Wild Frames: Charge Stages, Stored Multipliers and Alternatives

Wild Frames builds framed positions on a seven-by-seven cluster grid. Its charge meter awards three board changes before activating the frames at eighty charges. The stored multiplier is used when the frames activate, with the highest relevant value applied to each cluster. Legend of the Ice Dragon is the closest companion; Twin Spin Deluxe changes the matching rules through linked reels.

Wild Frames casinos

Play Wild Frames slot game at these top casinos.

Reviewed by Brian Taylor
Published: June 2019

How the frames and charge meter work

Winning clusters disappear and new symbols drop into the empty positions. A wild leaves a frame behind; that frame stays through the cascades and clears when a new spin starts. Another wild landing on an existing frame upgrades its multiplier.

Each removed symbol adds one charge. At 20 charges, Transform changes the high-paying symbols into one type. At 40, Wildcard adds three to six wilds. At 60, Shatter removes the low-paying symbols and starts another cascade. The charge meter resets between spins. These are the rules described on Play’n GO’s Wild Frames page.

What happens at 80 charges?

The earlier charge stages help build towards the Wild Frames feature at 80. At that point, the frames activate and the symbols inside them turn wild. Before activation, a frame marks a position with potential for the feature; its stored multiplier is not already boosting every ordinary cluster that passes through it.

Only the highest frame multiplier in a winning cluster is used. A cluster involving 2x and 5x frames therefore uses 5x, not 7x or 10x. If its ordinary award were £2, that would make the cluster worth £10. Separate winning clusters are assessed separately, so the largest multiplier visible anywhere on the board does not automatically apply to every win.

Overcharge and the next spin

The meter can pass 80 before the frames activate. Each further group of ten charges adds two frames: reaching 90 awards two extra frames, while 100 awards four. Once the frames have activated, further charges have no effect. This is a limit on when overcharge can help, rather than a promise that every long cascade keeps adding frames indefinitely.

The grid’s changes belong to the current paid spin and its cascades. Starting the next spin clears the frames and resets the meter. A high charge total from one finished round does not leave you closer to the feature on the next stake. The Wild Frames game rules explain activation, overcharge and the highest-multiplier rule.

What counts as a cluster?

Five or more matching symbols must join through horizontal or vertical sides. They can form anywhere on the grid; they do not need to start at its left edge. Diagonal contact alone does not connect a group. When a winning cluster disappears, the replacement symbols may join into another group and continue the same cascade sequence.

That makes position as important as quantity. Five matching symbols scattered around the grid are different from five connected symbols. Likewise, two groups separated by another symbol do not become one larger cluster just because they share a colour. The seven-by-seven layout provides 49 positions, rather than 49 paylines.

A closer comparison for Wild Frames

Legend of the Ice Dragon is a stronger starting point than a slot chosen only for its jewels. Play’n GO explicitly describes it as a companion to Wild Frames: wilds leave frames behind, and a wild entering a frame can gain a multiplier upgrade. The Ice Dragon release adds its own setting and features, including Hailstorm, Avalanche and Blizzard on non-winning spins. Wild Frames itself also has overcharge, as explained above.

Twin Spin offers a useful contrast. Its linked reels synchronise symbols, whereas Wild Frames is a grid game built around wild positions and frames. Both can produce groups of related symbols, but the mechanism behind those groups is different. The broad jewel-themed suggestions below remain useful for browsing artwork; they are not all substitutes for frame-based play.

See Play’n GO’s explanation of the relationship and NetEnt’s Twin Reel description.

Following a charge sequence on the original grid

A simple count shows why the meter measures removed symbols rather than spins or pounds. If eighteen symbols have already charged it and the next winning cluster removes five, the total becomes twenty-three and crosses Transform. The next award waits at forty. A £1 cluster and a £10 cluster containing the same number of removed symbols contribute the same count; their different cash values do not become extra charges.

Transform, Wildcard and Shatter act on different parts of the board. Transform concentrates the premium symbols into one type. Wildcard introduces substitutes that can connect groups. Shatter clears low-paying symbols so replacements can fall. The succession matters because a changed board can make another cluster, which can feed the next threshold during the same paid round.

The framed positions are a second layer. A wild can disappear in a winning cascade while its frame stays marked. Before eighty-charge activation, that mark is not already a multiplier on every ordinary win through the square. Another wild can upgrade the stored value, so it is useful to distinguish the symbol now occupying a position from the frame that remembers it.

At activation, use the highest participating frame multiplier for each cluster. If one hypothetical cluster has an ordinary £2 award and includes a 3x and a 6x frame, its multiplied award is £12. A separate £1 cluster involving only a 2x frame is worth £2. The combined £14 is not found by applying the largest board value to both clusters. This is arithmetic illustrating the rule, rather than a recorded spin.

