The History of Oline Slot Symbols

Slot machines have undergone a lot of change over time. One of the most recognisable parts of any slot game is the symbols on its reels, but even those have evolved over the course of the last century.

There are some symbols that have stuck around from the earliest slot machine designs, while others have faded from use in favour of more modern theming elements. Today, we’re going to chart the history of some of the most recognisable symbols in online Slots and the evolution of the various symbols that have appeared on the reels.

Playing card suits

One of the oldest slot machine designs was made by Sittman and Pitt in 1891, though it isn’t credited with popularising the concept of slot games. In fact, their game was closer to video Poker than it is to classic Slots.

The five drums of the game featured 50 different playing card faces, representing almost an entire deck. When players pulled the lever to spin the reels, they were aiming to see whether they would get a valid Poker hand combination. The higher the value of any hand that landed, the higher the payout.

Even when Charles Fey released the Liberty Bell in 1895 – the more streamlined design that would go on to inspire countless others – he incorporated card symbols. Out of the five symbols that appeared on the Liberty Bell’s reels, three were playing card suits: hearts, diamonds and spades.

So, there’s no denying that playing card suits have been around as slot game symbols since the very start. But they have fallen out of vogue over time in favour of other symbols.

Fruits

Perhaps the most famous symbols associated with slot machines are fruit symbols. Slots are still commonly referred to as ‘fruit machines’ in various places, cementing the close connection between the two.

Fruit symbols made their debut on the reels of slot machines in the early 1900s. Some designers sought to separate themselves from the Liberty Bell, opting to replace its set of symbols with fruits instead. It was also driven by a need to distance slot machines from any connection to games like Poker in the United States.

Cherries, watermelons, lemons and oranges quickly became familiar sights on slot machine reels. Even now, many classic Slots will use fruit symbols as part of their retro theming to hark back to some of those early slot machine designs.

It was also here that the BAR symbol originated, designed to stand in for the logo of a chewing gum company. Even in slot games that don’t feature fruit symbols, the BAR still sometimes appears.

Bells and horseshoes

The other two symbols that appeared on the reels of the Liberty Bell were horseshoes and the bell itself. Both have cropped up on other slot games over the decades in combination with a variety of other symbols.

While a row of three Liberty Bells was originally the matching combination with the highest payout, it doesn’t have quite the same association in modern Slots.

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Modern slot games have far too many different symbols to count, thanks to the themed symbols many games use. Still, you can find retro fruits and bells on plenty of reels even today.