If you are an online slot fan, you know all about the cascading mechanic, also known as tumbling reels, the avalanche one, or cascading reels. It is a gameplay system where winning tokens get removed following a win, allowing space for novel tokens to show up on the grid on the same spin, for a new shot at prize collection.
As far as we know, NetEnt’s Gonzo’s Quest was the first title to incorporate this engine, or at least it popularized it on a global scale. Today, these games are fairly common, and their appeal lies in their interactive and rewarding nature. Below, we rank what we consider the best and most-played slots with this gameplay.
10. Jammin’ Jars
We kick off our list with one of Push Gaming’s most famous titles ever, Jammin’ Jars, a playful fruit-disco-themed slot with loads of dynamic energy. Its cascading mechanic plays out on an 8×8 cluster-pay grid where wins happen when five or more matching fruit symbols connect horizontally or vertically. Know that here, Jam Jar Wilds move and increase multipliers with each cascade.
Released in September 2018, from a fan perspective, this is a standout Push Gaming title on account of its blend of innovative mechanics with a lighthearted aesthetic. Its success spawned a sequel, but the original retains its legendary status, as a 96.83% RTP release with super high variance, and a max win of x20,000, enhanced with a free spin bonus with sticky multiplier wilds and a Rainbow Feature that adds mega tokens.
9. Candy Blast
Here we have another Push release, one that employs a Pay Anywhere system on a 6×5 grid. In this cascading product, rewards get awarded when eight or more matching candy symbols land anywhere. A Total Multiplier doubles with each winning cascade, resetting after non-winning tumbles, while symbols like Multiplier Boost and Extra Life enhance chain reactions.
The RTP here ranges from 96.34% to 85.43%, but the variance remains high everywhere, and the top win in this game with a free spin mode that features multipliers is x10,000.
8. Finn and The Candy Spin
Finn and The Candy Spin is a NetEnt sequel to Finn and the Swirly Spin, which uses a unique Swirly Spin mechanic on a 5×5 grid. Here, symbols spiral inward from the bottom left to the center. Wins form when three or more matching tokens align horizontally/vertically, triggering an Avalanche/cascade. The spiral cascade gets paired with wilds that explode adjacent symbols.
You can find this game with RTP settings from 88.62% to 96.62%, low-to-medium variance, and a modest top prize of x336.
7. Reactoonz
This is probably one of Play’n GO’s most renowned games. It operates on a 7×7 grid with cluster pays and cascades. Yet, we would say that the true attraction of this spinner lies in features like Giantoonz (2×2 symbols) and Quantum modifiers that amplify cascades with extra Wilds and symbol transformations.
The game-high prize here is x4,570, the variance is extremely high, and this game comes in multiple RTP versions from 96.51% to 84.51%.
6. Tome of Madness
Rich Wilde is one of the online gambling sphere’s most recognizable characters, and in Tome of Madness, he is locked in a Lovecraftian romp where he is searching for treasures on a 5×5 cluster-pay grid where winning clusters explode, and the remaining ones cascade down with new ones filling the empty spots above.
The gameplay here heavily relies on a Portal Meter, triggering modifiers and the bonus round. Appearing online in 2019, this high-variance spinner with a default RTP of 96.59% can supply rewards up to x2,000 thanks to modes like Eye Marks, Portal Effects, and the Other World Free Round with a Mega Wild to leverage cascades.
5. Animal Madness
Here is another Play’n GO online cluster-pay slot with cascades, one that we talked about in our farm-themed slot guide. Here, consecutive cascades feed a sunflower meter, triggering wild modifiers. While not as iconic as Reactoonz, this 96.2% RTP animal title with a max exposure setting of x2,250 is super fun and should appeal to anyone in the market for lighthearted, volatile fun.
4. Sugar Rush
When it comes to candy-themed slots, Sweet Bonanza and Sugar Rush dominate this sub-genre. The latter uses a 7×7 cluster-pays grid, with Tumble Wins where winning spots become multiplier positions, doubling with each cascade.
We would say that Sugar Rush rides the wave of Sweet Bonanza’s success. Its high variance gets paired with RTP ranges from 96.50% to 94.50%, and a max win of x5,000.
3. Buffalo King Megaways
Featuring a six-reel setup with two to seven rows and a top horizontal reel, Buffalo King Megaways offers up to 200,704 ways to win. The cascading reels here get complemented with a free spin bonus, multiplier wilds that elevate the cascading action, and an ante bet feature. The most standard RTP variant you can find Buffalo King Megaways in by Pragmatic Play is 96.52%, and its top prize of x5,000 gets fused with a high variance math model.
2. Sweet Bonanza
Our runner-up is a game we mentioned above. It is a 6×5 slot that implements the Pay Anywhere system and has Pragmatic Play’s version of cascades called tumbles. Multipliers in this sugary title go up to x100 in the free spin round, and the variance in this high-charting candy-themed game is medium-high, surprisingly, while its RTP can be anywhere from 96.5% to 89%. The max win is constant everywhere at x21,100.
1. Gates of Olympus
For our top pick, we are going with Pragmatic’s Gates of Olympus, primarily because this is one of the company’s biggest hits and a game that just won’t go away from the charts. It keeps ranking in the top ten in multiplier markets and does not seem to be losing steam any time soon. It has a 6×5 Pay Anywhere grid with Tumbles and multipliers up to x500 that appear at random, summing up at the end of tumbles.
Without question, this game showcases Pragmatic Play’s knack for refining successful formulas—meaning the one already in play in Sweet Bonanza – and it has similar options/aspects to loads of other Pragmatic spinners like the ante bet feature, high variance, a max win of x5,000, a bonus buy button available for x100, and a ranging RTP (from 96.5% to 94.5%).
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