Overcharge only operates before the frames activate. Ninety charges adds two random frames beyond the original set; one hundred adds four. It does not convert the meter into a progressive cash pot. Once that round ends, the next paid spin starts its charge and frame progress afresh. The original screenshot shows the square playing area and its right-hand charge display, rather than a conventional five-reel line game.

Legend of the Ice Dragon: the closer frame comparison

Legend of the Ice Dragon is Play’n GO’s named companion to Wild Frames. It keeps the connection between wild positions, frames and multiplier upgrades, but surrounds them with icy effects. Hailstorm, Avalanche and Blizzard are separate named features, while the dragon brings Tail Lash, Ice Scorch, Destruction and Dragon Blast. The supplier’s Ice Dragon page identifies that feature set.

That makes it the starting point for a frame-based alternative. The important continuity is that a position can remain relevant after its current symbol changes. Twin Spin Deluxe, explained below, instead duplicates patterns through linked reels. Both can affect several matching symbols, but one remembers individual positions while the other synchronises columns. The broad diamond category does not explain either system.

Moon Princess offers another useful contrast from the same studio. Its wins run in horizontal or vertical rows of three or more on a five-by-five grid, and princess-symbol combinations fill Trinity. Wild Frames uses connected clusters of at least five on seven by seven, with an eighty-charge frame activation. An L-shaped group can therefore need a different reading from a straight-row match.

Games like Wild Frames

Wild Frames was released on 18 December 2019. Bells, sevens, diamonds and card suits provide a traditional casino look around a seven-by-seven grid. Their positions contribute to connected clusters, rather than fixed lines. The distinctive rule is what happens after a wild visits a square: its frame can remain through cascades and become relevant at activation. The artwork and the frame system should be assessed separately.

These games share familiar casino imagery, but take different routes to their features. Wixx turns qualifying crystal wins into booster respins. Twin Spin Deluxe shares Wild Frames’ cluster format, while using linked reels to create matching patterns. The original Twin Spin instead pays across adjacent reels, starting at the left. Midnight Diamonds provides another diamond-themed option with a conventional reel layout. For the closest connection to Wild Frames’ stored positions and charge meter, begin with Legend of the Ice Dragon; for the other games, compare the win structure before the artwork.

The top based on features and gameplay for Wild Frames slot are Wixx, Twin Spin Deluxe, Twin Spin and Midnight Diamonds.

Wixx is a four-reel, three-row game from Nolimit City with 81 ways to win. Its main event follows a four-reel win involving one of the large crystal symbols. Ruby turns into stacked wilds for the booster respin, Topaz brings a 5x multiplier to crystal wins, and Sapphire becomes stacked with the fourth reel filled by sapphires. These are different outcomes from filling Wild Frames’ charge meter.

Two qualifying crystal types on the same spin can combine their effects in a Super Booster Spin. Ruby and Topaz, for example, combine wild rubies with the crystal-win multiplier. The feature is tied to the crystal combination that triggered it, so it is useful to watch which colours complete the four-reel win.

Wild Frames builds frames across a continuing grid sequence; Wixx awards a particular booster respin from a qualifying result. Nolimit City describes Wixx as highly volatile, so it should not be treated as a steadier or lower-risk alternative. Its published RTP is 96.61%. The supplier’s Wixx feature guide sets out the separate crystal effects.

Twin Spin Deluxe uses six reels and five rows, with Cluster Pays in place of the original Twin Spin’s 243 ways. A win needs at least nine matching symbols connected horizontally or vertically. Wild Frames starts paying at five, but has a larger seven-by-seven grid. The shared cluster format makes Deluxe a closer comparison than its diamond artwork alone suggests.

At least two adjacent reels are linked on every spin, displaying matching symbol patterns. The synchronised group can expand to three, four, five or all six reels. Matching patterns do not mean each linked reel contains only one symbol: a mixed column can be duplicated too. What matters is whether the resulting groups reach the cluster threshold.

Wild Frames changes the grid through cascades and saved frame positions. Deluxe’s distinguishing feature is the synchronisation of whole reels. It offers a useful alternative if you prefer watching columns link together, while Wild Frames gives you a charge total and individual positions to follow. Foxy Bingo’s Twin Spin Deluxe guide describes the linked patterns and cluster rules.

The original Twin Spin from NetEnt uses a five-by-three layout with 243 ways. Matching symbols must appear on adjacent reels from the leftmost reel; they can occupy different rows. That gives it a different win pattern from both Wild Frames and Twin Spin Deluxe.

