Cascades explained: falling symbols and rising multipliers
On cascade machines, winning symbols vanish and new ones drop in, with a multiplier that steps from x1 to x5.
The idea behind a cascade
On most slot machines, each spin is a single event: the reels stop, any wins are paid and the next spin starts from scratch. Cascade machines add a second act. When a spin lands a winning combination, the symbols that formed it disappear. The symbols above fall down to fill the gaps, and new symbols drop in from the top.
If the new arrangement contains another winning combination, that one vanishes too and the process repeats. A single spin can therefore produce a short chain of wins before the board settles.
How the cascade multiplier steps up
Cascade machines on Orbitpop use a multiplier that grows as a chain continues. It runs through four steps: x1, x2, x3 and x5.
- The first win in a spin is paid at x1.
- If a new win forms after the symbols fall, the multiplier moves to x2.
- Another win in the same chain moves it to x3.
- The next step is x5.
- When no new win forms, the chain ends and the multiplier goes back to x1 for the next spin.
Watch the multiplier display beside the reels during a chain. It is the quickest way to see which step each win is paid at.
Because the multiplier only climbs within a chain, it never builds up across separate spins. Every new spin starts the multiplier at x1 again, however the previous spin went.
What cascades do not change
Cascades make spins more eventful, but they do not tilt the results. Whether the first win happens, and whether new symbols happen to form another one, is decided at random by your browser's random number generator. Long chains are uncommon simply because each extra step needs another lucky fall.
Each spin is also independent of the last. A long chain does not make the next spin more or less likely to cascade, and a run of quiet spins does not mean a chain is due.
Seeing it before you play
Every Orbitpop machine has a free animated Preview, and cascade machines are especially worth previewing because the mechanic is easier to understand when you see it. The Preview uses no play coins and needs no account. You can also read the paytable to see which symbols take part and how wins are counted.
Reading the measured figures
If a cascade machine's information screen shows a return or hit-rate figure, it was measured by running that machine's own code for millions of spins. Those numbers summarise the long run across all those spins. They are useful for understanding the machine's general character, but they do not predict any particular spin, and they have nothing to say about real-money gambling. Play coins have no value, and the falling symbols are there to be enjoyed.