Looking for high variance slots? You’re in the right place! For the thrill seekers and slot game players chasing down those massive wins and ready to take a gamble with some big money, on this page you will find our top 10 high variance games of all time, including some stone-cold classics. And further down the page, our list of the best high variance slot machines this year!

There are slots with low, medium, and high-risk levels in the game libraries of different providers. A player is more likely to receive a large amount playing on a slot with higher volatility since winning combinations are most often formed in it. Below you will find a brief description of three types of volatility.

1. Meaning & Function. Whenever there is money involved, there is an element of risk. And this is more pronounced in the world of gambling. Slots that offer less number of huge payouts are said to be highly volatile. You will come across Progressive Jackpots in these kinds of slots.
2. High Volatility Slots. Now we have come to the final slot type, and that is the high volatility slots, which means it will include a higher amount of risks. Some of the highest volatility slots available right now are Bonanza, Dead or Alive, White Rabbit, Extra Chilli, and White King, to name a few.

Want to know more about how variance affects gameplay? Check our guide to slot variance at the end of the list.

Best High Variance Slots of All Time

So here it is – The Slot Buzz list of the best high variance slots online ever created! This is all subjective of course, and everyone’s experience will be different. It’s a bit like choosing your top 10 albums of all time – everyone has their favourites!! But for now, here are ours.

1. Bonanza by Big Time Gaming

• 6 Reels
• Up to 7 Rows
• 117,649 Ways to Win
• Includes Free Spin, Multipliers and Re-Spins

Big Time Gaming have established themselves as the kings of the high variance slot in recent years. They are not as prolific as Netent, Microgaming or many other suppliers, but boy do they deliver! Their best games are driven by their Megaways™ game engine in which reels change in size with each spin, up to a maximum of 7 rows high to create 117,649 Ways To Win.

Bonanza is one of BTGs stand-out games. It has a notorious bonus round that requires four scatters spelling out G O L D to trigger it. Many frustrated slot fans has hit the forums asking where that missing ‘D’ has got to as they get so close, and yet so far to getting those free spins on so many occasions!

The bonus round comes with a basic 12 free spins for four scatters, and a further five for every extra scatter. There are also opportunities to get further spins when carts of gold bars stop above the reels on each spin in the bonus round.

And then there is the Rolling Reels affect! After each winning spin the winning symbols explode and are replaced by new ones until no winning combinations appear. And during free spins you get a multiplier value that increases by 1 for each consecutive win in the sequence. There is no upper limit to the multipliers – as long as winlines keep appearing, your multiplier keeps increasing. This is where the massive payouts stack up!

2. Immortal Romance by Microgaming

• 5 Reels
• 3 Rows
• 243 Paylines
• Wilds, Free Spins, Multipliers, Wild Reels

This is a stone-cold classic from 2011 and still popular with slots players to this day. Immortal Romance is a vampire-themed slot with 243 paylines and a really slick look and feel to it. The big wins can be found by unlocking the four free spins bonus rounds, one of which (Wild Desire) has particularly big potential. In this feature, at least one of the five reels will turn totally wild. In fact, it is possible to land five wild reels at this point. Elsewhere you will find wild symbols that come with a 2x multiplier and a free spins round with a 5x multiplier.

Fancy a spin on Immortal Romance? We recommend playing at another of our favourite Microgaming casinos, Voodoo Dreams.

3. Book of Dead by Play n Go

• 5 Reels
• 3 Rows
• 20 Paylines
• Free Spin, Wilds and Sticky Wilds

With a top win potential of £500,000 it’s no wonder that Book of Dead ranks as one of the best high variance Play n Go Slots. This little beauty has been on the lists of many UK slot sites since it’s release in 2016.

The gameplay is simple – it’s a 5 reel and 20 fixed payline game with a bonus round consisting of 10 free spins with re-triggers. And of course, there is the random expanding symbol, chosen at the start of the round. It can play a bit part in creating massive wins. Worth bearing in mind as well that Book of Dead delivers some serious wins in its top-paying symbols. The start of the show, Rich Wilde, himself gets you a whopping 5,000x for five in a payline.

