When you load a game, you are looking at a grid consisting of reels (vertical columns) and rows (horizontal lines). How you win depends on the specific format the game uses:
Paylines and Ways-to-Win
Traditional slots use paylines—fixed patterns that the game checks. If matching symbols land on these specific lines, you win. Other modern games use "Ways-to-Win," where matching symbols simply need to appear on adjacent reels from left to right, regardless of their vertical position on the row.
Cluster and Grid Slots
In cluster or grid-style games, there are no lines. Instead, the game looks for touching groups of matching symbols. If a group of the same symbol is connected horizontally or vertically, it forms a win, often causing the symbols to disappear and new ones to fall into place.
Special Symbols
Most games feature Wilds, which act as jokers to complete winning patterns, and Scatters, which usually trigger bonus features regardless of where they land on the screen. To see exactly which patterns pay and what the symbols do, always check the game's internal paytable.