Payline Slots
A payline is a set path across the reels on which matching symbols pay. The paytable states how many lines a game uses and how wins are counted.
How paylines work
A payline is a predefined path across the reels, and a win forms when enough matching symbols land on that path. Most payline games count symbols from the leftmost reel, and the symbols must sit on consecutive reels along an active line. The paytable states the number of lines, the symbol values and the minimum count that pays, which is usually 3 of a kind.
Line counts vary widely between games. A classic layout carries 5, 10 or 20 lines, whilst larger grids can run to 50 lines or more. Where every line is active on every spin, the game is described as having fixed paylines. Some older designs let a player choose how many lines to play, and the stake then covers the selected lines only.
Each line win is settled separately, and wins on different lines are added together for the spin. Two rules are worth reading closely in any payline game. The first is whether wins pay left to right only, because a small number of games also pay right to left. The second is how the game treats Wild Symbols, which substitute for paying symbols along a line.
Paylines are one of two common line systems, and the other is Ways to Win. The difference is strict. A payline win needs symbols on the exact cells of a defined path, whilst a ways win accepts matching symbols anywhere on consecutive reels. Scatter Symbols sit outside both systems and pay by total count regardless of lines.
The line count on its own says nothing about how much a game returns. The return figure comes from the published RTP of the version on offer, and a player can find both numbers in the game rules before staking anything.