However, for the game of slots displaying grids of more than 1 row, the near miss and the near miss effect can also be related to elements outside the actual outcome-that is, symbols occurring on the display as adjacent to the payline (below or above the payline or to the left or right of it). For instance, an outcome holding 3 award symbols on a payline needing four such symbols to be a winning outcome is a near miss and is perceived by the player as such in what psychologists call the near miss effect. Engineered Near Misses within and outside the PaylinesĪ near miss is a non-winning outcome differing in one or more elements from a winning one. They are what we call artificial or engineered near misses. The reason for this resides in the design of the slots game, which allows the manipulation of the game parameters so as to result in more frequent outcomes looking like near misses and interpreted by players as chance near misses.
The near miss phenomenon-a failure that looks close to being successful-occurs in every game of chance however, some slots games have generated most of the discussions among theorists and researchers about the causes, effects, and ethical and legal aspects of the near miss.
