Deeper look into the revolutionary slot feature.
Among the events that truly revolutionized the way people see slots, the invention of Megaways has to be one of the most recognizable. But for slot players that have newly arrived to the scene, many probably don’t fully understand what Megaways is. Don’t worry, this article will give you everything you need to know about this engine.
What is Megaways and How Does It Work?
In its most basic terms, the Megaways engine randomly alters the number of symbols on each reel after every spin. Therefore, every new spin comes with a different arrangement of symbols on the reels.
As the name Megaways suggests, it opens up the number of ways to win from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. Usually, Megaways slots have 117,649 ways to win, but some titles push this limit much higher, like Holy Diver with 586,971 ways to win (when free spins feature activates). The Megaways feature at its best can offer a winning potential of up to 50,000x the stakes.
History of Megaways
The Megaways mechanics was invented by Big Time Gaming in 2015, which greatly boosted the reputation of the studio. At the time, people thought that slots with big symbols were the hottest commodity but Megaways slots completely changed the market and set the trend for many other studios to follow.
That being said, the first Megaways release titled Dragon Born was actually not that significant. However, it’s the second Megaways slot that is Bonanza that helps the engine take off.
History may be rewriting itself as Big Time Gaming has come out with a new engine: Megaclusters, which is a combination of Megaways and cluster-pay. The new invention looks promising, but only the future can tell whether it can recreate Megaways’ glory.
How To Win on Megaways Slots?
While normal slots feature specific paylines, Megaways slots have one simple rule for how to create a winning combination: landing identical symbols adjacent to each other and from left to right. This makes spotting a win on a Megaways slot pretty easy as you don’t need to consider the symbol size or numbers of symbols on a reel.
Calculating Paylines and Potential Winnings
Most Megaways slots display the number of ways to win for that particular spin above the grid. This number will differ for every spin. The way to verify this yourself is to multiply the number of symbols on every reel with each other.
For example, if a slot from reel 1 to 6 contains 5, 4, 2, 3, 3 and 6 symbols respectively, the formula for calculating paylines is: 5 x 4 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 6 = 2,160 ways to win.
Examples of Megaways Slots
Although the Megaways engine is Big Time Gaming’s trademark, thankfully, they have licensed the mechanic to other slot providers. This results in a wild variety of Megaways titles to choose from for slot players. Some of the most popular Megaways slots on the market include:
- Bonanza by Big Time Gaming
- Buffalo King Megaways by Pragmatic Play
- Divine Fortune Megaways by NetEnt
- Extra Chilli by Big Time Gaming
- Great Rhino Megaways by Pragmatic Play
- The Dog House Megaways by Pragmatic Play
- Gonzo's Quest Megaways by NetEnt
The Future of Megaways
Megaways has undoubtedly changed the online slot landscape for the better. Since then, many great mechanics and bonus features have come along but you will still see the presence of Megaways slots in almost all online casinos. The idea of Megaways one day going out of fashion is indeed a difficult picture to imagine.
// Richard
