Anyone who has seen a classic slot machine will recognise the familiar sight of cherries, lemons, and other fruit spinning by on the reels. These fruit symbols are so common that it’s easy to overlook how unusual it is for a game to feature pieces of fruit quite so prominently.
So why fruit, and why do combinations like 3 cherries feel so iconic? The answer lies in the early history of slots, where design decisions, legal rules, and practical constraints all came together.
This blog post explores where fruit symbols came from, how laws and hardware shaped them, what the BAR symbol stands for, why cherries appear so often, and how these designs live on in modern video slots and payout systems.
Read on to learn more.
What Is The Origin Of Fruit Symbols On Slot Reels?
Fruit symbols appeared in the early 20th century, when many places limited or banned cash payouts from machines. To stay in use, machines often dispensed non-cash rewards such as chewing gum or sweets.
Manufacturers matched the prizes to the artwork. Cherries, lemons, oranges and plums represented different flavours, so the reels doubled as a kind of menu. This made the machines easy to understand at a glance and gave them a friendly, distinctive look.
Even after rules changed and cash prizes returned, the fruit artwork had become part of the identity of slot machines. It stayed because it was simple, recognisable, and closely linked to how these games began.
That link between symbols and prizes also explains why legal context mattered so much in the early days.
Did Operators Use Fruit To Circumvent Gambling Laws?
In the early 1900s, strict rules often barred machines from paying out money. To comply, operators replaced cash with sweets, gum, or tokens that could be exchanged for goods. The symbols on the reels reflected those rewards, which is why fruit appeared so frequently.
By offering non-cash prizes, operators stayed within the letter of the law while keeping their machines popular. Fruit artwork communicated the prize types clearly, and it helped position the machines as novelty dispensers rather than straightforward gambling devices.
This period shaped the visual language of slots for decades. One brand even turned its packaging into a reel icon, which leads neatly to the BAR symbol.
What Does The BAR Symbol Mean?
The BAR symbol traces back to the Bell-Fruit Gum Company, which produced machines that awarded chewing gum instead of money. The company used a blocky, stylised logo that resembled a wrapped bar of gum. Over time, that logo became the BAR symbol seen on countless reels.
As machines shifted back to cash payouts, the BAR remained because it was already familiar, simple to print, and easy to spot among fruit icons. It is a direct link to the era when prizes were edible rather than monetary.
The look of symbols, though, was never just about branding. The machinery itself also set the rules for what worked on a reel.
How Did Mechanical Design Shape Early Symbol Choices?
Early slot machines relied on painted or printed reel strips wrapped around metal drums. With a limited number of stops on each reel and a small viewing window, symbols had to be bold, high-contrast and cleanly outlined to avoid misreads.
Simple shapes like cherries and lemons were ideal. They were easy to reproduce with the printing technology of the day, lined up clearly on the payline, and reduced the chance of a disputed result. Mechanics also needed symbols that would wear well and still look crisp after thousands of spins.
As designers experimented with the number of stops and the distribution of symbols, they could control how often certain outcomes appeared. That practical tuning helps explain why some icons, like cherries, were given special roles early on.
Why Are Cherries So Common On Slot Machines?
Cherries became a staple because they often triggered small payouts on their own. While most combinations required three matching symbols, a single cherry might return a modest prize. This made them a frequent sight and gave players occasional wins without needing a full line-up.
The design helped. Cherries are visually clear in a small window and were popular as gum flavours, which suited the non-cash prize era. Giving cherries a lower-value, more frequent payout kept the game engaging and established them as a signature symbol.
From there, the cherry became part of the slot machine’s shorthand, a cue that blended visibility, theme and payout structure.
Visual And Practical Reasons Designers Use Fruit Symbols
Fruit symbols worked because they were simple, bright, and instantly recognisable. On fast-spinning reels, clarity matters. A lemon never looks like a plum, and a cherry does not get confused with a bell or BAR. That distinctiveness reduces errors and keeps the experience smooth.
They were also easy to print with strong outlines and limited colours, which mattered when reel strips needed to be durable and consistent. Beyond practicality, fruit felt approachable. It signalled a light, accessible game without complex imagery that might distract or confuse.
As technology moved on, those same qualities made fruit easy to modernise without losing the basic appeal that made it successful in the first place.
How Fruit Themes Evolved In Modern Video Slots
When slots moved from mechanical reels to screens, fruit did not disappear. It was refreshed. Developers updated the artwork with richer colours, shading and animation, and used fruit in both classic-style titles and as part of more elaborate themes.
Modern games can combine fruit icons with wilds, scatters, multipliers and bonus rounds. Some use single paylines like the old machines, while others offer dozens of paylines, ways-to-win systems, or cluster pays where matching groups replace traditional lines. The fruit look anchors these features in something familiar.
Nostalgia plays a part, too. For many players, fruit symbols signal straightforward gameplay, even when the underlying mechanics are far more flexible than the machines that inspired them.
How Do Fruit Symbols Affect Payouts And Paylines?
Fruit symbols typically sit within a paytable that ranks their values. In a classic setup, three of a kind might pay a set amount, with cherries often linked to smaller, more frequent returns and higher-paying icons reserved for rarer combinations like BARs or bells. Some games still award a small prize for a single cherry, a nod to early designs.
The pattern that triggers wins is defined by paylines or alternative systems. Traditional fruit machines may use one central payline, while modern versions can offer many lines that run in different directions or adopt ways-to-win mechanics that pay for adjacent matches. Wild symbols can substitute for fruit icons to complete a line, and scatters may unlock bonus features no matter where they land.
The artwork itself does not determine outcomes. Payouts are governed by the game’s rules and probabilities, which are set out in the paytable and information screens. If you choose to play, set a budget that suits your circumstances, take breaks, and keep it occasional. If gambling starts to affect your well-being or finances, support is available from independent organisations such as GamCare and GambleAware, who offer free and confidential help.
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You will find a range of titles, from classic fruit machines and retro-style releases to jackpot games and Megaways. It is easy to browse by theme or feature, whether you want something familiar or a fresh twist on the fruit format.
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Whether you prefer traditional reels or modern video titles, understanding how fruit symbols came to be part of the reels adds an extra layer of interest to every spin.
**The information provided in this blog is intended for educational purposes and should not be construed as betting advice or a guarantee of success. Always gamble responsibly.