At one time most slot games contained just 3 reels and one payline. As with everything it seems games had to get larger and most of those you see now contain five reels. However, there are some out there that have 7 reels.

By reels of course we’re referring to the vertical boxes that move when you press the spin button. Introducing more reels reminds me of the days when I played bingo. I started playing with a couple of game boards at the fair or the seaside. Then I went to the local club and marvelled at players who were playing about 10 cards at the same time. I could never manage to do that, so how would I be able to keep up with everything that’s happening when I have 7 reels in a slot game to keep track of!

Those 7 reel slot machines that do exist try their hardest not to fall into that trap and try to be a bit different. For example, the ‘Lucky Sevens’ game by OpenBet features numbers rather than fruit, bells or any other particular theme. Underneath each reel is a number and you have to spin the reels and hope the numbers that come up match those pre-set digits.

‘I.R.I.S.3000’ from RTG has five reels for most of its play but 7 come into play if two or three coins are used. Playing the extra coins introduces a laser beam that attempts to open the closed doors (the previously unused reels).

Both of these games work not just  because they have two extra reels but because they are a bit different. There are so many slot games out there uniqueness is not always easy to find. The more a game can look different from others with unique features, the fact it has 7 rather than 3 or 5 reels isn’t the most important consideration.

The growth from three to five reels was an inevitable next move. The five reels games allow for bonus games to be played and more symbols. It seems a happy medium and that’s why there doesn’t appear to be that many 7 reel games. Some of the five reel games are already far too complicated so there’s always the possibility that adding more reels will simply make it even more difficult to understand thus putting players off choosing to play it.

The games can become more complex with 7 reels in play. That’s inevitable as the more reels you have the more possible combinations there are. If those extra reels are used to bring in more symbols then the paytable is going to become even larger, and you could scoop a massive payout.

It’s like a movie that just seems to have too much happening in it. Sometimes you can just have too much of a good thing. There are 7 reel games out there though and they can be entertaining to play.