If you want to take on Book of Dead Slot, try playing at top Play n Go casino, Voodoo Dreams

4. Dead or Alive by NetEnt

• 5 Reels
• 3 Rows
• 9 Paylines
• Free Spins, Re-Triggers, Wilds and Sticky Wilds

A real old classic from one of the biggest in the business. NetEnt’s Dead or Alive only really gets interesting when you hit the bonus round where wilds that land on the reels stick for the duration of your free spins … AND you get an additional FIVE free spins to enjoy too! Think about landing five wilds on a payline here and you’re looking at huge potential – well over 1,000x – and it is of course possible to land more than one wild line at a time.

This is typical high variance fare – very little to speak of until you hit one of those incredible lucky streaks where the wilds fall into place and your free spins keep ticking over!

Just approach with caution because these wins are rare.

5. Jurassic Park by Microgaming

• 5 Reels
• 3 Rows
• 243 Paylines
• Free Spins, Multipliers, Split Wilds, Wild Multipliers, Winning Wilds, Running Wilds

This game is based on the blockbuster Hollywood movie and comes with 243 ways to win across 5 reels. The game can be played from 30p up to £15 per spin, but the real fun comes in the T-Rex Alert mode feature. It comes with six spins during which 35 wild symbols are added to the reels – possible wins of 6000x here!!

In total Jurassic Park Slot comes with five free spins features, and each one is packed with mini-features of its own, including extra wilds, re-spins and multipliers. There is a Brachiosaurus free spins feature with four spins and up to 6x multipliers, and a Triceratops free spins feature which starts with stacked wilds three high with more wilds added to the stack with each spin, and stampedes of dinosaurs marauding across the screen turning entire reels wild and sticky!

This is a real beast of a game with lots of big win potential when you land the any of the free spins features. If you’d like to try it today, you can try at one of the best Microgaming slot sites, Voodoo Dreams.

6. 300 Shields by NextGen

• 5 Reels
• 3 Rows
• 25 Paylines
• Wilds, Free Spins, Multipliers

This is another classic high variance slot game that will be familiar to many players. It’s one of the most notorious games on the market and comes with a possible 300x multiplier in the free spins bonus round that can produce wins way above the 1,000x marker.

The objective of the game is pretty simple – it’s not packed with features like Jurassic Park by Microgaming or Pink Elephants by Thunderkick. No, this one if all about the Free Spins round and once you’re there, how many more spins and multipliers you can unlock.

Initially the game comes with 5 free spins which are given to you when you land three shield scatters on the reels with one spin. During your free spins you must land more shields, each time adding five more free spins to your cache, along with an increasing multiplier from 2x up to 300x.

For the Multipliers in the free spins round to be active, you must have a wild as part of your payline. Once you get into the higher multipliers, pretty much any 5 symbol winning line with a wild in it will be a killer win! Best case though would surely be a 5 wild line at 300x – that’s 12,000x! 1

300 Shields from NextGen is available to play at top NextGen Casino, Voodoo Dreams.

7. Pink Elephants by Thunderkick

• 6 Reels
• 4 Rows
• 4,096 Paylines
• Wilds, Free Spins, Re-Triggers

And now for something totally different! Pink Elephants by Thunderkick is a psychedelic take on WMS’ infamous Raging Rhino slot, and it’s one of our favourite high variance slot games of all time. Thunderkick slots are renowned for their kooky and off-the-wall graphic and animations. With Pink Elephants they’ve taken things even further. This game comes with 6 reels, 4 rows and 4,096 ways to win and is available from 10p up to £100 per spin.

The key to unlocking the secrets of this great game is the green peanut symbol – this is the scatter and three of them unlock 7 free spins. More scatters give you more spins, up to 19 spins from 6 scatters. And you can trigger further free spins in the bonus round with more scatters (6 scatters = 11 spins).

