When asked about the difference in the speed of various games, slot operators today typically agree that games are fundamentally different from one-another. For instance, traditional reel, video and poker all play differently, and thus can’t be evaluated in the same way. At the root of it, an operator must account for these various play styles and mechanics to correctly calculate its impact on performance and potentially, the guest experience.
With game speed, it starts with getting a decent calculation. By default, slot systems don’t actively measure game speed. So, an operator, must get creative in order to get the number. The simplest way to calculate the game speed is to look at the time played versus the games played and then factor that down to minutes. This in turn can be used to create a game speed metric. Within that calculation is another important factor: the impact the guest has on game speed. While the largest driver of game speed is how it was designed to operate by the manufacturer, guests can still sway this number by increasing or decreasing their play speed.
Read Jordan's full article "Understanding Game Speed Metrics for Optimal Slot Floor Performance" in Indian Gaming Magazine (published July 2019)