Wagering game having adjacent-reel functionality enhancements

A gaming system comprising:

• at least one electronic input device;
• at least one electronic display device;
• at least one processor;
• at least one memory device storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the gaming system to:
• receive a wager in response to an input via the at least one electronic input device;
• display, on the at least one electronic display device, a randomly selected outcome of a wagering game in a display area, the display area including a plurality of reels that display a plurality of symbols to form an array, the plurality of symbols including multiple ones of a special symbol;
• in response to the randomly selected outcome including two or more of the special symbols in any symbol position on adjacent ones of the plurality of reels, change the functionality of the special symbols on the adjacent ones of the plurality of reels and maintain the functionality of any special symbol on non-adjacent ones of the plurality of reels to create a modified array;
• in response to the randomly selected outcome including two or more of the special symbols in any symbol position on adjacent ones of the plurality of reels, replace an image of each of the special symbols on the adjacent ones of the plurality of reels with an image of a modified special symbol and maintaining the image of each of the special symbols on the non-adjacent ones of the plurality of reels;
• evaluate the modified array, using the at least one processor, to determine whether or not the modified array includes a winning combination;
• and
• award a payout based on the modified array.