But what you’re really looking to do here is fill the meerkat meters (told you it was bonkers!) to the left of the screen. Every time a pink elephant with a glowing orb lands on the reels during free spins this create this adds another point on the next meter. When one is full then one of the lower value meerkat symbols on the reels transforms to a higher value elephant symbol, increasing your chances of bigger wins.

Its crazy and it’s also responsible for some of the best big win videos online.

8. Montezuma by WMS

• 5 Reels
• 3 Rows
• 30 Paylines
• Free Spins, Multipliers, Guaranteed Min. 10x Win in Bonus Round

Montezuma is a land-based casino slot from WMS that has been migrated into the online environment. It’s riches are locked into the bonus round which comes with free spins with unlimited re-triggers and multipliers of up to 10x.

The free spins round is initiated by three scatters, and a wheel spin is used to find out how many free spins you get – anything up to 25. There is also a wheel above the reels that comes into play during each Free Spins. It lands on a number that becomes the mutlipliers for any wins on that spin.

If you land 2 scatters during the free spins round then your multiplier gets fixed and you get an additional spin. The multipliers applies to any wins from any additional free spins from there on.

To get the biggest wins a player needs to land the 10x multiplier and keep getting re-triggers of the free spins all with the 10x. Then if a decent 5 symbols win line comes in, the payout can be massive and well in excess of 1,000x.

9. Casino Zeppelin by Yggdrasil

• 5 Reels
• 3 Rows
• Paylines
• Wilds, Wild Transfers, Free Spins

This game from another top-class provider that is less well known than NetEnt and Microgaming is capable of producing really big wins in excess of 1,000x through a combination of sticky wilds and free spins.

You also get a boost from the Wild Transfer feature in which any wilds that landed on the reels on the spin in which the bonus round was triggered are added to the reels for the whole free spins duration. These are also sticky.

Further, if you get five wilds landing on the reels during the bonus round then you get an extra five free spins. And what you’re really looking for is to land paylines with wilds in them.

This is a great looking slot game from Yggdrasil and highly recommended. You can play it today at Dunder Casino.

10. Pyramid Quest for Immortality Slot by NetEnt

• 5 Reels
• 5 Rows
• 720 Paylines
• Avalanche Reels, Multipliers, Wilds

Finally, let’s take a look at another NetEnt title, Pyramid Quest for Immortality. This game is built on an unusual reel set up, with 5 rows, narrowing to just one symbol width at the top.

Pyramid also uses the Gonzo’s Quest Avalanche feature to create an increasing multiplier value when you get successive wins. Meanwhile ‘Wild Generations’ is a feature where wilds are added to the reels if a win includes any of the symobols in the top rows of the reels.

The trick is to get lots of wilds generated whilst on a successive run of wins that pushes the multiplier up to 10x. A full screen of the highest paying symbol at a 10x could land a whopping 3,600,000 coin win! A decent win would be something like 2,000x on this game – but rememeber, with this high volatility they are rare and hard to come by!

To play Pyramid Quest for immortality, visit a NetEnt casino like Voodoo Dreams.

What Is Slot Variance?

In maths variance is a term that refers to how far from the mean or expected result something will deviate.

In gambling, variance or volatility is an indicator of the frequency and volume in which a slot game is likely to pay out. Low variance games typically generate small, regular payouts, whereas high variance games produce irregular but bigger payouts, with long lean spells of dry spins punctuated by big, blockbuster wins.

When choosing a game to play variance can help a player by showing the likely risk level. High variance games carry more risk because the payouts are less frequent and it is possible to burn through a bankroll before seeing any return.

When deciding on your next slot bear in mind then that the kind of games you want may therefore depend upon your preferred risk level – if you are prepared to spend money chasing down a massive win then high variance games are for you. If, however, you want to enjoy some less stressful gameplay, with smaller, more frequent wins, then low variance games should appeal to you.

