Slots are among the most popular casino games. Players are drawn to them for their flashy appearance, simple game mechanics and generous winnings. Despite their wide popularity, researchers still struggle to understand what makes them so engaging. SG’s Mastropietro explains that the key to slot success lies in understanding how people play and what appeals to them. He adds that as the industry has evolved, so have game designers’ understanding of what attracts players to specific games.
To play a slot, you insert cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, a paper ticket with a barcode. The machine then spins reels, and if the symbols match a paytable payout, you earn credits based on the value of the winning combination. Modern slot machines use microprocessors to determine whether a spin is a win or a loss, and how much a player can expect to win if the machine lands on the right combination of symbols.
When a player presses the spin button, the random number generator (RNG) assigns a different probability to each symbol on each reel. This means that even though you may have seen two symbols line up, the third might have been a little closer to the payline than you think. In other words, your brain might perceive a near miss as a big disappointment when it really isn’t.
Fortunately, the PRP and force measures of reward reactivity did not correlate with any of the negative outcomes associated with gambling (PGSI or depression). Thus, these metrics provide a non-problematic route to slots enjoyment that is distinct from the pleasure attributable to dark flow.