Megaways Explained

Written & tested by James Carter iGaming analyst · 9 years reviewing offshore operators

Megaways is not a game. It is a licensed reel engine, invented by the Australian studio Big Time Gaming in 2016 and now licensed to more than thirty studios. If you have played slots in Britain in the last five years you have played one, whether you noticed the branding or not.

How the engine works

A conventional slot has a fixed grid — five reels of three symbols, with paylines drawn across them. Megaways replaces that with a variable grid. Each of the six reels displays anywhere between two and seven symbols, and the number changes on every single spin.

Wins are not paid on lines. Any matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from the left pay out, regardless of position. The total number of ways is simply the symbol counts multiplied together.

117,649 is simply 7 to the power of 6. It is the theoretical maximum, and it occurs rarely — most spins land somewhere between 1,000 and 15,000 ways. The headline number is real but it is a ceiling, not an average.

Cascades and the reaction mechanic

Almost every Megaways title pairs the engine with cascading reels: winning symbols disappear, symbols above drop into the gaps, and any new win pays again. A single spin can therefore produce several consecutive wins.

In the free spins round most titles add a multiplier that increases with each cascade and — crucially — does not reset between spins. That is where the enormous wins come from, and it is also why the base game feels so barren by comparison. The maths is deliberately back-loaded.

What the UK version removes

The engine is identical worldwide. The configuration is not.

The bonus buy matters more on Megaways than on any other format. Because the maths is back-loaded into the free spins round, buying straight into the feature is the only way to skip a base game that is designed to be unrewarding. That is precisely why the UKGC banned it — and precisely why offshore Megaways play feels so different.

The titles worth knowing

• Bonanza — the original, from 2016. Still the reference point, and still one of the best-balanced.
• Buffalo Rising — Blueprint's early licence, 96.05%, and among the most widely available.
• Extra Chilli — introduced the free spins gamble, letting you risk your spins for more.
• Fishin' Frenzy Megaways — Blueprint's UK staple rebuilt on the engine.
• Eye of Horus Megaways — the walking-wild mechanic on a variable grid.
• Piggy Riches Megaways and Twin Spin Megaways — NetEnt classics reworked.

Volatility: the part nobody warns you about

Megaways titles are high to extreme volatility almost without exception. That is a structural consequence of the format, not a choice — a grid that can produce 117,649 ways can also produce 64, and the distribution of outcomes is enormously wide.

The practical implication is bankroll. A £100 balance at £1 a spin will frequently not survive to a feature trigger, which on many Megaways games averages one spin in 150 or worse. Our volatility guide covers how to size stakes for this.

And check the RTP

Megaways titles are among the most commonly reconfigured slots in the market. The same game frequently ships at 96.5%, 95.5% and 94.5%, and the operator chooses. Open the paytable before you spin. How to read it →

Which sites carry the full-volatility builds with the bonus buy intact is covered on our Megaways not on GamStop page.

Why the base game feels so empty

Players consistently describe Megaways base games as dead, and that perception is correct rather than imagined. It is a design consequence, not bad luck.

With up to 117,649 ways, a game that paid generously on ordinary combinations would return far more than its RTP allows. So designers make ordinary wins tiny — typically 0.2× to 2× the stake — and move the return budget into the free spins round where the unlimited multiplier lives.

On a typical Megaways title, 60% to 75% of the total return sits inside a feature that triggers roughly once in 150 to 250 spins. The base game is a toll booth, and it is meant to be.

The unlimited multiplier, and why it matters

This is the mechanic that defines the format. In the free spins round, each cascade increases a win multiplier by one, and unlike the base game it does not reset between spins. It carries across the entire feature.

Twelve free spins with an average of three cascades each ends at around 36×. That is where five-figure wins come from, and it is also why two players on the same game can have completely different experiences: one triggers at 3× and one at 40×.

Reading a Megaways paytable

• Reel heights. Six reels of 2–7 is standard. Some titles run a seventh horizontal reel above, adding another multiplier to the ways count.
• Maximum ways. 117,649 is standard for 6×7. Titles advertising 200,704 use a different grid — check what it actually is.
• Feature trigger. Usually four scatters. Some need five, which is materially rarer.
• Retrigger. Whether landing scatters during the feature adds spins. Titles without it are considerably harsher.
• Multiplier reset. The critical one. If it resets each spin rather than carrying, the ceiling drops enormously.

Megaways and bonus wagering

If you are clearing a wagering requirement, Megaways is close to the worst choice available. The variance means the balance frequently disappears before the requirement is met, and the max-bet rule prevents betting large enough to clear it quickly.

Worse, a bonus buy on a Megaways title almost always exceeds the maximum stake permitted while a bonus is active, which voids the offer outright. Our wagering guide covers that trap.

The licensing economics

Big Time Gaming licenses the engine rather than building every game itself. Studios pay for the right to use it, which is why Blueprint, Pragmatic, Red Tiger, iSoftBet and dozens of others ship Megaways titles.

This is worth knowing because it explains the quality spread. The engine is identical; the maths built on top of it is not. Some licensees produce carefully balanced games; others bolt the mechanic onto a weak paytable and rely on the brand. The word Megaways on a game guarantees the reel behaviour and nothing else.

Common questions

Are Megaways slots higher RTP?

No. They sit in the same 94–96.5% band as everything else, and like everything else they ship in multiple builds. The ways count is a mechanic, not an advantage.

Does the maximum ways figure improve my odds?

No. More ways means more chances to hit small wins, and the payouts are scaled down proportionately. The number is a marketing figure that describes the grid, not the value.

Which Megaways game pays best?

There is no such game, and any list claiming otherwise is guessing. What you can compare is max win, RTP build and feature trigger frequency — three figures on the paytable that are actually knowable.