Fruit Machines
When slot machines first came out, they were very simple devises that
basically were boxes with a lever, a slot for depositing coins, a slot for
the payout of coins and three reels with different symbols on them. The
symbols on the reels were very simplistic shapes and were often of different
fruit. For that reason, particularly in the UK, these slots became known as
fruit machines.
The machines have evolved a great deal since then, with the advent of video fruit machines, multi-line machines, progressive machines, and online machines. In the UK, however, all slot machines are commonly called fruit machines, even if there is no fruit on the machine at all.
Early fruit machines had only three reels and up to 10 symbols on each reel,
which meant that there were only 1,000 possible combinations and thus
couldn’t have very large jackpots, because even the rarest of events could
happen once every 1,000 spins. In later years, larger reels with smaller
symbols led to 22 symbols being used on the reels.
It was not until the 1980’s, however, that fruit machines took a giant step forward. At that time, fruit machines became more electronic and it was possible to weight the symbols, meaning to specifically make some symbols have better odds of appearing than others. That opened up the possibility for larger jackpots, since certain combinations could be made rarer.
As the fruit machines have become more computerized, they have gone away from actual reels. Instead, they use virtual reels that are shown spinning using graphic animation. It is not uncommon for virtual reels to have as many as 500 symbols per reel, making a greater number of available combinations and a higher jackpot.
The random number generator (RNG) has changed fruit machines more than any
other innovation. The RNG is a microcomputer located within the fruit
machine that constantly generates numbers, selecting combinations hundreds
of times per second, by using a complex algorithm. The RNG is used to ensure
that the fruit machine pays out the desired percentage over the life of its
use as well as to ensure that no player is able to predict the outcome of
playing the game.
Video fruit machines have given the game more variety, because they can now show animations, which make the bonus rounds in particular much more interesting. Video fruit machines have allowed the games to be themed after a wide variety of subjects, including popular TV shows and movies, sports, travel, current events and more. Certainly the games have come a long way from having drawings of bananas and grapes on the reels.
Many video fruit machines are multi-line games, where there are more than three reels and the players can choose how many paylines they want to play. Multi-line games pay more when a winning combination is hit, but betting on more lines also costs more money. In addition, fruit machines are sometimes progressive games, which means the game is linked to other fruit machines to share a jackpot. These games pay out far less often than traditional games, but compensate with a huge payout on the rare occasion that someone hits the jackpot.
With the advent of the internet, fruit machines have become more diverse and innovative than ever. It seems that with online fruit machines, almost anything is possible. There are an unlimited number of symbols and animations that can be used, the bonus rounds are more interactive, and the themes are more diverse. Online fruit machines are the most popular part of any online casino. The only real question is, what will be the next evolution of fruit machines?