Megaways slots explained: what the changing reels do to your session
By Slot Numbers
A standard slot has fixed reels: five reels, three rows, the same grid on every spin. A Megaways slot does not. Each of its six reels shows a different number of symbols on every spin, from two to seven, so the grid changes shape every time you press the button and so does the number of ways to win. That is the whole mechanic. Everything players notice about Megaways games, the long tumble chains, the big multipliers, the swings, follows from it.
Ways, not lines
A payline slot pays when matching symbols sit on a specific line. A ways slot pays when matching symbols appear on adjacent reels from the left, in any row. The number of ways is the product of the symbols per reel.
| Symbols per reel (six reels) | Ways on that spin |
|---|---|
| 2 on every reel | 64 |
| 4 on every reel | 4,096 |
| 7 on every reel | 117,649 |
| 7 on every reel plus a 4-symbol top reel | 200,704 |
The headline figure on a Megaways game, 117,649 or 200,704, is the maximum. Most spins show fewer symbols on at least one reel and therefore fewer ways. A spin with two symbols on reel one has 2 × whatever follows, however tall the other reels are. The grid is random, so some spins are wide and some are narrow, and that alone makes the base game uneven.
Tumbles and the growing multiplier
Most Megaways games add two things to the changing reels. Winning symbols tumble away and new ones fall in, so one paid spin can pay several times. And in the free spins, a win multiplier climbs with every tumble and does not reset until the feature ends.
Pragmatic Play’s Great Rhino Megaways shows the pattern. Four to six scatters start the bonus, you choose between 15 and 23 free spins paired with a starting multiplier of 1x, 5x or 10x, and each tumble win adds 1x on top. That combination, many ways on a wide grid plus a multiplier that keeps rising, is where the game’s stated 20,000x maximum comes from. Madame Destiny Megaways uses a wheel instead, awarding up to 12 free spins and a multiplier of up to 25x for the feature. 5 Lions Megaways lets you pick one of seven free-spins options, trading spins against multiplier wilds of up to 40x.
What the mechanic does to volatility
Megaways does not change RTP. Great Rhino Megaways, 5 Lions Megaways and Madame Destiny Megaways are all published by Pragmatic at 96.50% to 96.56%, the same range as the studio’s fixed-reel games. What changes is where the return sits.
Because the grid varies, the base game pays unevenly: a narrow spin pays little even with good symbols, a wide one can chain. Because the multiplier grows inside the free spins, the feature carries most of the value, and a short feature with few tumbles pays far less than a long one. The result is a high-volatility profile on nearly every Megaways game, with long gaps between features and a few features that decide the session. The volatility guide covers what that means for a budget.
Reading a Megaways slot page
Three things to check before you play one:
- The ways count and whether there is a top reel. 117,649 and 200,704 are the two common maximums.
- How the free spins start and how the multiplier works. A choice of spins versus starting multiplier, a wheel, or a fixed number; and whether the multiplier is unlimited.
- The RTP setting at your casino. Pragmatic offers casinos lower settings on its Megaways titles as on everything else. The RTP guide shows where to find it.
The Megaways name is licensed from Big Time Gaming, the studio that built the mechanic, which is why games from several providers carry it. The licence covers the reel engine; the maths, the features and the RTP settings are each provider’s own, so two Megaways games can play very differently.
Questions people ask
What does 117,649 ways mean?
It is the number of ways to win when all six reels show seven symbols: 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7. Fewer symbols on a reel means fewer ways on that spin. Games with a horizontal top reel can go higher, up to 200,704.
Do more ways mean a higher RTP?
No. The number of ways changes the shape of a spin, not the long-run return. A Megaways slot at 96.50% returns the same as any other slot at 96.50% over millions of spins.
Are Megaways slots high volatility?
Most are, because the value sits in free spins with a growing multiplier and the base game pays unevenly as the reels change height. Check the provider's figures on each slot page; the mechanic alone does not fix the volatility.
Who owns Megaways?
Big Time Gaming developed and licenses the mechanic, which is why games from Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Red Tiger and others carry the Megaways name.