Cluster Pays Slots: How Cluster Wins Work
In a Cluster Pays slot, matching symbols don’t need to follow a line. They just need to touch each other, side to side or top to bottom, and the group can snake across the grid in whatever shape it makes.
How big the group has to be depends on the game. Moon Princess pays for three connected symbols, while Sugar Rush needs five.
What is Cluster Pays?
Imagine the symbols on a grid as tiles. A matching symbol beside another can join the same group, and that group can carry on growing in different directions. There’s no route drawn through the reels for them to follow.
That’s the difference from Fixed Paylines, where symbols have to sit on a set path, or Ways to Win, where the game looks for combinations on consecutive reels. A cluster is about which symbols are connected.
How does a cluster win work?
Rabbit Garden makes it easy to see. It has a 7×7 grid, and five or more matching paying symbols need to touch horizontally or vertically to make a cluster. The group can turn and spread in several directions as long as the connections hold.
There doesn’t have to be a neat rectangle of matching symbols. An uneven chain can count too.
Pick any two games in the Face-Off to compare their cluster rules.
Compare how two slots use cluster pays
Choose two games to compare the symbols needed for a cluster win and the grid they use.
At a glance
| Moon Princess | Rabbit Garden | |
|---|---|---|
| What forms a cluster | Three or more matching symbols must connect side-to-side or vertically to form a cluster. | Five or more matching paying symbols must connect side-to-side or vertically. Touching only at a corner does not count. |
| Grid | 5 × 5 grid. | 7 × 7 grid. |
Explore the cluster payout rules
Cluster Pays awards wins for groups of matching symbols rather than fixed lines or ways. Many games require five connected symbols, but Moon Princess uses a three-symbol threshold. Grid sizes and special rules also vary.
Moon Princess
Cluster payout ruleCluster Pays (3+ symbols)Base game and features
- What forms a cluster
- Three or more matching symbols connect horizontally or vertically on the 5 × 5 grid.
- Grid
- 5 × 5 grid.
Sources: Play'n GO Rules PDF
Rabbit Garden
Cluster payout ruleCluster Pays (5+ symbols)Base game and features
- What forms a cluster
- At least five matching paying symbols must connect horizontally or vertically; diagonal-only contact does not qualify.
- Grid
- 7 × 7 grid.
- Additional interaction
- Winning clusters can collect adjacent Coin symbols and contribute towards the Free Spins progression meter.
Sources: Current In-Game Rules Screenshots; GLI UK Certification 2023; Pragmatic Play Game Overview PDF
Do diagonal symbols count?
Not in the games on this page. Rabbit Garden’s rules spell it out: a symbol that only touches the group at a corner isn’t part of it. The other four games here also join symbols by their sides only. That’s why two matching symbols that look close together can still belong to separate clusters.
It’s a game rule, rather than something to assume for every Cluster Pays title. Check the help screen if you’re looking at a different game.
How many symbols make a winning cluster?
Five is the minimum in four of the games here: Sugar Rush, Rabbit Garden, Reactoonz and Propaganda. Moon Princess is the exception. Its 5×5 grid pays for groups of just three connected matching symbols.
The grids vary too. Moon Princess is 5×5, Propaganda 6×6 and the other three 7×7. You’ll often see these called grid slots, but that describes the layout, not how they pay.
| Game | Grid | Minimum group | Connection rule |
|---|---|---|---|
 Moon Princess |
5×5 | 3 matching symbols | Horizontal or vertical |
 Sugar Rush |
7×7 | 5 matching symbols | Horizontal or vertical |
 Rabbit Garden |
7×7 | 5 matching symbols | Horizontal or vertical |
 Reactoonz |
7×7 | 5 matching symbols | Horizontal or vertical |
 Propaganda |
6×6 | 5 matching symbols | Horizontal or vertical |
Cluster Pays vs Cascading Reels
It’s easy to mix these up because they so often appear together. Cluster Pays is about what makes a win. Cascading Reels is about what happens afterwards.
In Sugar Rush, five or more connected matching symbols make a winning cluster. The separate Tumble Feature then removes the winning symbols and lets new ones fall into the gaps. Reactoonz, which I particularly like, and Moon Princess also pair clusters with cascades, and both are easy to find in UK lobbies. The cascade still isn’t part of what makes a cluster win.
Cluster Pays vs other payout systems
They’re four different answers to which symbols count as a win. With clusters it’s all about contact: six matching symbols touching each other can pay, while the same six spread around the grid don’t.
| Payout system | What creates the winning arrangement? |
|---|---|
| Cluster Pays | Matching symbols form a qualifying connected group. |
| Fixed Paylines | Matching symbols occupy positions on one of the game’s predefined line paths. |
| Ways to Win | Matching symbols form combinations on consecutive reels, without a set line. |
| Pay Anywhere | A qualifying number of matching symbols can pay by count without needing to form a connected cluster. |
Cluster Pays FAQ
Are all grid slots Cluster Pays?
No. A grid describes the playing area. The payout rules decide whether a game uses clusters, Ways or Pay Anywhere.
Does a lower minimum or a bigger grid mean more wins?
Not on its own. Moon Princess’s three-symbol minimum and Sugar Rush’s 7×7 grid tell you how clusters form, not the RTP, how often the game pays or how volatile it is.
Sources reviewed
I checked these games against their own rules, developer game sheets and game pages. Some evidence is only available in-game or through authenticated sources; the public links identify the games.
ELK Studios
Play’n GO
Pragmatic Play
Where this guide comes from
I check each game’s own rules for its grid, how many matching symbols make a group and which sides count as touching. Where a rule only applies to the games here, I say so. Read the full research methodology