Megaways Slots Explained: How 117,649 Ways Work

Promotional banner for Big Time Gaming's Bonanza, the gold mining slot that made the Megaways mechanic famous

What Megaways actually is

Megaways is a reel engine, not a game. It is a patented and trademarked mechanic created by the Australian studio Big Time Gaming (BTG), and every slot carrying the name either comes from BTG or from a studio that licenses it.

The idea is simple to state. On a normal video slot each reel shows a fixed number of symbols, say three or four, every spin. On a Megaways slot each reel shows a random number of symbols on every spin, so the shape of the grid changes each time you press the button. BTG's own page for Bonanza describes the patented system as giving each spin the potential for up to 117,649 ways to win.

There are no paylines. A win is formed by matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from the leftmost reel, in any position on each reel. Because the number of positions changes every spin, so does the number of possible combinations, and that changing count is the figure most Megaways games display above the reels.

How the number of ways is calculated

The ways count is every reel's symbol count multiplied together. That is the whole formula, and it explains why the number on screen jumps around so much from one spin to the next.

The standard layout is six reels, each showing between two and seven symbols. Seven symbols on all six reels gives 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7, which is 117,649: the famous ceiling. Two symbols on every reel gives 2 to the power of six, which is 64 ways, the floor of a standard six-reel game.

Most spins land somewhere in between. Racing Post's worked example is a spin showing 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 symbols across the six reels: 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 is 5,040 ways. Shift one reel up or down by a single symbol and the total moves by hundreds or thousands.

Here is some illustrative arithmetic to show how rare the maximum is. If each reel picked its height evenly from the six options between two and seven, the chance of all six showing seven would be one in 6 to the power of six, or one in 46,656 spins. Real games do not publish their reel-height weightings and have no reason to make them even, so treat that as a feel for the scale, not a figure for any particular slot.

The horizontal reel and games that go past 117,649

Many Megaways slots add a horizontal reel above or below the main grid, usually covering reels two to five and showing four symbols. It adds symbols to those reels, so the multiplication grows. Racing Post's example takes the 5,040-way spin above and adds a four-symbol horizontal reel: 7 x 6 x 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 4, or 20,160 ways.

Reel counts and heights are also up to each game. BTG's White Rabbit 2 lists 16,807 ways in the base game and 248,832 in the feature, with reels growing up to 12 symbols high. Those figures are 7 to the power of five and 12 to the power of five, which tells you the game is built on five reels rather than six.

Licensees tune the layout too. Pragmatic Play's Forever Split Megaways is listed at up to 72,030 ways, with boosted symbols on two special horizontal reels carrying multipliers of up to 15x, which are added to a total multiplier for the rest of that spin's tumbles. The ceiling on the info screen of the game in front of you is the only one that counts, so check it rather than assuming 117,649.

Artwork for Pragmatic Play's Forever Split Megaways slot

Cascades: why one spin can pay several times

Almost every Megaways slot pairs the changing reels with cascading wins, sometimes called tumbles or reactions. Winning symbols are removed, new symbols drop into the gaps, and if those form a fresh win the process repeats, all from one paid spin.

Cascades matter more on Megaways than on fixed grids because the refills land on a grid whose shape already varies, and many games attach a multiplier that grows with each cascade in free spins. BTG's Extra Chilli More Chilli describes an unlimited win multiplier in free spins that grows with each reaction.

For UK players there is a regulatory footnote. The Gambling Commission's online slots rules, announced in February 2021 and in force from 31 October 2021, banned autoplay, banned spins faster than 2.5 seconds, banned sounds or imagery celebrating a return equal to or below the stake, and require the screen to show session time and net losses or wins. A chain of small cascades that adds up to less than your stake should not be dressed up as a win in a UK game.

Who makes Megaways slots and how the licence works

BTG launched the mechanic in its own games before licensing it out. A CasinoBeats report from 1 May 2018 says Megaways debuted in BTG's Dragon Born more than two years earlier, and names Bonanza, White Rabbit and Extra Chilli as BTG titles built on it. Bonanza is the one most players remember: up to 117,649 ways, cascading wins and free spins with retriggers, at a listed RTP of 96.00%.

The licensing deals started in 2018. The same CasinoBeats piece covers Blueprint Gaming, part of the Gauselmann Group, signing what was described as a first-of-its-kind agreement, with Diamond Mine as Blueprint's first Megaways release. Gaming Intelligence reported a licence for Red Tiger Gaming in October 2018, and Pragmatic Play has since built a large Megaways catalogue of its own.

