether expanding wilds or stacked wilds are better comes down to personal preference. Expanding wilds create anticipation and excitement as players wait to see whether they will expand and uncover more wins. Stacked wilds provide reliable wild coverage across reels from the beginning for frequent payouts.

Most slots with these special wilds also incorporate other gameplay mechanics like free spins, multipliers and bonus rounds. So there are plenty of opportunities for big wins regardless of whether the wilds are expanding or stacked by nature.

Expanding Wilds Slots

Stacked Wilds Slots

Takeaways

• Expanding wilds spread across reels during spins for more winning combos.
• Stacked wilds already cover whole reels with wilds for frequent wins.
• Both types boost winning potential and payouts.
• Choosing between them depends on personal preference and desired gameplay style.

No matter your stance, these two types of wilds make for more exciting gameplay and chances for players to hit generous payouts. Understanding how they work allows you to better leverage them in your favor.