Megaways is a ways-to-win mechanic in which each reel shows a different number of symbols on every spin, so the number of winning combinations changes from one spin to the next. It was created by Big Time Gaming, which licenses it to other studios.
What Megaways is
On a standard slot each reel shows the same number of symbols every time, usually three. On a Megaways slot the height of each reel is drawn at random as part of the spin result. One reel might show two tall symbols, the next seven small ones. The game then counts every possible left-to-right path through matching symbols, the same way any ways game does, and pays each one.
The name refers to the number of ways, not to any particular theme or bonus. Megaways versions now exist of many older games, and the reel set underneath is redesigned for each one.
How it works, step by step
- You set a total stake per spin. There are no paylines to choose.
- The random number generator picks a height for each reel, typically between two and seven symbols on six reels, and fills each position.
- The number of ways is the product of the reel heights. Six reels all showing seven symbols gives 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 = 117,649 ways. Six reels all showing two gives 64.
- Any symbol that lands on adjacent reels from the leftmost reel forms a win. If reel one has two cherries and reel two has three, that is six separate cherry paths before reel three is even counted.
- Wins are added up and paid against your stake.
Many Megaways games also have a horizontal reel above the middle reels that adds an extra symbol to each of those columns, which changes the maximum count. The figure shown on screen before or during the spin is the one that applies.
Common variations
- Cascades: most Megaways games pair the mechanic with cascading reels, so winning symbols vanish and new ones drop in, and the reel heights can change again on each drop.
- Free spins with growing multipliers: a common pattern is free spins where a multiplier rises with each cascade and does not reset.
- Locked heights: some bonus rounds fix reels at maximum height for the whole feature.
- Mystery and wild variations: studios layer their own features, such as mystery symbols, on the same engine.
What it does to the maths and the feel
The big headline number is easy to misread. A high ways count on one spin does not mean a better spin in the long run, because the game's RTP is calculated across every possible reel height and every possible outcome. The stake does not change with the ways count, so the game designer balances the paytable around the full range.
In practice, Megaways games tend to have a fairly high hit frequency of small wins in the base game, many of them below the stake, and to save most of their return for features with stacking multipliers. That combination usually puts them at the higher end of volatility: long runs of small or no returns, with rare large outcomes. Volatility describes how spread out the results are, not whether the game is generous. Every Megaways game, like every slot, has a house edge.
Rules in Great Britain
Megaways games are widely available on GB-licensed sites. The same rules apply as for any online slot: a stake limit of £5 per spin for players 25 and over and £2 per spin for 18 to 24 year olds, and the game design rules from 31 October 2021, which include a minimum 2.5 seconds per spin and no celebration of a win that is equal to or less than the stake. That last rule matters on Megaways games, where many small wins are worth less than you put in. Feature buys, common on these games elsewhere, are not offered on GB-licensed sites.
Megaways is a trademark of Big Time Gaming.
Questions people ask
How many ways to win does a Megaways slot have?
It changes every spin. On the common layout of six reels showing two to seven symbols each, the count runs from 64 up to 117,649, and some games add an extra horizontal reel that changes the range.
Who makes Megaways slots?
The mechanic was created by Big Time Gaming, which licenses it to other studios. That is why you see Megaways versions of games from many different providers.
Does a spin with more ways pay more?
Not on average in any way you can use. More ways means more chances of a matching line-up on that spin, but the game's maths already accounts for every reel height, and the stake stays the same whatever the count.