Megaways™ Slots Explained: What Does Megaways™ Mean?
Megaways™ slots are named after the popular Megaways™ mechanic established by Big Time Gaming. As opposed to regular slots, where oftentimes the number of paylines is fixed, here players can trigger a random number of ways to win up to 117,649, which is decided on every spin.
- What Does Megaways™ Mean?
- How Do Megaways™ Slots Work?
- Megaways™ Slots Explained: How To Calculate the Exact Number of Ways To Win
- Megaways™ Slots Explained: How Do I Win on Megaways™?
- What Is the Difference between Paylines and Megaways™?
- Megaways™ Slots Explained: The Bonus Features
- Other Mega Slot Machine Mechanics
- Megaways™ Slots Explained Summary
- Megaways™ Slot Terminology Guide
- Megaways™ Slots FAQs
What Does Megaways™ Mean?
Megaways™ is a term coined by Australian software provider Big Time Gaming in 2017 for a new online slot mechanic that enables you to unlock up to 117,649 ways to win.
This, however, is now just the standard amount you can expect to find, with some games on our Megaways™ slots list offering more fewer lines (16,807 paylines in Eastern Emeralds Megaways™, for example) and others, like 1 Million Megaways™ BC, offering a lot more (up to 1 million).
Moreover, games that fall in this category come with some pretty cool features, which we explore below.
When all is said and done, we think it's become pretty clear as to why this engine is widely recognised as innovative within the industry, to the extend that it’s licensed to a large number of game developers such as Blueprint Gaming, Red Tiger, iSoftBet and Pragmatic Play.
How Do Megaways™ Slots Work?
To better understand how Megaways™ slots work and why they are so popular, we first need to compare them to regular slots, something which we explored in our Megaways™ slots vs video slots article.
In a nutshell, Megaways™ slots are based on a unique mathematical model that gives them a random reel modifier which changes how many symbols appear on the reels during every spin: between two and seven. This, in turn, changes the number of paylines on grid, which can be anywhere between 324 and 117,649 ways to win as standard.
Of course, as we’ve already seen, some Megaways™ slots may also provide you with even more ways to win: for example, White Rabbit Megaways™ offers up to 248,832 Megaways™, and Holy Diver Megaways™ has 586,971.
Megaways™ Slots Explained: How To Calculate the Exact Number of Ways To Win
A standard Megaways™ slot has a configuration of six reels with up to seven special symbols selected randomly on every spin. The exact number of Megaways™ will almost always be displayed on the developer’s website or in the game window, serving as a useful data point for any Megaways™ strategy.
However, if you want to calculate the number for yourself, the mathematical formula is pretty simple…
All you need to do is multiply the number of symbols present on each reel with each other. So, if we take a Megaways™ slot with six reels that have the full seven symbols, the formula would be:
7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7
This results in 117,649 ways to win.
Megaways™ Slots Explained: How Do I Win on Megaways™?
The player objective on Megaways™ slots is to create winning combinations by matching three or more identical symbols from left to right on adjacent reels. This differs from regular slots, which require players to align these symbols along paylines.
What Is the Difference between Paylines and Megaways™?
A payline is an theoretical line where identical symbols might fall.
Regular video slots, such as Rise of Dead by Play’n GO and Dead or Alive by NetEnt, have fixed paylines that the player can’t adjust in any way. This means that you have to bet on every possible combination of symbols and activate all paylines during a spin for a better chance at a payout.
At the opposite end, Megaways™ slots give players better possibilities to create winning combinations as more symbols land on the reels, and dozens – if not thousands – of ways to win get unlocked.
Megaways™ Slots Explained: The Bonus Features
No self-respecting Megaways™ slots explained article would be complete without looking at the games’ features, which are so important to creating the experience players at the best Megaways™ casinos look for.
Cascading Reels
Although not universally available, cascading reels are among the most common bonus features of this mechanic.
Originally seen in Gonzo’s Quest, this feature will see symbols in a winning combination replaced by new ones, effectively giving you more chances of winning in a single spin. This is a bonus feature that appears when you land a winning combination.
Gorilla Gold Megaways™
| Provider | Blueprint |
| RTP | 97.00% |
| Volatility | Medium/High |
| Number of ways | 470,596 |
Gonzo's Quest Megaways™
| Provider | NetEnt |
| RTP | 96% |
| Volatility | Medium/High |
| Number of ways | 117,649 |
Mystery Symbols
Mystery symbols represent reel modifiers which are randomly activated during the base game, and are heavily used by some of the best Megaways™ software providers, like Blueprint Gaming.
