Wildz Casino owes its name to one of the most familiar symbols of all online casino games - plus a dash of wordplay.
It's therefore only fair we dedicate a whole section to the many different Wilds you're likely to encounter when firing up an online slot on our website.
Typically exclusive to slots, Wilds are especially lucrative and instrumental in boosting your earning potential.
Gone are the days when Wilds would simply serve one purpose: stepping in for other symbols in order to help you pull wins together. Nowadays their roles are multi-functional, and they have become far more than just a symbol substitute waiting to be called into action.
In no particular order, here are the most common types of Wild symbols..
In their rudimentary form, Regular Wilds are the most common type that you'll come across pretty much every time you spin an online slot. These symbols serve just the one purpose: that of symbol substitution.
Whenever they show up, Regular Wilds will take the place of existing regular symbols that have landed on the reels. If any Wilds contribute to a win, then you receive the exact same payout you would if the minimum number of matching symbols dropped organically without Wild assistance, before the game moves onto the next betting round.
There are no additional prizes in the offing for including regular Wild symbols in winning assortments.
Up next are Sticky Wilds, which are substantially more profitable than their Regular counterparts as they lock in place for the course of additional spins.
The most common scenario sees Sticky Wilds remain in position following successive winning spins or respins. In this instance, Sticky Wilds are only removed from play when an unsuccessful spin breaks up a winning sequence.
In free spins bonus rounds it's possible for Sticky Wilds to lock in place for the entire duration of the feature - the Wild West smash Dead or Alive 2 from NetEnt being an example. As you may well imagine, your return percentage rises massively whenever Wilds retain their positions for subsequent spins, and this is often where the real big wins can pocketed.
In rarer situations, you might find Sticky Wilds keep their place for a fixed number of spins. These are often labelled 'Countdown Wilds', and once their time is up, they vanish from play in readiness for the next spin.
Rarer still, Expanding Wilds do exactly what they promise: expand in size and usually cover entire reels whenever they land.
Even though Expanded Wilds may appear as one single symbol at full capacity, essentially, they represent each of the cells they cover. So, if you are playing a regular slot with 5 rows and 3 reels, an Expanding Wild would take a 1x5 form for more win opportunities if it drops during a spin. They're also known as Wild Reels in this scenario.
While most of these symbols expand whenever and wherever they land, sometimes it might be necessary to land Expanding Wilds in a specific reel or cell position.
Expanding Wild symbols can be found in myriad video slots such as Red Tiger Gaming's mythological thriller Legendary Excalibur, which evokes the spirit of King Arthur.
Similar to the previous variant, this is another type of Wild that holds its own special powers.
Spreading Wilds help you out by expanding horizontally across more than one reel, as opposed to vertically. They can spread to occupy two or more reels in any given spin, amplifying your win potential exponentially.
And since they are considered highly prized symbols, Spreading Wilds are far less commonplace than Regular or even Expanding Wilds. As such, the best place to find Spreading Wilds is via bonus rounds.
You've heard of Spreading Wilds, now let's move onto another intriguing Wild variant: the Walking Wild!
Despite sounding like some dark and mysterious TV show, rest assured Walking Wilds are there to assist you as one of the most lucrative symbol types available.
Walking symbols are capable of promenading across the reels in between spins to spice up your slot play, taking up new positions each time. They'll typically show up in the right farthest reel and make their way across the board one reel at a time, often walking off entirely once they reach the opposite end.
Although additional forms of Walking Wilds are possible, the above describes the most common type found at Wildz online slots.
Curious? Thunderkick creation Wild Heist at Peacock Manor and Relax Gaming's ode to Ancient Egypt, Ramses Revenge, are among the games that feature Walking Wilds at Wildz Casino.
As touched upon previously, Countdown Wilds only remain in play for a pre-determined number of spins or respins, so it's vital you maximise their value for the limited time they are part of the action. A Countdown Wild's remaining number of spins is often represented by a numeric overlay, visible as you spin away.
How long do Countdown Wilds remain active? The answer is: entirely at random, and what's more, the countdown timer usually can't be adjusted once it is set off.
That said, triggering certain conditions may reward you by increasing the time left on a countdown, although this is a rare occurrence.
If you're looking for a game that offers Countdown Wilds, hit up the exotically-flavoured Legend of the Golden Monkey powered by Yggdrasil.
Some titles even provide the opportunity to generate new Wild symbols for achieving winning combinations. One such game that adopts this unique mechanic is NetEnt's Finn and the Swirly Spin.
Here, one Regular Wild symbol is added into play whenever you make a winning assortment that does not feature any Wilds. The Wild enters the action only after that winning combo is removed from play, where it then takes up position for the following spin.
Games that apply grid-play are where you're most likely to find Wild Generation mechanics, offering up a fresh take on traditional slot play.
From time to time you might come across Wild symbols that serve a dual purpose. Such symbols, Combination Wilds, assume their regular role to step in for all regular symbols, while performing additional duties on top.
In games that possess a small number of paylines or limited paytable, it's not uncommon to encounter Wilds that act as both the symbol substitute and the Scatter, simultaneously. Where this is a feature of the gameplay, landing the minimum number of Wilds is now your ticket to Free Spins.
These games are ripe for Combination Symbols because including additional symbols in the paytable would reduce the RTP to a rate that is not deemed acceptable in this day and age. Therefore, handing Wilds an extra function is a smart way of providing additional value without tinkering with RTP to adverse effect.