In almost all cases, high variance slot machines are built with bonus rounds in which a combination of features like free spins, re-spins and re-triggers, multipliers, sticky and stacked wilds contrive to create moments of sheer adrenaline-pumping excitement as the win balance shoots through the roof. The payoff, of course, is that these moments are rare and generally follow a period where much money is wagered with little in the way of wins.

For this reason, high variance games are preferred by big gamblers and the slot streaming community where players are looking for the high levels of excitement that are produced when a lucrative bonus round is in play.

These games are not for the feint-hearted! But if you’re up for the challenge, they offer some of the most exciting online gambling anywhere!

How To Find High Variance Slot Machines At A Casino

Now you know what high variance means, how do you find these games at an online casino? Well, you already have our list of the latest titles this year, and in our opinion, the best games of all time, on this page. But did you know that you can also easily track down high variance games by using the menu filters at your favourite slot sites. Most casinos have now developed handy menu systems to help you search though their vast catalogues. Just choose ‘high variance’ from the option list in the drop down, then hit SEARCH to bring up a list of every high variance slot available.

High Variance Slots – The Final Word

This selection of high variance slot machine games is only a drop in the ocean of what is available for casino players right now. There are lots of slots to choose from, and more new slot games on release every month that have high volatility – check out our new slot games page for regular updates.

The important thing to remember when playing these games is to adjust your mentality and stake to suit them. You will most likely need to play with smaller stakes than you normally would if you want to make your bankroll last. Games like Dead or Alive and 300 Shields can eat through a £50 budget at 50p a spin in no time, so choose to play at the lower end of the scale if that’s what you’re playing with.

But above all, game responsibly, and have fun! Good luck!

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The biggest trend in online gaming involves highly volatile slots. I often see reviews praising a game that features a 9/10 or 10/10 volatility rating.

I’m not quite sure when high volatility became a universally great thing. The gaming experts and players have apparently spoken, though.

Why is insane volatility the “in” thing these days? I’ll discuss more on volatile slots along with why players love them.

How Does Volatility Impact Slots?

Volatility impacts real money online slots in a few key ways. You should know what you’re getting into before choosing the most-volatile games.

Affects Hit Frequency

Hit frequency refers to how often you can expect to win per round. Some developers actually provide a figure in the info section, such as 25% hit frequency.

Higher win frequency will lead to more overall payouts in a session. Depending upon the type of player you are, you may enjoy winning over and over again.

Volatile slot machines don’t usually offer high hit frequency. A game with a 9/10 or 10/10 rating doesn’t typically see you win more than 20% of the time.

Alters Bankroll Management Strategies

You should always have a set budget that you’re willing to play slots with. A budget, or bankroll, helps ensure that you don’t risk money you can’t afford to lose.

In following responsible bankroll management, you can only bet so much in one session or series of sessions.

Highly volatile slots make it difficult to stretch your money further. You’ll either be dealing with a slot that offers low win frequency or doesn’t pay much when it does deliver wins.

You probably won’t feel the effects of these problems with a big bankroll. However, you normally won’t last long if you have a small roll.

Increases Big Win Potential

Here we come to the big payoff: volatile slots are more likely to deliver bonuses and huge wins. These games may not pay often, but they offer larger top prizes than the average game.

If you’re looking for jackpot-type payouts, then you’ll appreciate such slots. You may also trigger more features in these games too.

Why Do Players Love Volatile Slots?

Volatile games won’t hand out prizes left and right. But they do offer a few key benefits that make them extremely popular.

More Features

These days, slots players love lots of action. They want winning combinations exploding (a.k.a. avalanche), animations all over the place, and the potential for many features.

The latter refer to bonuses, such as free spins, respins, expanding wilds, and win multipliers. More available features can lead to bigger payouts and more overall excitement.

The most-volatile slots offer several features. You may even see multiple features in one bonus round too, such as free spins with avalanche, expanding wilds, and a win multiplier.

Bigger Wins

Slots players have been chasing big jackpots since the mid-1900s. Nothing has changed in this regard, because gamblers still like games with serious payout potential.

High volatility normally equates to a large maximum win. An explosive game can pay anywhere from 10,000x to 100,000x your stake (or more).

