Today almost all video slot games offer a bonus feature known as free spins or free games. You will be offered a number of spins of the slot machine for which no bet amount will be taken from your balance, but the accruing payouts will be credited to your account. With new slot games being released almost every day, there is now a fair ingenuity and diversity in the free spins feature offered.

The first issue is of how the free spins are awarded. The simplest and most common method by far is landing three or more of the designated scatter symbol anywhere on the reels. In some video slots the free spins are triggered when an event takes place a specified number of times. For example, every time a special symbol appears on the reels it is collected in some manner. When you collect the required number of such symbols then the free spins are triggered.

The second issue is of the number of free spins awarded and the payout multiplier. Most free spins features have the payouts multiplied by a designated value. In the simplest form the number of free spins and the payout multiplier are directly specified. In some cases, the number of free spins awarded increases with the number of scatter symbols in the triggering spin. To make matters more interesting, players may be asked to pick objects on the second screen which randomly determines the free spins parameters. Finally, you may be offered a number of options and can pick the one you want. There will be more free spins with a low multiplier at one end, which is a conservative option. At the other end there is an aggressive option that offers fewer free spins but with a higher multiplier.

Over the years some free spins features in video slots have stood out. Here is a look at one of the best. Scrooge from Microgaming is a video slot based on the Dickens novel A Christmas Carol. Whenever you hit a winning combination you choose any of the winning symbols. The chosen symbol will randomly initiate one of two actions. It may add one future free spin to the counter or advance the date on the countdown calendar. When the date in the calendar reaches December 25 the free spins feature is triggered. The number of free spins awarded is the number in the counter. The payouts are doubled during free spins. The excitement lies with getting more free spins or getting them soon.