Contents and Quick Navigation Menu
About Cluster Pays Slots
There are many different formats of online slot from classic 3-reelers to multi line games and Megaways™ slots with expanding reels. Another format that has become increasingly popular in the last decade is the Cluster Pays game. They are an exciting alternative to the traditional slot format we all know and love where payouts are collected when matching symbols land adjacent to one another on an active payline.
In Cluster Pays the action normally plays out on a grid (usually 5×5 or 7×7) and the symbols tumble down the gaming screen at the start of each ‘spin’ or ‘drop’. Wins are triggered when a cluster of symbols is formed – that is a group of identical icons that land on adjacent positions horizontally or vertically touching. As in standard slots, different symbols have different values but ultimately the bigger the cluster of symbols, the bigger your prize!
Cluster Pays games are also known as grid slots. The first famous Cluster Pays was Aloha! Cluster Pays, a tiki-themed game designed by NetEnt. Since then, hundreds more have been released onto the market and slot sites in the UK are packed with them.
As well as the Cluster Pays mechanic these slots typically include other features like Cascading Wins, Free Spins and Multipliers. In this article we have put together a list of our 10 favourite Cluster Pays slots with mini reviews to tell you how they work. You can find them at pretty much all the casinos reviewed on our site.
Why Play Cluster Pays Slots?
Before we get into our top 10, here are some of the pros and cons of Cluster Pays slots.
Pros of the Cluster Pays Slot
- More frequent wins as Clusters form more easily than paylines wins
- Chance to build HUGE clusters of 20+ icons for big, exciting wins
- Usually come with Cascading Wins feature giving the chance for more than one win per spin
- Often feature-packed for more compelling gameplay – check out Reactoonz and Jammin Jars for good examples
- Some high variance classics our Cluster Pays slots with HUGE potential
- Some include level-up features where players can earn better payout potential by collecting symbols
Cons of the Cluster Pays Slot
- It may take some time to get used to the Cluster Pays model
- High variance Cluster Pays games may be too risky for some players
- There are no progressive jackpot Cluster Pays games
- There are less to choose from – not every slot provider has created a Cluster Pays game
Best Cluster Pays Slots
Now you know a bit more about Cluster Pays slots here are the top 10 as chosen by our team of writers.
Aloha! Cluster Pays by NetEnt
Recommended For: Great entry point for Cluster Pays first-timers and low variance fans
Aloha! Cluster Pays is the vibrant and colourful slot that started the Cluster Pays phenomenon back in 2016.
In this game NetEnt transports players to Hawaii on a 6×5 gaming screen with symbols including tribal masks, flowers, tropical fruits and shells. A Tiki statue stands to the side of the screen, while lush green grass, palm trees and a smoking volcano appear against a pink and yellow sky. As well as the cluster format this vibrant slot includes additional special features, such as Re-spins with Sticky Wilds and up to 12 Free Spins, during which the low value symbols are removed from the gaming screen to enhance payouts.
The red Tiki mask is the top symbol to land in this slot with a cluster of 30 awarding 10,000x your bet. The 96.42% RTP is average, while volatility is low, so you can expect plenty of frequent small payouts to top up your bankroll.
Don your grass skirt and get ready to enjoy the original Cluster Pays slot.
Jammin Jars by Push Gaming
Recommended For: High Variance slots fanatics who enjoy awesome Progressive Multiplier wins
Push Gaming have proved to be one of the best exponents of the Cluster Pays and Grid Slot format and this is one of their most popular.
Jammin’ Jars is a neon-bright slot with a music theme, played on an 8×8 grid and featuring fruits and colourful jars. You need to land 5 or more symbols in a cluster to trigger a payout.
The strawberries are the best-paying symbols, awarding 1x stake for a cluster of 5 and 100x stake for a cluster of 25+ symbols.
Special features in Jammin Jars include Wilds, Progressive Multipliers, Free Games and Rainbow Feature. The latter is triggered at random after a non-winning cascade, starting a rainbow animation that takes over the board and adds giant fruits to the screen. Whenever a Wild Jam Jar contributes to a winning cluster, it increases the Progressive Multiplier by 1x.
Jammin’ Jars has an average RTP of 96.83% and its high volatility creates risky gameplay, but the max win of 10,000x stake will be tempting to all Cluster Pays fans.
