Free Megaways Slots

Where the reel engine comes from

Megaways is a mechanic created by Big Time Gaming, which calls Dragon Born, released in 2016, the world's first Megaways slot. On six reels, each reel shows a different number of symbols on every spin, from two to seven. Multiply the heights and a full screen gives 7 to the power of 6, or 117,649 ways, with wins paid left to right across adjacent reels. Bonanza, launched on 7 December 2016, carried the idea into wide view. Other studios now license it. Pragmatic Play released Great Rhino Megaways on 30 April 2020 as its first Megaways title, made with Big Time Gaming.

What changes from one Megaways game to the next

The ways count is a ceiling, and most spins show far fewer. Some games raise it. Great Rhino Megaways quotes up to 200,704 ways, and Rasputin Megaways lets reels show up to ten symbols, for up to 1,000,000 ways. Cascades differ too. Bonanza, Extra Chilli and 9 Pots of Gold Megaways remove winning symbols and drop new ones in, while the reviews of Wild West Gold Megaways and The Dog House Megaways note that neither cascades, so one spin gives one result.

The payoff is built differently as well. In Bonanza and Extra Chilli the free spins multiplier starts at 1x and rises by one with every cascade, which the studios describe as unlimited. Extra Chilli adds an optional gamble for extra spins that can end with none. Rasputin Megaways asks for a choice between two free spins modes before anything is visible, one that grows the reels and one that grows a multiplier. Wild West Gold Megaways is more direct: scatters pay 4x to 500x the bet, and the wilds, which carry 2x, 3x or 5x, stay in place through the round.

Describing them by pace, the cascade games reward long chains and have a quiet base game, the choice-based ones put a decision in front of every trigger, and the sticky-wild game is the simplest to follow.

A label for the reels, not for the return

Megaways says nothing about RTP or volatility. Studio-listed RTP figures on this page run from 95.97% for Fury of Odin Megaways to 96.68% for Rasputin Megaways. Databases mostly list them as high volatility, though the studio calls 9 Pots of Gold Megaways medium. Listed top wins range from 5,000x for Wild West Gold Megaways to 68,180x for Rasputin Megaways. Settings also differ between operators, as covered in why the same slot can have different RTP.

The demos are the studios' own games on virtual credits. Gambling in Ontario is for adults 19 and over. ConnexOntario offers free, confidential support on 1-866-531-2600, and our responsible gambling page has more.