When triggered, this feature drops between three and 15 mystery symbols on the reels at once. These then transform into a randomly selected paying symbol. Typically, if multiple mystery symbols fall on the reels at once, they will all transform into the same paying symbol.
This encourages more lucrative winning combinations, as some mystery symbols can also appear stacked or cover an entire reel on a single spin.
Beetlejuice Megaways™
| Provider | Barcrest/SG Digital |
| RTP | 96% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 248,832 |
Buffalo Rising Megaways™
| Provider | Blueprint |
| RTP | 96.50% |
| Volatility | Medium/High |
| Number of ways | Up to 117,649 |
Dragon's Luck Megaways™
| Provider | Red Tiger Gaming |
| RTP | 95.69% |
| Volatility | Medium |
| Number of ways | 117,649 |
Bonus Buys
Bonus buy is another popular feature found in Megaways™ slots that allows players to buy their way into the free spins round or another bonus game by paying between 50x and 150x their stake on average – though, it’s worth noting that some paid options can be significantly more expensive.
Due to local legislation, this feature is not available in all jurisdictions – for example, it’s banned at United Kingdom Megaways™ casinos due to a United Kingdom Gambling Commission law.
The Dog House Megaways™
| Provider | Pragmatic Play |
| RTP | 96.55% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 64 -117,649 |
Wolf Power Megaways™
| Provider | Playson |
| RTP | N/A |
| Volatility | Medium/High |
| Number of ways | 46,656 |
1 Million Fortunes Megaways™
| Provider | Iron Dog Studio |
| RTP | 96.20% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 128-1,058,841 |
Horizontal Reels
When it comes to layout, Megaways™ slots are known for pushing the boundaries.
In fact, developers are constantly coming up with unconventional, yet super creative ways to reward players even more and improve their odds. One such way is the introduction of one, two, or – in the case of Floating Dragon Megaways™ – three bonus horizontal reels.
Usually located either above or below the main reels, these reels can hold an additional four to six special symbols, and their point is to help you score more winning combinations.
Moreover, in some cases, the symbols that fall on the extra reels can be collected or serve other purposes, such as to trigger bonus games, as multipliers, and so on.
Bonanza Megaways™
| Provider | Big Time Gaming |
| RTP | 96% |
| Volatility | Very High |
| Number of ways | 117,649 |
Rock the Reels Megaways™
| Provider | Iron Dog |
| RTP | 96.7% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 200,704 |
Medusa Megaways™
| Provider | NextGen Gaming |
| RTP | 96.28% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | Up to 117,649 |
Free Spins with Unlimited Win Multipliers
The true Megaways™ meaning (and magic!) comes to play when players trigger the free spins feature, which practically all titles in our Megaways™ catalogue have. In fact, some are so good they even come with unlimited win multipliers.
In a nutshell, these free spins start a 1x multiplier have it increase by 1x after every winning combo up to – technically – infinity, since there is no maximum cap set on the multiplier value.
Pirate Kingdom Megaways™
| Provider | Iron Dog |
| RTP | 96.20% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 117,649 |
Deal or No Deal Megaways™
| Provider | Blueprint Gaming |
| RTP | 95.83% |
| Volatility | Medium/High |
| Number of ways | Up to 117,649 |
Diamond Mine Megaways™
| Provider | Blueprint |
| RTP | 96.43% |
| Volatility | Medium |
| Number of ways | 117,649 |
Other Mega Slot Machine Mechanics
The Megaways™ mechanic has been so influential that it’s spurred Big Time Gaming and other providers to create other, similar engines.
Megaclusters™ Slots
Megaclusters™ slots by Big Time Gaming rewards you using a Cluster Pays mechanism rather than paylines. What makes this a ‘Mega’ engine, however, is that when triggered, every special symbol gets split into four other smaller symbols, essentially creating a Megacluster™ that gives you more chances to score a winning combination.
Kluster Krystals Megaclusters™
| Provider | Relax Gaming |
| RTP | 96.42% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 256 Megaclusters |
Diamond Fruits Megaclusters™
| Provider | Big Time Gaming |
| RTP | 96.25% |
| Volatility | Medium/High |
| Number of ways | Cluster Pays |
Cyberslot Megaclusters™
| Provider | Big Time Gaming |
| RTP | 96.36% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 256 |
Megaquads™ Slots
Because Big Time Gaming loves to provide us with mega wins, they created yet another engine, the Megaquads™.
Essentially, here you get to play four Megaways™ slot games simultaneously, which connect with each other to create huge wins.
