Grid Play

Game developers are constantly on the lookout for mechanics that create a rewarding gameplay experience. Online pokies designers also take into account features and bonus elements such as Free Spins and multipliers that enhance play. One popular style of game design is Grid Play, pokies with a slightly different approach to online casino gameplay yet equally fulfilling as their reels-based counterparts. Find out more about grid play pokies and their potential benefits with Wildz Casino.

What is a Grid Play pokie?

When symbols are arranged in vertical columns and horizontal rows rather than spinning on the reels in online pokies they’re known as grid play pokies. Grid pokies have a playing field (or a “grid”) of number of symbols. The grid may be square or rectangular or in shapes designed to enhance the theme of a specific pokie, like Play’n GO’s Gold Volcano (volcano-shaped) and Honey Rush, which is hexagonal.

Another term for grid play pokies is ‘cluster pokies, referring to the style of play: if a spin produces clusters of matching and adjacent (vertically or horizontally and according to each specific game’s patterns) symbols, you score a win. Wins are typically dependent on clusters of 4-6 matching symbols. Wilds are also valid, as long as the symbols touch each other. Diagonal matches don’t count, but the bigger the cluster, the greater the win. Some grid pokies require you to empty the grid to trigger the free spins.

Grid Play games often have a few common features:

Cascading Symbols: Without the presence of reels, symbols generally fall from above the reels in a cascading fashion.
Frequent Respins: Most of the grid games clear winning combinations from the board and provide free respins as long as winning combinations are being made. These respins may include a progressive multiplier and some titles trigger a bonus game if the respins continue long enough.
Cluster Wins: Grid Play games do not include traditional paylines. The games, for the most part, achieve wins by matching a number of identical symbols in horizontal and vertical patterns.

Grid play pokies operate like any other online casino pokies game, with the results determined by chance based on a Random Number Generator (RNG), there aren’t any tips, tricks or strategies for play, these games are all based on chance.

Popular online pokies games with grid play features

Black Mamba puts the rock ’n roll into grid play, with musicians trying to get a big break, Lost Relics takes you into an ancient crypt, Santa’s Stack is a snow-filled wonderland of gifts and Troll Hunters is a fantastic Norse adventure complete with cascading runes and more. Sugar rush feels like an endless shower of potentially lucrative sweet treats, while the slightly-strange Propaganda invites you to join the resistance with flowers and decorated weapons of various sorts.

Jammin’ Jars (Push Gaming) has an 8×8 grid (and therefore 64 symbols), Reactoonz (Play’n GO) comes with a 7×7 grid (49 symbols), while Moon Princess and Rise of Olympus each has a 5×5 grid (25 symbols), demonstrating that the size of the grid can create an entirely different play experience.

There are dozens of grid play pokies games worth exploring at Wildz Casino, all you need to do is head to the game lobby and try some out for yourself. Most of the games can be played for free in Demo Mode so you can get the hang of the mechanics, bonus round action and more.