Sweet Bonanza by Pragmatic Play
Recommended For: Sweet-toothed slots fans who enjoy high payout potential
Sweet Bonanza is a sweet-themed slot with tasty treats on the gaming board.
You’ll find the 6×5 grid filled with heart-shaped, square and hexagon candies, along with bananas, apples, watermelons and grapes. The background is designed to look like a landscape of desserts with swirls of meringue, sugar-glazed doughnuts, chocolates and ice cream cones. Fluffy clouds float past in a clear blue sky to add to the cheerful imagery.
This is a fantasy world for sweet fans! Special features here include Sugar Bomb Multipliers going up to 100x, while Lollipop Scatters can trigger up to 10 Free Spins.
An optimum RTP of 96.6% and a medium to high volatility rating makes this slot risky but playable, while the 21,100x stake top prize is a strong temptation beyond the scrumptious visuals.
Golden Glyph by Quickspin
Recommended For: Egyptian slot fans who like progressive multipliers, power-ups and Wilds
Golden Glyph is an ancient Egyptian themed game played on a 7×7 golden grid, packed with exotic symbols, such as Cleopatra, Tutankhamun and the Egyptian god Horus, who appears in the form of a falcon. There are also water, eye and snake hieroglyphs, along with an Ankh symbol. The best-paying symbol here is Horus who can award up to 250x stake for a 25-symbol cluster.
Special features include 4 types of Power-Ups which can trigger Free Spins and extra Wild symbols. The Golden Glyph Wild introduces a Progressive Multiplier, which can go as high as 99x and could potentially lead to the 13,195x stake top prize. The Wild can also move location on every spin, staying sticky for a new cascade if it contributes to a win.
The average 96.19% RTP combines with medium volatility to create a slot with a good balance of bets to rewards. You’ll find the base game set alongside the pyramids, while Free Games transports you to the heavenly clouds. Golden Glyph is one of Quickspin’s star slots – check out the glittering action and be enthralled.
Honey Rush by Play n Go
Recommended For: Those who like alternative-looking slots and intricate features and multiplier wilds
Honey Rush is a bee-themed slot with a hexagon-shaped gaming board. This interesting screen shape creates a 4,5,6,7,6,5,4 layout of symbols with 37 in total. You’ll find flowers, diamonds and coins on the grid, along with a host of special features, including the Rush Meter, which adds together the totals for winning symbols, along with Multiplier Wilds, Sticky Wilds and the Colony feature. The latter activates the Worker, Drone or Queen Colony at various levels of the Rush Meter to ensure large clusters and bigger payouts.
Honey Rush has an average 96.54% RTP but the high volatility means this is best suited to higher rollers. The 9,000x stake top prize could be yours if you manage to land the best Multipliers and reach the top level of the Rush Meter.
This is a honey sweet Cluster Pays slot with intriguing features and a bee-stinging design.
Shangri La by NetEnt
Recommmended For: Those who like tranquil vibes and medium variance gameplay
Shangri-La is a gentle slot with a Japanese theme and a friendly red panda monk guarding the gaming grid. The 6×5 screen is filled with koi fish, dragon flies, butterflies and cherry blossom, along with Hindu gods in the form of tigers, moneys and elephants. You need to find clusters of 9 symbols or more to receive a payout. The background to the game is a tranquil green landscape with a cherry tree and waterfalls. The wise red panda monk stands to the side of the reels, swishing his magnificent tail and brandishing his staff.
Special features include Sticky Respins, Nudge Reel, Large Symbols, Random Substitutions and Free Spins round with randomly placed Wilds. The tiger god awards the top prize of 10,000x stake, while the standard 95.59% RTP and medium volatility keeps the gameplay well-balanced. If you love Japanese-inspired slots, this Cluster Pays option is a must-play. It’s also a great choice if you want to see a red panda in a monk outfit.
Star Clusters Mega Clusters by Big Time Gaming
Recommended For: Those who like high-risk action with Cascading Wins, Expanding Reels and Progressive Multipliers
Star Clusters Mega Clusters is a colourful slot with a futuristic vibe played on a 4×4 grid. Landing 5 matching gemstones, touching horizontally or vertically, results in a payout with every win causing a reaction. Each new reaction sees more symbols cascading onto the screen.
