Cluster Pays are the Hottest New Slots Trend
This year, we have seen plenty of exciting new slots come out, many of which feature a unique twist: cluster pays. This particular feature allows players to hit winning combinations in a different way to traditional slots, creating a completely new way for players to enjoy playing slots online.
How Do Cluster Pays Work?
Cluster Pays slots create winning combinations differently to traditional slots games, as there are no paylines. Normally, you have to land matching symbols on the same payline to hit a win, but this isn’t the case for Cluster slots. Instead, you just have to land a number of symbols in ground anywhere on the reels. As long as they are touching, you’ll win a prize.
This makes Cluster slots more affordable across the board. Most payline based slots calculate your total stake based on your line bet multiplied by the number of lines that the game has. In games with 50 or 100 paylines, this can add up quite quickly, putting these games out of reach for players who have smaller budgets. With Cluster slots, bets normally start at 20p, giving you hundreds of ways to win with just a small stake.
Cluster Slots History
Cluster slots have actually been around in the gaming market for a while, but they have only just become a trend. The first game to use this format was OpenBet’s Chain Reactors slot which was released in 2013. A sequel, Chain Reactors Super Trails, was launched afterwards – but we didn’t hear much about Cluster slots for a while.

Chain Reactors - one of the earliest cluster slots games.
2016 was the next time we’d see a new Cluster slot, with the release of NetEnt’s Aloha: Cluster Pays game. Thanks to the game’s fun theme and generous bonuses, it was a huge hit and NetEnt decided to create several other games with the same format: Legends of Shangri La Cluster Pays, Lost Relics and Berry Burst.
There are plenty more Cluster slots that have emerged recently with a wide range of themes and bonus features. So, if you enjoy this particular format, then you should certainly have a look at these Cluster slots from various developers:
- Astro Legends
- Gemix
- Giovanni’s Gems
- Twin Spin: Deluxe
- Pixel Samurai
- Moon Princess
Why Play Cluster Slots?
We understand that it might be a bit daunting. After all, it’s your money at stake and might want to stick to the games that you already know and love. However, there are some great benefits to playing Cluster slots games that can definitely make for a more fun and lucrative gaming session.

The top-paying cluster slots available on the web today.
Firstly, you’ll find that most Cluster slots have cascading or free falling reels. This means that whenever a winning combination is made, the winning symbols disappear and new symbols fall into their places to make way for more wins. As such, players can trigger multiple, consecutive wins on the same bet. This is often paired with increasing multipliers that grow every time the reels cascade.
Another major benefit of Cluster slots is that you can hit more than 5-of-a-kind winning combinations. It all depends on the number of symbol positions there are on the reels. So, for example, a game that takes place on a 5x5 grid would provide you with the chance to earn a 25-of-a-kind-prize!