Slot Vegas Megaquads™
| Provider | Big Time Gaming |
| RTP | 96.95% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 16,777,216 |
Rainbow Riches Megaquads™
| Provider | SG Digital |
| RTP | TBA |
| Volatility | TBA |
| Number of ways | TBA |
Megapays™ Slots
Megapays™ slots is a basically a Megaways™ series that is linked to four pooled jackpots.
Once again, this was developed by Big Time Gaming in collaboration with Relax Gaming, and like other pooled jackpots (like Jackpot Kings), this can be found at the most popular online casinos worldwide.
The jackpots here are called the Mini, Midi, Major, and Mega, which will give you a minimum of €/£/$100, €/£/$1,500, €/£/$20,000, and €/£/$300,000, respectively.
Star Clusters Megapays™
| Provider | Big Time Gaming |
| RTP | 96.27% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | Cluster Pays |
The Great Pigsby Megapays™
| Provider | Relax Gaming |
| RTP | 96.19% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 117,649 |
Infinity Reels Slots & InfiniReels Slots
Infinity Reels is a slot engine introduced by ReelPlay in which extra reels are continuously added to the game, with no limit. Many of these games also offer cascading wins that are triggered to infinity as well.
This mechanic has also been introduced by NetEnt through their InfiniReels mechanic.
Tiki Infinity Reels Megaways™
| Provider | ReelPlay |
| RTP | 96.07% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | Infinite |
Odin Infinity Reels Megaways™
| Provider | ReelPlay |
| RTP | 96.18% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | Unlimited |
Giza Infinity Reels™
| Provider | ReelPlay |
| RTP | 96.45% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | Infinite |
Mighty Ways Slots
The Mighty Ways engine is one of the newest slot mechanics on the market, introduced by Light & Wonder studio, which you may know by its former name, Scientific Games.
While this bears many similarities to the Megaways™ engine, it’s not the same. In fact, these slots usually come with a higher starting number of ways to win (729) and the actual size of the reels can change.
Cluedo Mighty Ways
| Provider | Light & Wonder/SG Digital |
| RTP | 94,24% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 4,096-262,144 |
300 Shields Mighty Ways
| Provider | Light & Wonder/SG Digital |
| RTP | 95.99% |
| Volatility | High |
| Number of ways | 729-262,144 |
Megaways™ Slots Explained Summary
With the list of Megaways™ games available growing daily, and more players opting for these titles on desktop, mobile, and mobile Megaways™ apps, we feel it’s important to know how they work – so we hope this article has done just that!
Megaways™ Slot Terminology Guide
We acknowledge that sometimes some of the terminology we use may be confusing to some readers, so here’s a guide to the most commonly used terms for Megaways™ slots.
Bet – The amount wagered by the player on a single spin.
Bonus Feature – This refers to an extra feature that players can trigger during gameplay, often separated from the base game (e.g. free spins, progressive jackpot rounds).
Free Spins – This is one such bonus feature, and it gives players a set number of free in-game spins, which are different from the free spins handed out by casino as a bonus.
Max Win – This represents the maximum amount you can win from the slot machine and is expressed as an x-times your total bet – e.g. 10,000x or 50,000x your stake.
Multiplier – These multiply the value of your wins by a fixed amount (e.g. 2x or 3x). Some Megaways™ slots have unlimited win multipliers.
Reels – A slot’s reels are the vertical columns where paying symbols land. Most classic slots feature three to five reels, while Megaways™ slots typically have six vertical reels and, potentially, horizontal ones, too.
Rows – These are the horizontal lines were symbols fall. Megaways™ slots have a configuration of between two and seven rows.
RTP – RTP stands for Return-To-Player and it refers to the estimated percentage of wagered funds that will be returned to players over a 100,000 or even a million spins. Megaways™ slots have an average RTP of 96%.
Scatter – Scatters are symbols that, in a particular combination, can trigger a bonus feature.
Symbol – Symbols are the icons that appears on the reels. In Megaways™ slots, symbols are often thematic, depicting action heroes or ancient Gods, but they can also be generic (e.g. card suits).
Volatility – This term refers to how often a slot game pays and the amount (low volatility means small but frequent wins, while high volatility means larger, less frequent wins).
Wild – Wilds are special symbols that replace all other slot symbols in a winning combination, except for the scatter/bonus.
Megaways™ Slots FAQs
Megaways™ is the name of a video slots mechanic that replaces the fixed, traditional paylines with a varying number of ways to win.
The Megaways™ mechanic and the first Megaways™ slot, Dragon Born Megaways™, were both developed by Big Time Gaming.
Thanks to a random reel modifier, the Megaways™ mechanic gives players a new slot configuration on every spin. This can include between two and seven symbols per reel, which at the maximum configuration takes the number of ways to win up to 117,649.
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