While bonus offers and promotions may entice players, what keeps them connected to specific games? One big factor is the way they look; slot games can maintain or lose players simply by not using the right icons on their reels.
For that reason, many slot developers turn to nature for inspiration. But why is nature such a popular genre for slot games? Here’s a look at why developers choose them, and what the many icons symbolize.
Why Slot Developers Use Items from Nature
With so many items to choose from in nature, slot developers are spoilt for choice when coming up with new themes. For starters, flora and fauna make for some stunning slot reel icons. The recognizable images in an array of bright colors draw players to the games. Flowers, animals, mountains, and rivers are universal and cross-cultural; they’re familiar and on many occasions comforting.
Items from nature, like blooming flowers, shining stars, or fluttering butterflies, make for ideal scatter or bonus triggers as they can be animated to jump off the screen.
However, flowers, fruits, and animals aren’t just there for aesthetic appeal; they have more significant meanings. Here’s a look at what is used and why.
Slot Flower Choices and What They Mean
Slot creators carefully select flowers that will inspire players, especially if they’re aware of what each flower embodies.
Flowers for Wealth and Good Luck
These flowers are said to bring good luck to people who grow, buy, or gift them:
- Peonies: Used often in Chinese culture to symbolize wealth
- Orchids: Suggest good fortune is coming your way
- Jasmine: Encourages happiness, prosperity, and good luck
- Chrysanthemums: Linked with luck and providing positive and successful vibes
- Sunflowers: Promote positivity and good fortune; big flowers suggest big wins
Other Flowers That Appear on Slot Reels
Flowers aren’t only used to promote good luck—the following flowers appear on slot reels because of the other things they represent:
- Lotus: Used to channel positive vibes and bring success; very common in Asian-themed slots and often the first choice for scatter symbols
- Roses: Symbolize love, beauty, elegance, and celebration
- Daisies: Happiness and optimism are linked with a fresh start
- Cherry Blossoms: A popular icon in Japanese-themed slots, they’re primarily used to trigger features
Lotuses are commonly used for scatter bonuses, and cherry blossoms for feature triggers.
Flowers can be found on slot machines in many casinos around the world, as well as on some of the top PG Soft slot titles online. NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, and Play’n GO also draw heavily on floral themes.
Why Fruits Appear on Slot Reels
In the early 1900s, to bypass anti-gambling laws, slot machines of the day didn’t reward the player with money; the prizes were fruit-flavored chewing gum. Cherries, lemons, and oranges that appeared on the reels indicated what flavor you would win. These three fruits have become so iconic with slot games that they’re still seen today.
These commonly used fruits on slot machines are chosen for what they represent:
- Watermelon: Abundance, luck, and larger payouts
- Plums: Vitality and good health
- Grapes: Celebration and prosperity
- Apples: Good luck and long life
- Melons: Richness and good fortune
Fruits on slot machines serve three purposes. They symbolize where slots have evolved from, offer easy-to-read, bright icons, and have a deeper meaning surrounding luck and good fortune.
We still see fruits on many of today’s slot reels as they’re familiar and expected by players. The psychology behind using fruits is that players already know the images and aren’t being subjected to something new or different.
Animal Icons on Slot Reels
Nature doesn’t just mean flowers and fruits; the animal kingdom also features prominently on slot reels. While it depends on the animal, some have significant meanings.
Animals have ties back to mythology (another popular slots theme), so they provide draw cards for players interested in those types of games. In many cultures, animals are linked with luck and fortune. Here are some examples as they appear on slot reels:
- Panda: Signifies peace, love, and prosperity, and is widely used in Asian-themed slots
- Rabbit: Rabbit’s feet have been a sign of good luck for centuries
- Elephant: Power, wisdom, strength, and good fortune
- Dragons: Chinese-themed slots often use dragons, which represent strength and good fortune, mostly to trigger features
- Goldfish: Represent wealth and abundance
- Cats: Black cats are often associated with mystery, independence, and luck. The Maneki-neko (lucky cat) found on many Asian-themed slots appears as wilds or multipliers.
- Pig: Chinese-themed slots often use pigs as they signal luck and wealth
- Frogs: Appear on Feng Shui-themed slots and are most commonly used for triggers
Other Items from Nature That Appear on Slot Reels
Nature gives us a lot. Slot developers tap into many natural themes that inspire us and cleverly place them on their reels. The following images aren’t used randomly; they’re theme-building strategies used by savvy developers.
- Trees and Acorns: Forest-themed slots are popular, and trees symbolize growth and renewal, while acorns promote luck, power, and prosperity
- Jewels and Crystals: Treasure and fantasy-themed slots usually use jewels and precious metals to suggest luxury, wealth, and rarity
- Water Elements: Rivers, lakes, and droplets symbolize cleansing, new life, and hope.
- Celestial Bodies: Seen often in nighttime slot themes, they suggest magic, mystery, and good fortune; they are most commonly seen on high-payout reels
- Feathers and dreamcatchers: Used often in mystical or Native American-themed slots to signify freedom, hope, and a spiritual connection
- Horseshoes: Lucky horseshoes appear regularly as bonus or trigger symbols, bringing extra good luck
Next Time You Play a Slot Game
The slot games that you choose to play say a lot about you. Take a moment to look at the pictures on the reels. What is it about these icons that appeals to you? You may have subconsciously chosen a game with orchids on the reels as you predict good fortune is coming your way. If you see cherries and oranges, you may be feeling nostalgic for games of the past. Rabbits and horseshoes could signify that you’re feeling lucky and the next big win is only one more spin of the reels away.