Cascading reels, tumbles and avalanches
Cascading slots take the winning symbols off the board after a win, let new ones drop into the gaps and pay again if the refill lines up, all on the spin you already paid for. Pragmatic Play calls this tumble, NetEnt calls it avalanche. Long chains look common on streams but they aren't: we ran a 6x5 tumble board for 200,000 spins and about 7 in 10 winning spins stopped after the first win.
- Also called
- Tumble, tumbling reels, avalanche, cascade, reactions, Super Cascades
- Cost
- None extra. The chain belongs to the spin or move you paid for
- Ends when
- A refill makes no new win
- Can feed
- A multiplier that grows with each step, as in Gonzo's Quest
What happens after a win
The win is paid before anything moves. Its symbols are then taken off the board, the symbols above them slide down and new ones drop in from above into the gaps. The board is checked once more. This repeats until a refill produces no win.
How long chains run
| On one spin | Board A: 6x5, 8+ anywhere | Board B: 7x7, 5+ touching |
|---|---|---|
| No win | 72.2% | 61.2% |
| 1 win, then nothing | 19.3% | 29.7% |
| 2 steps | 5.8% | 7.1% |
| 3 steps | 2.0% | 1.6% |
| 4 steps | 0.57% | 0.35% |
| 5 or more | 0.18% | 0.11% |
| Winning spins that tumble again | 30.7% | 23.4% |
| Cleared symbols after the first win | 30.6% | 21.5% |
| Longest chain seen | 11 steps | 8 steps |
Own simulation, 12 Nov 2026, fixed seed. Made-up boards, not the reel strips of any real game. A: 9 symbols, four at 15% and five at 8%, a win is 8 or more of one symbol anywhere. B: 6 equally likely symbols, a win is 5 or more touching up, down or sideways. No paytable and no multipliers. Real games tune their symbol weights, so their chains run longer or shorter.
A ten-step tumble on a stream sits at the far end of that table. On board A fewer than one spin in 500 even gets to five steps, and most paid spins stop at the first refill. A game that sells itself on chains needs something riding on the later steps, usually a multiplier that grows with each one.
Tumble games on Stake
| Game family | Studio | Versions | Share of wagers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gates of Olympus | Pragmatic Play | 4 | 7.03% |
| Sweet Bonanza | Pragmatic Play | 3 | 1.89% |
| Sugar Rush | Pragmatic Play | 2 | 1.17% |
| Le Bandit | Hacksaw Gaming | 1 | 0.34% |
Computed by us from bonushunt.gg provider analytics, month window, read 12 Nov 2026: games matched by name among the 200 most-wagered Stake slots, divided by $11.84 billion wagered on all Stake slots in the window. The four Gates of Olympus versions together draw more than any Engine studio except Valkyrie and Donut Gaming (bonushunt.gg shares 23.3% and 10.9%).
On Stake the tumble game people keep coming back to is Pragmatic Play's Gates of Olympus line, with Super Scatter, 2500 and 1000 all among the ten slots with the most money wagered. If you play it, watch what the orbs do during a normal spin. They sit on the grid doing nothing while the tumble runs and only get added up when it stops, so a spin can look dead and then pay at the very end.
One mechanic, a name per studio
| Name | Studio | Example game | What happens after a win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche | NetEnt | Gonzo's Quest (2010) | Winning symbols break apart and new ones fall in. Each avalanche raises the win multiplier, to x5 in the base game and x15 in Free Fall |
| Tumble, tumbling reels | Pragmatic Play | Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus | Winning symbols are removed and the reels refill. Multiplier symbols on screen are added up when the tumble ends |
| Cascade | Push Gaming | Jammin' Jars | Clusters of 5+ clear on an 8x8 grid and new symbols drop. Jam jar wilds carry their own multiplier |
| Reactions | Big Time Gaming | Bonanza Megaways | Symbols drop from the top and mine carts roll new ones in from the right. In free spins every reaction adds +1 to a multiplier with no cap |
| Super Cascades | Hacksaw Gaming | Get the Cheese, Superstar Sevens | Every paying symbol of the winning type goes, not only the ones in the win |
| No name on the game page | Play'n GO | Reactoonz | Winning aliens clear and new ones drop in, charging the meter that sets off extra features |
| Cascade | Beltastic | Pop Parade | The line breaks, stones fall, new stones drop in. Balloons beside a broken line add their multiplier for the whole play |
Big Time Gaming's newer game page for Bonanza uses DUELREACTION for a system that cascades in two directions. Searchers also use "rolling reels" and "avalanche reels" for all of these. Pop Parade is our own game and isn't out yet (how it plays).
