Megaways Slots and How the Mechanic Works

A Megaways slot advertises up to 117,649 ways to win, which sounds like a different category of game from a 20-payline classic. Mechanically it is. Mathematically it is not, and understanding why is the difference between reading the number as information and reading it as a promise.

This explains how the engine actually produces that figure, what cascades do, and why more ways to win does not mean better odds.

Where the Number Comes From

The mechanic was built by Big Time Gaming and introduced with Bonanza in December 2016.

Its creator, now part of Evolution and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority, went on to license the engine to other developers, which is why hundreds of Megaways titles exist across studios that did not invent it.

Arithmetic behind the headline figure is simple once seen.

1. Six reels, variable height. On each spin, every reel independently displays somewhere between two and seven symbols. The grid is a different shape every time.

2. Ways multiply across reels. The number of ways is the product of the symbol counts on each reel. Two symbols on every reel gives 2×2×2×2×2×2, or 64 ways. Seven on every reel gives 7×7×7×7×7×7.

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