Megaways slots are online casino games that can offer more than 100,000 ways to win. The action unfolds on a six-reel grid, but the number of symbols on each reel changes with every spin. This dynamic reel system results in greater spin-to-spin variety than regular slots, so these games have proved popular in recent years.
We’ll explain how the Megaways mechanic works and why it offers so many different ways to win. You’ll also discover the best Megaways slots to play right now.
What Are Megaways Slots?
Megaways slots are games built on a dynamic reel engine, which typically offers up to 117,649 ways to win. An Australian studio called Big Time Gaming (BTG) invented the Megaways slot engine. The engine made its debut on an online slot called Dragon Born in January 2016, but it really shot to fame with the launch of Bonanza Megaways later that year.
Evolution, the Swedish live casino provider, now owns BTG, along with studios like NetEnt, Red Tiger, and Nolimit City. Studios like Red Tiger and NetEnt often use the Megaways mechanic. BTG also licenses the mechanic to other software providers, including Pragmatic Play, BGaming, Playtech, and Blueprint Gaming.
Megaways slots stand out by offering flexible grids and a huge number of ways to win. They tend to be highly volatile slots with large maximum win limits, but that’s not always the case.
They come in lots of different themes. If you like wildlife games, you can try Buffalo King Megaways or Great Rhino Megaways. Pop culture games like Ted Megaways and The Goonies Megaways might appeal to certain players, while others prefer ancient mythology games like Eye of Horus Megaways and Divine Fortune Megaways.
How the Megaways Mechanic Works
The Megaways mechanic changes the number of symbols on each reel with every spin. Most of these games unfold on a six-reel grid, and there can be two to seven rows on each reel. That means the shape of the grid typically changes each time you spin the reels.
For example, you might find that there are 1,728 ways to win on your first spin. The grid might then change in shape, offering 2,016 ways to win on your second spin, 1,008 on your third spin, 2,268 on your fourth spin, 10,752 on your fifth spin, and so on.
There’s no need to do the math yourself. A counter above the reels shows you how many ways are active on each spin.
You’ll get paid when matching symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from the first reel, regardless of which row they’re on. There are no paylines to track, and your stake stays the same with each spin, irrespective of how many ways to win there are.
Extra Ways: Modifiers and Reel Features
Classic Megaways slots have up to 117,649 ways to win. That’s the maximum number of combos you can make on a 6×7 grid. However, some Megaways slots now add extra features to increase the number of ways to win:
- Extra horizontal reel: This appears above the main grid, adding an extra symbol above each of the four middle reels.
- More symbols per reel: Games like Buffalo King Megaways and Lady Wolf Moon Megaways reach 200,704 ways by increasing the number of symbols on each reel.
- Extended reels: White Rabbit Megaways features cake symbols, which stretch the grid to 12 rows during the free spins round, unlocking up to 248,832 ways to win.
You can always check the paytable before playing to see how a game’s grid behaves. Just open the hamburger menu or select the information icon to browse the paytable and the rules.
Common Megaways Features
Megaways slots offer more than a flexible grid. These are some of the other features you’ll often benefit from when playing these casino games:
- Cascading reels: Winning symbols disappear and new ones drop into the gaps, giving you the chance to land several wins from a single spin. Some providers call these tumbling reels, reactions, or avalanches.
- Progressive multipliers: Many Megaways games boost your win multiplier with every consecutive cascade. In Bonanza Megaways, the free spins multiplier is unlimited, so it keeps climbing for as long as you keep winning.
- Free spins: You’ll usually trigger the bonus round by landing scatter symbols during the base game. That will unlock a free spins round. Many Megaways slots let you retrigger extra spins by landing more scatters during this bonus round.
- Bonus buys: Lots of Megaways games let you dive straight into the bonus round if you pay a fee. For example, you might need to pay 100x your bet to automatically trigger the free spins bonus game.
- Mystery symbols: Some games include transforming symbols that all flip to reveal the same matching symbol, helping you form wins across the huge grids.
Best Megaways Slots
Hundreds of online slots now use the Megaways mechanic to dial up the excitement. These are the top five games to try out:
- Bonanza Megaways: This is the game that catapulted the Megaways mechanic into the limelight. You’ll dig for gold across six reels, and there are up to 117,649 ways to win. There’s a cascading reels feature too, giving you the chance to rack up multiple wins from a single spin. The free spins round features an unlimited win multiplier that grows with every cascade.
- White Rabbit Megaways: Head down the rabbit hole in this exciting Megaways slot from BTG. There are up to 248,832 ways to win, and the maximum payout is 17,420x your bet. White Rabbit Megaways has a 97.24% RTP rate, which is well above average, and it increases to 97.72% if you activate the bonus buy feature.
- Buffalo King Megaways: Pragmatic Play’s stampeding slot transports you to the American wilderness, where you’ll encounter buffaloes, eagles, cougars, and wolves. The game features up to 200,704 ways to win. Tumbling reels remove winning symbols to make way for new ones, and wild multipliers of up to 5x boost your payouts during the free spins round. It’s a high-volatility game, with a 5,000x max win.
- Lady Wolf Moon Megaways: This mystical slot from BGaming also offers up to 200,704 ways to win. Every wild comes with a 2x multiplier, and a Wheel of Fortune unlocks free spins and payout boosts of up to 25x. You’ll benefit from cascading wins too.
- Gonzo’s Quest Megaways: Red Tiger reworked NetEnt’s iconic Gonzo’s Quest slot with up to 117,649 ways to win. The “Avalanche” mechanic replaces winning symbols and ramps up a win multiplier with each consecutive drop.
Conclusion
You’ll find a wide range of Megaways slots at the best crypto casinos. They host games from leading studios like BTG, Red Tiger, Pragmatic Play, Blueprint Gaming, and BGaming.
These sites normally support BTC, ETH, USDT, and various other coins. They often let you play Megaways slots for free in demo mode. You can then switch to playing for real money after you’re comfortable with how the Megaways grid behaves.
Most of these slots have high volatility levels, so it’s important to manage your bankroll carefully. We also recommend choosing Megaways slots with high RTP rates, such as White Rabbit Megaways by BTG.
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Ilija is a CCN writer with 7 years of experience covering all things crypto. Ever since a fateful run-in with Litecoin in 2013, he's been an avid investor and writer in the space. When he's not maniacally hacking away at his keyboard, Ilija spends his time either hiking in nature or holed up in his apartment gaming.
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