Avalanche in Gonzo's Quest
Gonzo's Quest is old now, it came out in 2010, but it's still the easiest place to see a cascade with a multiplier hanging off it. The stone blocks fall instead of spinning, and every avalanche in a row bumps the multiplier, up to x5 normally and x15 once you're in Free Fall. Lose a spin and it drops right back to the start, which makes the base game feel a bit stop-start.
Super Cascades at Hacksaw
In Get the Cheese or Superstar Sevens, watch the whole grid after a win rather than only the cluster. Super Cascades take every regular symbol of the winning type off the board, including ones on the far side, so on the 6x5 board of Superstar Sevens one win can empty a big chunk of it.
Reactions in Bonanza Megaways
Bonanza Megaways is a bit of a grind between bonuses. Free spins are where it comes alive, because every reaction adds one to the win multiplier and nothing caps it. Rocks fall from the top while mine carts push symbols in from the right, and 3 or 4 scatters in the round add 5 or 10 spins.
Before you play one
- Find the word in the paytable. Tumble, avalanche and cascade all mean the board refills after a win.
- See what the chain feeds. Some games pay each step and nothing else. Others raise a multiplier per step.
- Check when the multiplier resets. In Gonzo's Quest it drops back after a spin with no win, in Bonanza Megaways free spins it keeps climbing.
Not affiliated with NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Push Gaming, Big Time Gaming, Hacksaw Gaming, Play'n GO or the other studios on this page. Game names belong to their owners.
Questions
What does cascading reels mean?
Once a win is paid, its symbols are removed and new ones fall into their place. If that makes a new win, it repeats, all within the same paid spin.
Is tumble the same as cascade or avalanche?
Yes, the core idea is the same. Tumble is the Pragmatic Play name, Avalanche the NetEnt name, and Big Time Gaming calls each step a reaction. What changes from game to game is what the chain feeds, for example a multiplier.
How long do cascade chains usually last?
Mostly one step. In our simulation of a 6x5 tumble board, 69% of winning spins stopped after the first win and fewer than 1 spin in 500 reached five steps. Real games differ with their symbol weights.
Do cascading slots pay more?
Not by themselves. The RTP already includes every chain the game can make. Cascades change how a win is built up within a spin.
Sources
- NetEnt: Gonzo's Quest. Avalanche, multiplier up to 5x and 15x in Free Fall, resets after a spin with no win, released 15 Mar 2010 Checked 12 November 2026
- Pragmatic Play: Sweet Bonanza. tumbling reels, multipliers added at the end of the tumble Checked 12 November 2026
- Pragmatic Play: Gates of Olympus. tumbling reels, multipliers added when the tumble ends Checked 12 November 2026
- Push Gaming: Jammin' Jars. 8x8 cascading slot, match 5 or more, jar multiplier from 1x Checked 12 November 2026
- Big Time Gaming: Bonanza Megaways launch. reactions, mine carts, unlimited free spins multiplier Checked 12 November 2026
- Big Time Gaming: Bonanza game page. +1 multiplier per reaction in free spins, no limit; +5 or +10 spins for 3 or 4 scatters; DUELREACTION wording Checked 12 November 2026
- Hacksaw Gaming: Get the Cheese. Super Cascades remove all paying symbols of the winning type Checked 12 November 2026
- OLBG: Superstar Sevens. Hacksaw, 6x5 cluster pays, Super Cascades Checked 12 November 2026
- Play'n GO: Reactoonz. 7x7, clusters of 5+, cascade without a brand name Checked 12 November 2026
- bonushunt.gg provider analytics. wagered per game, month window; family shares computed by us Checked 12 November 2026
- Pop Parade: how to play Checked 12 November 2026
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