For example, matching symbols on reels one, two and three can complete a ways win without touching along their sides. A group starting on reel three cannot qualify simply because its symbols connect. In Wild Frames, a connected group can begin anywhere on the grid, provided it reaches the five-symbol minimum.

Twin Spin also starts with linked adjacent reels, which may expand to cover more columns. It therefore shares the linked-reel idea with Deluxe while retaining the original’s 243-way structure. NetEnt lists 96.55% RTP for Twin Spin; check the game information for the configuration available to you. Choose between these titles on the basis of linked reels, cluster connections or frame-building, rather than treating their similar symbols as evidence of identical play.

Developed by Bally, Midnight Diamonds carries a Diamonds theme. The reels form a 5-reel, 3-row layout offering 30 paylines. It is listed as medium volatility, which does not predict the results of a particular session. Gameplay extras run to free spins and expanding wilds. Stakes run from 0.3 up to 450 a spin, so it suits both small and larger budgets. It returns 93.38%, which is low for the market. As ever, that is a theoretical average measured over a huge number of spins, so short sessions vary. Compare the RTP shown in each game’s own information screen. Its diamond theme is the main connection here; it does not reproduce Wild Frames’ charge meter.

Slots similar to Wild Frames

The diamond artwork is a broader route to similar-looking games. Wild Frames’ mechanics depend on connected groups, charge thresholds and remembered positions. A diamond is an ordinary paying symbol, while a frame marks a place with a separate later role. Look at the outline as well as the symbol inside it when reading the original grid; decorative similarity in the alternative thumbnails does not establish that same saved-position feature.

More Diamond themed slots to try

Wild Frames is a Diamond themed slot game. Similar Diamond themed slots include Da Winci, Dazzling Diamonds, Diamond Blitz and Dragon.

Developed by Play’n GO

Fortune Teller, Mr Toad, Rich Wilde Tome Of Madness and Mystery Joker 6000 provide wider Play’n GO catalogue routes. Tome of Madness is the more useful meter comparison: its Portal changes the grid and leads into Other World, with different thresholds and an eye-map target. It does not activate Wild Frames’ stored positions at eighty charges. The other titles share the studio rather than one frame rulebook.

Play’n GO publishes Wild Frames and Legend of the Ice Dragon as separate grid games. The same studio also makes conventional line titles and other grid systems, including Moon Princess and Tome of Madness. A shared maker helps identify the family connection; it does not establish a common charge schedule. Use the original Wild Frames rules for its twenty, forty, sixty and eighty thresholds, rather than importing a Portal or princess meter from another Play’n GO release.

Wild Frames has several things to follow within one round: the clusters, the frame positions and the charge total. Transform changes the high-paying symbols at 20 charges, Wildcard adds wilds at 40 and Shatter removes low-paying symbols at 60. Reaching 80 activates Wild Frames, turning the framed positions wild and applying the highest relevant multiplier to each winning cluster. The next paid spin starts the meter and frames afresh. The screen image below shows how the square grid differs from a conventional row of five reels.

The numbers behind Wild Frames

We’ve summarised the key info for Wild Frames in the table below.

Wild Frames screenshot

Online slots with the same features as Wild Frames

Wild Frames fits in the following bonus categories: Cluster Pays, Random Feature, Random Wilds and Increasing Multipliers.

Games with Cluster Pays

The top slots with Cluster Pays are Wildchemy, Golden Ticket, Wild Worlds and Dream Zone.

Games with Random Feature

The top matching slots with Random Feature are Fire Flies and Golden Monkey.

Online slots with Random Wilds

The wild-feature gallery below shows Robotnik and Rise Of Olympus. Their individual symbol changes do not inherit Wild Frames’ twenty, forty, sixty and eighty-charge schedule. For the closer frame relationship, begin with Legend of the Ice Dragon above.

Online slots with Increasing Multipliers

The best matching slots with Increasing Multipliers are Alaxe In Zombieland and Crazy Genie.

Wild Frames slot sites FAQs

Wild Frames Pros and Cons

A quick look at the main pros and cons of Wild Frames, based on its RTP, volatility, features, ranking and gameplay.

Pros

• Frames store positions through cascades before the 80-charge feature activates them
• The highest participating frame multiplier has a clear per-cluster rule
• Several charge stages change the grid within the same paid round
• Legend of the Ice Dragon offers a closely related frame mechanic
• Twin Spin Deluxe offers a different form of cluster play through linked reels

Cons

• Frames and charges reset when the next paid spin begins
• A high volatility rating does not indicate when a bonus or large win will arrive
• The frame multipliers stay inactive until the Wild Frames feature triggers