This game is the first slot to make use of the MegaClusters mechanic, which means winning clusters disappear to be replaced by 4 new smaller symbols to give multiple winning chances from a single reaction. Features are plentiful. The gold star Wild has a Progressive Multiplier, which increases by 1x on every Wild win. Free Spins are triggered whenever you hit 5 or more consecutive reactions with the grid expanding to 8×8 in size.
Highly volatile, this has an RTP of 96.54% and a max winning potential of 23,960x stake. One of the most powerful aspects of the game is the immersive soundtrack – listen with headphones to get the full effect.
Cluster Tumble by Relax Gaming
Recommended For: Fans of adventure slots, feature-packed action and big potential
Cluster Tumble by Relax Gaming is an adventure slot set in the Himalayas. We meet an explorer tasked with the mission of rescuing her husband, who has become lost in the wilderness. If you’re into explorer slots, such as the Kane series from Elk Studios and the Rich Wilde slots from Play n Go, you’ll be in for a treat here.
The unimaginative title hides a gem of a slot with plenty of features. This plays on an 8×8 grid, which includes some blocker tiles that can be removed by hitting winning clusters. The symbols include golden masks, crystals, scarabs and dragons, while features include Wilds, Lightning Wins, Fire Transform and Free Spins with unlimited Multipliers.
The best payout of 20,000x stake could be yours if you find the treasure hidden in these mountains. You’ll enjoy an average RTP of 96.4%, while the high volatility makes this best suited to higher rollers. Will you brave the challenge?
Cubes by Hacksaw Gaming
Recommended For: Retro slot fans who enjoy alternative styles and medium variance gameplay
Cubes is a retro-styled slot with intriguing gameplay. Instead of cascades or spin, the colourful squares jump off the 5×5 grid and land back down again to form a new pattern. The visuals are simple with an old-school, computer game quality. If you manage to connect 5 or more squares horizontally or vertically, the grid expands to 7×7 in size with multiple chain reactions increasing this up to 11×11.
The average RTP of 96.35% and medium volatility make this a highly playable game with a good balance of bets to payouts.
Special features include up to 22x Multipliers, Free Spins and Colour Blast Feature, which can boost your rewards during Free Spins. Cubes specialists can pocket a top prize of 3,167x stake for the biggest clusters.
If you love simple visuals and quirky gameplay with a retro vibe, this could be a great choice.
Reactoonz 2 by Play n Go
Recommended For: Fans of feature-packed gameplay, level-ups and quirky characters
Reactoonz 2 is the sequel to the massively popular Reactoonz from Play n Go and we again meet the cute and quirky space cartoon characters. These guys appear on a 7×7 grid for fun cascades with various special features enhancing gameplay, including Electric Wilds, Wild Pair Explosions and Quantumeter. Every winning cascade results in more aliens dropping down to fill in the gaps.
During gameplay, you’ll see a fluctuating character in the top right and if you hit a win featuring this little alien, you’ll activate an Electric Wild. These Wilds can charge the Quantumeter and potentially activate the Energoon and Gargantoon characters for bigger wins. It takes a while to understand the rules, as there are so many bonus features to keep track of, but the action and accompanying music always make it fun to watch!
The RTP is an average 96.2%, while the high volatility level brings some long lean spells, but hang on in there for up to 5,083x stake for the best cluster wins. Fancy spinning cascades of weird and wacky cyclops characters? We thought you would!
Conclusion – Fun Style and Entertaining Gameplay
Cluster Pays games aren’t just about this simple but effective mechanic. As you can see from our mini reviews these slots are packed with exciting features too, as well as offering a broad range of maths models from low to super-high variance, some with huge potential. So, if you are keen to check out the Cluster Pays mechanic, then we suggest you load up these games first for a great introduction to the style and format – they are all fun and entertaining as all slots should be!
Want more? Then check out our game review pages for the latest Cluster Pays and other slots.
New Game Reviews
- Power of Merlin Megaways - (Pragmatic Play)
- 3 Buzzing Wilds - (Pragmatic Play)
- Wisdom of Athena - (Pragmatic Play)
- Spellbinding Mystery - (Pragmatic Play)
- Hellvis Wild - (Pragmatic Play)
- Temple of Torment - (Hacksaw Gaming)
- Fear The Dark - (Hacksaw Gaming)
- Beast Below - (Hacksaw Gaming)
- Cursed Seas - (Hacksaw Gaming)
- Keep Em Cool - (Hacksaw Gaming)