Megaways: Everything You Should Know About the All-Conquering Slot Mechanic Before You Spin
With the inception of Bonanza in 2016, Big Time Gaming changed online slot gaming forever. While the sector had been building upon the core slot mechanics that still underpin standing fruit machines, at the time, the furthest developers had gone was 1,024. Then came Bonanza and its incredible count of 117,649 paylines.
It wasn’t just the payline count that changed, though. Bonanza introduced a new reel set, the potential for reels to contain symbols of different sizes, and infused a horizontal reel situated above the middlemost vertical reels. As the Britannica page details, the original slots had just one payline, so this count marks quite the evolution.
Only made possible by digital technology, the mechanic underpinning Bonanza became Megaways, which has now been licensed out to studios around the world to toy with in their creations. Now, Megaways is everywhere, so choosing which titles to try can be tricky. Here, we’re going into everything you need to know about these games.
Not All Megaways Slots are Made Equal
The core format of Megaways, as seen in Bonanza, makes every single one of the potential 117,649 paylines viable when the right symbol size combinations land. Each game is always an ‘up to’ on the payline count, but even then, the low end of paylines regularly seen is in the thousands or tens of thousands.
However, now that so many other developers have explored the potential of Megaways and infused it into their most popular slots to give them a new lease on life, the top payline counts have also changed. Now, among the collection at the Megaways casino, maximum payline counts swing from 117,659 to 15,625.
Hitting the top count, you’d look to games like Ancient Island Megaways, Wheel of Fortune Megaways, or Barnyard Megahays Megaways. Coming in at 15,625 paylines, you’ll find Eye of Horus Megaways, while Gold Cash Free Spins Megaways hits a maximum of 16,807.
Then, you’ve also got the supremely popular Big Bass Bonanza coming in with its Megaways version, which can have up to 46,656 paylines. It’s important to note that more paylines doesn’t necessarily mean a better Megaways games. The count will be reliant on symbol sizes and reel counts, so the differing caps merely speaks to the variety available.
Slot Fundamentals Still Factor in
The Megaways mechanic has become very popular for its ability to award any and all wins that land in sequence from the leftmost reel. However, with much more variety out there than in the old days of slots recalled by this ThoughtCo. piece, players can be much pickier and hone in on games that also have the other mechanics and features that they want to tap into.
Naturally, volatility is one of the first things that comes to mind. Most are high volatility, as is often the case with modern slots, but you’ll find some medium volatility gems in the selection as well, like with Destiny Joker Megaways. It’s also important to factor in win potential.
Once the world record holder, Mega Moolah, is now available with Megaways and is still linked to the multi-million progressive jackpot suite. As well as these elements, players can look for specific bonus features, like the fishing bonus of Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways, and themes, from the spooky setting of Madame Destiny Megaways to the colour-burst theme of Extra Juicy Megaways.
Megaways has completely transformed online slots and players’ expectations for these games. Luckily, studios caught onto this, leading to an array of different slots to play. All that’s left to see is what BTG comes up with next to change the state of play in casino gaming.