Slots that pay across a whole block of symbols instead of along lines. Five grid games from 6x5 to 8x8 compared, with cluster and pay-anywhere wins explained.
Wins Read Across the Whole Screen
A grid slot drops the idea of reels paying from left to right. Instead it fills a block of positions, 6×5, 7×7 or 8×8 on the games below, and checks the whole block for wins at once. A win is either a group of matching symbols that touch, called a cluster, or a set number of the same symbol anywhere on the screen.
Almost every grid game then removes the winning symbols and lets new ones fall into the gaps, so one spin can pay several times. That tumble is what most of their features build on.
Five Grid Games From 6×5 to 8×8
Sorted from the biggest grid to the smallest. Each studio’s default return is shown, and the game’s own help screen confirms the setting a casino runs.
| Game | Studio | Grid | How it pays | RTP | Max win | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jammin’ Jars | Push Gaming | 8×8 | Clusters of 5+ | 96.83% | 20,000x | High |
| Reactoonz | Play’n GO | 7×7 | Clusters of 5+ | 96.51% | 4,570x | High |
| Sugar Rush | Pragmatic Play | 7×7 | Clusters of 5+ | 96.50% | 5,000x | High |
| Sweet Bonanza | Pragmatic Play | 6×5 | 8+ anywhere | 96.48% | – | – |
| Aloha! Cluster Pays | NetEnt | 6×5 | Clusters | 96.42% | 700x | – |
Sweet Bonanza’s two dashes reflect sources that disagree on both its ceiling and its volatility. NetEnt leaves Aloha’s volatility field empty, though its 21% hit rate and 700x cap point to a gentle game.
Jammin’ Jars
Push Gaming’s 2018 fruit party has the largest grid here, 64 positions. The jam jar is both wild and scatter: it moves around the grid, and its multiplier rises by one with each cluster win on the spin. Three or more jars bring six free spins in which the jars stay on the grid, and a random Rainbow feature can add giant fruit after a losing spin. Push Gaming’s top setting is 96.83%, and the ceiling is close to 20,000x.
Reactoonz
Groups of five or more aliens burst on the 7×7 grid, and every one that clears charges a meter. The meter’s sections release features that change the grid, and a full meter calls in the giant Gargantoon wild. Its 96.51% default and 4,570x ceiling come with no free spins at all. Our Reactoonz guide explains each Quantum feature, and more cosmic games are on our space slots page.
Sugar Rush
Here the grid itself remembers. A spot that is part of a win is marked, and the next win on that spot gives it a multiplier that keeps doubling up to 128x. In the free spins nothing is cleared until the round ends, which is how the 5,000x top win becomes reachable. Pragmatic Play lists 96.50%. Our Sugar Rush guide covers the bonus in detail.
Sweet Bonanza
The smallest grid here pays without any need for symbols to touch: eight matching sweets anywhere on the 30 positions are enough. Its multiplier bombs only appear in the free spins. Pragmatic Play lists 96.48%. Our Sweet Bonanza guide has more, and other sugary games are on our sweets and candy slots page.
Aloha! Cluster Pays
One of the earliest cluster games, NetEnt’s 2016 island slot is the calm option on a grid. A cluster win can bring a respin with the winning symbols held, and its free spins strip out the low-paying symbols. NetEnt lists a 96.42% return and a win on 21% of spins.
Anywhere or Touching: Two Ways a Grid Pays
On a pay-anywhere grid such as Sweet Bonanza, position does not matter at all; the game only counts how many of each symbol are showing. On a cluster grid, the same symbols scattered across the screen pay nothing unless they join up into one group.
That changes what a near miss looks like. On a cluster game, a single tumble that connects two small groups can turn a dead spin into a win. More games of each kind are on our cluster pays slots and cascading slots pages.
Bigger Grids, Longer Chains
A 6×5 grid holds 30 symbols, a 7×7 grid 49 and an 8×8 grid 64. The more positions there are, the more symbols drop in after each win and the more chances a tumble has to form another cluster, which is why the big grids lean on features that grow during a chain, from Sugar Rush’s marked spots to the climbing jars in Jammin’ Jars.
Jammin’ Jars, Reactoonz and Sugar Rush are all high volatility, and none of the five sells a bonus buy in Great Britain, so the free spins come only from scatters landing in normal play. The 6×5 and 7×7 layouts are covered on our 6 reel slots and 7 reel slots pages.
Jammin’ Jars at Its Two Settings
Push Gaming offers Jammin’ Jars to casinos at 96.83% or 94.25%. Over 600 spins at £1, the higher setting costs about £19 an hour on average and the lower one about £35.
At the £5 limit for players aged 25 and over, that is about £95 against £173 an hour, and at the £2 limit for those aged 18 to 24, about £38 against £69. The grid and the jars look the same on both versions, so the help screen is the only way to know.