Of course, you may need to place higher bets to win serious money from these wins. But you’ll find the risk worth the reward if you ever do collect a 50,000x prize, for example.

More Winning Opportunities

Earlier, I mentioned that volatile games don’t usually offer high win frequency. They can, however, give you more opportunities to win in each round.

How is this the case, though? Here are some ways that volatile slots can offer more chances to win:

• Avalanche – Symbols from winning combinations vanish and new icons take their places.
• Expanding wild – Spreads wild symbols across an entire reel.
• Megaways – Can offer up to 117,649 ways to win (or more).
• More rows – Some games add additional rows (and ways) when certain conditions are met.

Nothing guarantees that these features will lead to high hit frequency. However, they increase the chances of you netting big wins in rounds.

Why Gamblers Should Be Wary of Volatile Games

Huge payouts and more action sound like a great combination in slots. However, you still need to be careful with these games due to the following reasons.

More Dry Spells

Nobody likes experiencing lengthy losing streaks. Unfortunately, volatile slots increase the odds of you going for long stretches without wins.

Even a Megaways slot with avalanche payouts may see you go several rounds without a single payout. You’ll typically find that 117,649 ways, or so, don’t mean much per round.

It helps when you have a big enough bankroll to survive dry spells. Even still, you won’t appreciate those periods when a volatile game fails to deliver a prize for several consecutive spins.

Your Bankroll Doesn’t Stretch as Far

I suggest waiting until you have a large bankroll before playing slots with 10/10 volatility ratings. Otherwise, you won’t get much play from your funds.

High volatility games present problems on one or both of the following fronts:

The first dilemma forces you to suffer through more dry spells. The second problem will see you rack up lots of nickel and dime payouts that don’t do much to cover your overall spin costs.

You may get lucky and stretch your $50 bankroll over the course of many sessions. More likely, though, you won’t get much play out of a small bankroll when dealing with volatile slots.

High Volatility Slots Meaning Gold

Most Wins Aren’t Life Changing

Extreme volatility doesn’t necessarily indicate life-changing money. A slot with a 20,000x maximum payout sounds enticing, but the win potential is relative to your bet size.

Best High Volatility Slots

Sure, you can risk $100 per spin and win $2 million with the maximum prize in this case. The key problem, though, is that you’re betting $100 each round.

What if you scale your wager back to $1, though? You can win $20,000 at the top range, which is a nice prize. However, you can only retire early with this amount when living in the poorest countries.

Why High Volatility Will Remain Popular in Gaming

You can see that slots with insane volatile aren’t entirely perfect. They don’t see you win often and may not even deliver the life-changing money that makes them worth the effort.

The downsides make me question why every slots reviewer acts like high volatility is such a great thing. Volatility isn’t a trait that every player appreciates.

Some gamblers don’t want to see their money vanish within minutes during a bad session. Instead, they’d like to stretch their $20 to $40 for 1-2 hours or longer.

Of course, games with high volatility aren’t popular due to their incredible risk. They’re popular because of what they bring to the table.

A volatile game normally includes several features, a big maximum payout, and more opportunities to win.

You probably aren’t actually going to win big when playing an online slot. However, you’ll appreciate when the potential to do so is there.

The features are what really drive the success of highly volatile slots. They ensure that you have chances to earn serious money and, at the very least, experience lots of action.

Most players are entertained by exploding payouts, expanding symbols, and unique bonuses. Therefore, they appreciate volatile slots that can deliver these elements.

Conclusion

I don’t think that slots reviewers should necessarily use high volatility as a defining point for quality slots. After all, more volatility creates more difficulty in managing your bankroll and winning at slots.

However, volatile games offer what modern slots players want. They feature the prospect of huge wins and several bonuses.

You’re simply going to experience more entertainment when playing these games. You’ll see a lot going on the screen at once due to the various features.

Of course, you still may not want to play a 10/10 volatility slot due to the high risk. But you might be comfortable with games that have an 8/10 rating, for example.