Guide to Connect & Collect Games for 2026

Two things make creating a new casino game feature so challenging. Firstly, with the amount of money spent gambling each year, players are creatures of habit, gravitating towards what is known and understood, as it gives a feeling of control and lowers risk.

The second is that the online casino sector attracts some of the world’s best and brightest in technology and creative thinking. This reality has led to an industry that is already pushing the boundaries of what gaming and its underlying platforms allow.

This makes the development of the Connect & Collect that much more impressive, as it required the teams at Wild Streak Gaming and Atomic Slot Lab to surrender their confirmation bias and ego to see a new way in which video slots could work.

The Connect & Collect feature allows a slot game to incorporate any bonus feature (new and future developments) and any fixed or progressive jackpots. The only requirement is that the video slots intended to host the features are developed on a 5-reel 6-row framework - from there, simply connecting a series of special symbols means any jackpot or mini-game the developer has in mind can be activated with ease.

Connect & Collect symbols across adjacent rows to a feature symbol, and that feature is triggered. Do not let its simplicity deny its genius, seeing a simpler, better approach is often the most challenging perspective shift one can make - here are the details of what is required to bring this feature together.

Custom Slot Layout:

Where the most common reel layout in the slots category is 5-reels and 3-rows, Bragg Games' new feature requires that the host slot machine be designed with a 6-reel and 5-row layout. This is because bonus features and jackpots are not triggered by collecting 3 to 5 Scatter or Bonus symbols, but rather by connecting predetermined symbols in adjacent rows.

The lack of fixed paylines means the slot then features up to 1,875 ways to win and makes tracking potential wins easy, as there is no need to learn a variety of fixed paylines. These symbols need only attach themselves to highlighted spots on the reels to activate the feature represented in that location. 

Special Positions on the Reels

The special spots on the reels, which need to be reached to activate a bonus feature or jackpot, are the top and bottom spots on reel 3 and the entire 6th reel. However, these spots are not static but rather act as a standalone mini-reel set where the only symbols that rotate are those for the features offered in the casino game.

The base reels are then effectively 5-5-3-5-5. Here, the player will find all traditional paying symbols, Wilds, and the custom Connect & Collect symbols, which are the only ones that can trigger an instant cash payout, free spins, or even a high-value progressive jackpot!

Whenever the reels are spun, the base game symbols will spin on the non-special spots, while bonus feature symbols will spin in the special spots, creating an incredibly exciting experience, spin after spin.

Quick Collect Symbols:

Chaining the Connect & Collect symbols across the reels and attaching them to the symbols on reel 6 is less likely than reaching reel 3, so the game boasts more high-value features on the far right. However, to keep winnings flowing, the spots at the top and bottom of reel 3 are more likely to host Collect symbols.

These symbols bear instant cash value, which means you can collect a series of cash bonuses worth up to 160x your bet in quick succession.

One of the features which has become increasingly popular with slot fans around the world is the Bonus Buy option. This feature allows you to instantly access high-value features like Free Spins by paying a fee. Based on the feature's maximum payout potential, this fee ranges from 80x to 250x your current bet. Despite offering a unique bonus feature activation path, the developers recognise the value players put on this instant gratification and have included Bonus Buy mechanics as part of its function!

Great news! You don’t have to wait to try out this game-changing feature as it is live on several slots. The best example we’ve playtested has been the Greek-mythology inspired slot, Almighty Pegasus Connect & Collect. 

Connect & Collect Reels & Layout:

As you can see below, the Almighty Pegasus slot features the required 6-reel. 5-row layout. We have highlighted the special spots where bonus feature, cash, and jackpot symbols will appear - creating the unique 5-5-3-5-5 reels set for paying, wild, and Connect & Collect symbols.

How to Create Valuable Symbol Collections:

To keep the game variance at medium, rather than high or very high, which most slots with access to a wide range of features and jackpots tend towards, the developers did away with fixed paylines. Chaining Connect & Collect symbols and linking them to a special feature symbol only requires them to appear on adjacent reels.

Not only does this help keep the volatility down, but it also makes it easier to be awarded winning base game symbol collections by boosting the way to win to an incredible 1875.

Fantastic Collection of Bonus Features:

The development team included five special features and a three-tier fixed jackpot to elevate the entertainment value of Almighty Pegasus Connect & Collect.

Here are the features you can trigger:

1. Bonus Wilds: This feature adds up to 18 bonus Wild symbols to the reels.
2. Free Games: Activating this feature will award up to 25 free spins with boosted payouts.
3. Respins: Connecting to a Respin symbol triggers five free respins of the reels, with all Connect & Collect symbols locked in place.
4. Cash Coins: The coin symbols will contain random multipliers of up to 160x bet.
5. Random Drops: There is a chance for random numbers of Connect & Collect, Wild, and Pegasus symbols to be added to the reels.

A big ticket item is the fixed jackpot. Depending on which jackpot symbols appear on reel 6, and which one you connect the special feature symbols to, you can be awarded the Minor prize worth 20x bet, the Major prize worth 100x bet, or the Major prize, where you will win 4000x your bet!

To help you stay in the action, the player-first developer has included the popular Bonus Buy option. The cost of instantly accessing free spins in Almighty Pegasus Connect & Collect has been set to 100x bet, which is a reasonable price point given that the game's maximum payout is 8372x! Read more about it in this dedicated article.