Starburst is NetEnt's long-running space gem slot with five reels, three rows and ten paylines that pay in both directions. It has no free spins. Instead, expanding wilds on the middle reels trigger respins. It suits you if you want low volatility, frequent small wins and very simple rules, and it is often used for free spin welcome offers because the results are fairly steady.
How does Starburst work?
You play on a 5x3 grid with ten fixed paylines. Every line pays from left to right and from right to left, which roughly doubles the chances of a line win compared with a one-way slot.
Bars and the lucky seven are the top symbols, while coloured gems pay less. Bets usually range from 0.10 to 100 per spin.
There is no scatter and no feature to wait for, so each spin resolves quickly and you always know where you stand. That simplicity is a large part of why the game has stayed popular for over a decade.
What are the Starburst bonus features?
The Starburst wild can land only on reels 2, 3 and 4. When it lands, it expands to fill the whole reel, stays in place and awards a respin.
If another wild lands during the respin, it also expands and you get another respin, up to three in total with all three middle reels wild.
There is no free spins round and no bonus game. That keeps the volatility low and the ceiling modest.
Because wilds expand to cover entire reels and lines pay both ways, a single wild in the middle can connect several lines at once. Three wilds together can produce the game's best results.
Is Starburst worth playing? RTP and volatility explained
The default RTP is 96.09%. SlotCatalog notes that NetEnt offers lower settings to operators, so check the version at your casino.
Volatility is low, so results stay closer to your stake over a session. The flip side is a limited maximum: SlotCatalog gives 500x while Casinos.com lists 600x. If you want big multipliers, this is not the right slot.
An RTP of 96.09% is a long-run average over millions of spins: in theory the game keeps about 3.91 of every 100 units wagered. It does not predict a single session. Low volatility means wins arrive often but are usually small, so your balance tends to move slowly in both directions.
Tips before you play Starburst
- Check the RTP in the game's info screen at your casino, because NetEnt lets operators choose from several RTP settings.
- Starburst works well for clearing bonus wagering because wins are frequent and swings are small.
- Do not expect a free spins round; the respins are the only feature.