Ownership changed in 2021. In April that year Evolution agreed to buy BTG for up to 450 million euros, 220 million up front and up to 230 million more tied to BTG's later earnings, according to iGaming Business. BTG had reported 2020 revenue of 33 million euros. BTG's site now offers two newer mechanics, Megapays and Megaclusters, to existing Megaways licence holders.

Does more ways mean better odds?

No. The ways count tells you how many symbol combinations are on the grid for that spin; it does not tell you how much the game pays back. That is set by the RTP and the paytable, and the designers price symbol values knowing how many ways the grid can produce.

Look at the published RTPs of some Megaways titles we cover: The Dog House Megaways 1000 at 96.50%, Forever Split Megaways at 96.58% and Dragon Pots Megaways at 96.58%, according to Pragmatic Play's own game pages. Those sit in the same range as plenty of fixed-payline slots. Bonanza, with the same 117,649 ceiling as many of them, is listed at 96.00%. The ceiling on ways is not what separates them.

The RTP on a provider's page may also not be the version an operator has switched on. Our guide to slot RTP versions shows how to find the figure in the game you are actually playing.

What the changing grid does affect is the feel. Small grids with 64 or a few hundred ways pay little, big grids can line up long runs of matches, and much of a Megaways game's value tends to sit in features such as free spins and multipliers. That makes many of them high-variance by design, and our explainer on max win probability, hit frequency and RTP covers why a headline max win can be a very long way from what a typical session looks like.

Megaways features in the games we cover

Licensees build their own features on top of the engine, so two Megaways games can play very differently. A few examples from Pragmatic Play's own game pages:

The Dog House Megaways 1000: wild multipliers worth up to 1,000x that multiply together when more than one lands on a spin, plus a choice of Sticky Wilds or Random Wilds free spins.
Dragon Pots Megaways: six reels, with free spins modifiers that turn up to five symbols wild, add a random multiplier of up to 10x or attach money values of up to 200x to wilds.
Forever Split Megaways: tumbling wins and multiplier symbols on the horizontal reels that build a total multiplier through the spin.

Bonus buy buttons are common on Megaways games outside the UK. Extra Chilli More Chilli, for instance, lists a 100x stake buy for 10 free spins and a 5x stake Power Play mode. Whether you see that button depends on where you play, which our bonus buy guide explains.

Artwork for Pragmatic Play's The Dog House Megaways 1000 slot

Reading a Megaways game before you spin

Three checks tell you most of what you need. First, open the info screen and find the maximum ways and the reel layout, because 117,649 is a common ceiling, not a rule. Second, find the RTP the game is running at, not the one on a review page. Third, read how the free spins work and what the stated maximum win is, since that is where these games keep much of their value.

Then set a budget and a time limit before the first spin, and stick to them. A shifting grid and chains of cascades make Megaways slots feel busy, and busy is not the same as winning. Slots are entertainment with a built-in house edge, never a way to make money, and they are for adults aged 18 and over only. If gambling stops being fun, free confidential help is available from GamCare or BeGambleAware.

Sources

FAQs

What does Megaways mean on a slot?

Megaways means the slot uses Big Time Gaming's licensed reel engine, where each reel shows a random number of symbols on every spin. Wins pay for matching symbols on adjacent reels from the left, in any position, with no fixed paylines. Because reel heights change each spin, the number of ways to win changes too, and most games display that count above the reels.

How is 117,649 ways worked out?

It is seven symbols on each of six reels multiplied together: 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 equals 117,649. Every spin's ways count is found the same way, by multiplying each reel's symbol count. A spin showing 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2 symbols gives 5,040 ways, and two symbols on every reel gives the minimum of 64.

Are Megaways slots more likely to pay out?

No. More ways means more possible symbol combinations on that spin, but the paytable is priced around that, and the long-term return is set by the game's RTP. Pragmatic Play lists Forever Split Megaways and Dragon Pots Megaways at 96.58%, in the same range as many fixed-payline slots. Always check the RTP version your casino is running.

Who invented Megaways?

Big Time Gaming, an Australian studio, created and patented the mechanic. It debuted in BTG's Dragon Born and became famous through Bonanza. BTG began licensing it to other studios in 2018, starting with Blueprint Gaming, and Evolution agreed to buy BTG in April 2021 for up to 450 million euros.

Can a Megaways slot have more than 117,649 ways?

Yes. 117,649 is the standard ceiling for six reels of up to seven symbols, but layouts vary. An extra horizontal reel multiplies the total further, and BTG's White Rabbit 2 lists up to 248,832 ways in its feature, with reels growing to 12 symbols high. Other games cap lower: Forever Split Megaways lists up to 72,030.

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Megaways Slots Explained: How the Ways Are Counted