If you haven’t been playing bingo games and online slots for a long time but have seen the term Megaways crop up, there’s a very good chance you won’t fully understand what it means.
Yes, they’re associated with many slots titles available with online casinos, but what does the term actually refer to?
In short, Megaways slots are games that use the ‘Megaways random reel modifier mechanic’. The concept for this impressive sounding dynamic was conceived and developed by the Australian company Big Time Gaming.
It first came to the market in 2015 but it wasn’t really until Bonanza launched in 2016 that Megaways entered the mainstream, changing how online slots are played forever.
After all, bear in mind that normally 25 paylines on a slot game are pretty standard. But even that’s generous – back when slots machines were invented there was only one payline!
With hundreds of thousands of paylines using the Megaways concept though, the potential for wins is huge. Yes, the Megaways slots are much more volatile, but online slots players now have a unique, exciting, and revolutionary way to play slots.
How many paylines do Megaways slots have?
The Megaways concept changes how many symbols appear on the reels on any given spin, providing more ways to win than ever before. For example, many of the titles in Big Time Gaming’s library provide an amazing 117,649 ways to win.
But how do Megaways slots work?
If you’re still thinking about how complex the Megaways mechanics sound, don’t worry. It sounds more complicated that it is in reality.
In short, a Megaways slot will have six reels and anything up to seven symbols that can appear on each reel. The number of symbols that does appear however, is selected by the ‘Megaways random reel modifier mechanic’ at random.
This obviously creates many thousands of different ways to win each time you spin. But how do you get to the number 117,649 exactly? Well, when all six reels are displaying the maximum number of seven symbols per reel, the formula is 7x7x7x7x7x7 = 117,695.
- 7 x 7 = 49
- 49 x 7 = 343
- 343 x 7 = 2,401
- 2,401 x 7 = 16,807
- 16,807 x 7 =117,649 ways to win
However, it’s important to remember that not all Megaways slots offer up to 117,649 ways to win. For example, the slot title White Rabbit provides a staggering 248,832 ways to win. Even more amazingly, Holy Diver has 586,971 ways to win when you unlock the bonus game.
What is the RTP percentage for Megaways slots?
Yes, Megaways slots titles are typically volatile and pay-outs may be less frequent. However, according to Big Time Gaming, the guys that came up with the mechanic, the average RTP percentage for Megaways slots games was a pretty generous 96.22%.
As with any slots titles, Megaways slots games vary their RTP percentages from game to game. White Rabbit Megaways is thought to have the highest RTP percentage though. Standing at 97.77%, this slot game is almost certainly worth a spin or two.
