The number on the screen before you spin a Megaways slot tells you almost nothing useful. 117,649 ways to win sounds enormous, and on the right spin it is, but the same reel configuration that produces that number can also produce 64. That tension, the not knowing, is what the mechanic was built around. It changes every single spin, and that change is the whole point of each slot demo.
How Megaways Works
Megaways was invented by Australian developer Big Time Gaming and first appeared in 2016. The core idea is simple enough to explain in one sentence: instead of a fixed number of symbols per reel, the game engine randomly assigns a height to each reel on every spin, usually between 2 and 7 symbols per column. The number of ways to win is the product of those heights multiplied together across all reels. On a 6-reel game, if every reel shows 7 symbols simultaneously, that’s 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7, which gives 117,649 ways. Most spins land well short of the maximum, which is why the number fluctuates so visibly as the reels settle.
Wins in Megaways don’t require symbols to align on fixed paylines. Any matching symbol that appears on consecutive reels from left to right counts as a win, regardless of its vertical position. This means a single spin can contain multiple overlapping winning combinations that all pay simultaneously.
What gives Megaways slots their real teeth is the tumble feature. When a winning combination lands, those symbols are removed from the reels and new ones fall from above to fill the gaps. The new arrangement is evaluated immediately for further wins, all at the same single-spin cost. There’s no cap on how many tumbles can chain from one spin. Couple that with a progressive multiplier that typically increments by 1 for each tumble during free spins, carrying over from spin to spin rather than resetting, and the ceiling of a good bonus round becomes effectively unlimited.
Big Time Gaming owns the patent on the mechanic and licenses it to other studios. That’s why you’ll find Megaways games from Pragmatic Play, Blueprint Gaming, Red Tiger and others, each using the same variable-reel engine but building their own features on top of it. Most also include a horizontal mini-reel running across the top of the main grid, which adds extra symbols on every spin and can include wilds and scatters the main reels can’t produce.
Megaways Titles Explored
The Megaways demos on this page come mostly from two providers: Pragmatic Play and Blueprint Gaming. Both license the BTG engine but use it differently.
The Dog House Megaways
One of the most-played Megaways titles in the UK, The Dog House Megaways brings the sticky wild multiplier system from the original Dog House into the variable-reel format. Free spins offer a choice of which wild type populates the bonus (each dog breed carries its own multiplier value), and those multipliers compound when multiple wilds land on the same spin. High volatility with a 12,305x max win and an RTP of 96.55%.
Buffalo King Megaways
Set on the North American plains, Buffalo King Megaways runs a standard unlimited multiplier in free spins, incrementing with each cascade and not resetting between spins. High volatility with a 5,000x max win and an RTP of 96.51%. The more contained ceiling makes it a reasonable entry point for players coming to Megaways for the first time.
Madame Destiny Megaways
The fortune-teller theme is largely cosmetic, but Madame Destiny Megaways uses a larger grid than most titles in the collection, with up to 200,704 ways to win rather than the standard 117,649. Multiplier symbols land in both the base game and free spins, where the progressive multiplier accumulates across the bonus. RTP 96.55%, max win 5,000x.
Bandit Megaways
The Wild West entry and one of the more recent additions. Bandit Megaways is notable for having no wild symbol at all — instead, dynamite multiplier symbols land with random values between 2x and 500x. Multiple dynamites on a winning tumble add together rather than multiply. During free spins, used multiplier values accumulate into a global total that persists throughout the entire bonus. High volatility with a 5,000x max win and an RTP of 96.55%.
Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways
Blueprint’s adaptation of their own land-based fishing series. The Megaways version applies the Fisherman Wild collector mechanic to a variable reel grid with up to 15,625 ways. The Fisherman collects money values from fish symbols during free spins, with multipliers climbing through retriggers. Max win 50,000x and an RTP of 96.10%, the highest ceiling on the page.
Vikings Unleashed Reloaded
Blueprint’s sequel to Vikings Unleashed Megaways adds one meaningful mechanic: before free spins begin, players can gamble each of three parameters independently — the number of spins, the starting multiplier, and the minimum guaranteed Megaways for every free spin. Gambling the Megaways wheel to maximum guarantees 117,649 ways on every spin of the bonus rather than reel heights varying downward. Mystery symbols (Thor’s hammer) can transform into matching wins at any point. The gamble is all-or-nothing at each stage; losing any wheel forfeits the bonus entirely. Max win 50,000x, RTP 96%.
The two Eye of Horus Megaways titles on this page are covered in detail on the Eye of Horus series page, where the symbol upgrade mechanic and Power Play mode are explained alongside the other entries in that collection.
