Journal · 20 September 2026 · 6 min read

Reels, lines and symbols: a beginner’s guide

The basic grammar shared by most of the works in the collection.

If you have never played a reel game before, the screen can look busy. Almost all of it comes down to three ideas.

Reels

The columns of symbols are called reels, after the spinning drums of mechanical machines. Most games in the collection use five reels with three rows, but some use larger grids.

Lines

A line is a path across the reels, usually from left to right. When enough matching symbols land along a line, the round produces a result. Each game’s wall label page tells you how many lines it uses.

Symbols

Every game has its own set of symbols, drawn to match its world — butterflies and crystals in one, dragons and eggs in another. Many also include card ranks (A, K, Q, J) for the more frequent combinations. Special symbols such as wilds, which can stand in for others, and scatters, which open features, are explained in each game’s rules.

Bets and Play Credits

Each round uses an amount of fictional Play Credits that you choose from the game’s bet steps. Credits cannot be bought, transferred or exchanged for anything, and there are no prizes of value.

You can see every game’s symbols on its wall label page before you open it.

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