Megaways Slots — How Variable Reel Height Actually Works, Explained by a Developer
Every guide leads with “117,649 ways to win.” That number is real, but it’s also the ceiling of one specific configuration, not a universal constant of the mechanic. 117,649 comes from a standard 6-reel Megaways game at maximum reel height: 7×7×7×7×7×7. Change the reel count to 7 and the ceiling becomes 823,543.
Layer a symbol expansion mechanic on top as some studios do with xWays-style features that split each position into multiple symbols and the ways figure can exceed even that. The number on your screen is always accurate for that specific spin. It’s the product of multiplying the number of symbols currently showing on each reel. What changes is how high that product can go depending on how many reels the game uses and whether any expansion mechanics are active.
The meaningful insight isn’t the ceiling figure, it’s that the ways to win is recalculated fresh on every spin from whatever symbol count the RNG assigns to each reel. That dynamic recalculation is the actual Megaways innovation.
Best Megaways Slots:
What Megaways slots Actually Is — and Why It Changed Everything
Megaways is a patented slot mechanic developed by Big Time Gaming, an Australian studio, first appearing in Dragon Born in 2015 and then in the iconic Bonanza in 2016. The core innovation is deceptively simple: instead of a fixed number of symbol positions per reel, each reel randomly displays between 2 and 7 symbols on every spin. On a 6-reel game where each reel can show 2 to 7 symbols, the minimum ways to win is 64 (2×2×2×2×2×2) and the maximum is 117,649 (7×7×7×7×7×7). Every spin the RNG determines not just which symbols land but how many positions each reel shows, creating a constantly shifting grid that never looks the same twice.
This sounds like a minor visual change. It is actually a structural mathematical innovation that changed what is possible in a slot’s probability model.
The Math Behind Variable Reel Height — Why It Matters
In a traditional fixed-reel slot the number of possible symbol combinations is static and calculable before the game launches. The math team knows exactly how many symbol positions exist and builds the probability tables accordingly. In a Megaways slot the number of symbol positions itself is a variable. The RNG generates two independent values per reel on every spin, which symbols appear and how many symbols appear. This dual randomisation means the probability space is dramatically larger than a fixed-reel slot of equivalent dimensions. Why does this matter for players? Three reasons.
First: more symbol positions on a spin creates more opportunities for matching combinations to form. A spin where all six reels show 7 symbols covers a 6×7 grid of 42 positions. A spin where reels show 2-3 symbols each covers a much smaller surface area with fewer positions per reel contributing to win formations. The ways to win figure you see on screen (from 64 to 117,649) reflects this directly.
Second: the variable reel height means the math team can engineer a wider range of single-spin outcomes than a fixed-reel game allows. Low ways spins produce limited win potential. Maximum ways spins (all 7 symbols per reel) create the conditions for the mechanic’s ceiling outcomes. This wider outcome range is what produces the distinctive high volatility profile of most Megaways titles.
Third: most Megaways games include an additional horizontal reel running across the top of the main grid. This reel shows 4 fixed symbols and interacts with the main reels to create additional win combinations. The Bonanza mechanic where gold mine cart symbols on the top reel trigger the feature is the most famous example of this design.
The Licensing Model — Why Every Provider Has Megaways Games
Big Time Gaming made a commercial decision that is rare in the slot industry, they licensed the Megaways patent to competitor studios rather than keeping it exclusive. Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger, Blueprint Gaming, NetEnt, Iron Dog Studio, and dozens more have all built Megaways titles using BTG’s licensed engine. From a player’s perspective this has one important practical implication: a Megaways game from Pragmatic Play and a Megaways game from Blueprint Gaming both use the same core reel height randomisation mechanic under licence from BTG. The surface features themes, bonus structures, multiplier systems are different per studio. The underlying variable reel height architecture is the same licensed engine.
This is why the Megaways label on a game title is a reliable indicator of the core mechanic regardless of which studio published it. Unlike proprietary mechanics like xWays (Nolimit City only) or PopWins (Avatar UX only), Megaways appears across dozens of studios because BTG chose to commercialise through licensing rather than exclusivity.
Why Megaways Slots Tend Toward High Volatility
Every competitor notes that Megaways slots are typically high volatility. None of them explain why at a structural level. The variable reel height creates a probability distribution where maximum ways spins (117,649) are rarer than low ways spins. The math team engineering a Megaways title has to balance the full range of reel height combinations, most spins produce moderate ways to win, while maximum ways spins are low-probability events.
The real value in a Megaways slot is almost universally concentrated in the free spins bonus rather than the base game. Here’s why: during free spins, most Megaways titles activate an unlimited climbing multiplier starting at 1x and incrementing with every cascade. This multiplier has no ceiling. A long cascade chain in the final free spins of a session can produce an outcome that would be mathematically impossible in a fixed-reel slot.
The combination of variable reel height and unlimited cascade multiplier during free spins is what produces the extreme win ceilings Megaways titles advertise Bonanza 10,000x, Primal Megaways 50,000x, Dead or Alive 2 Megaways 100,000x. These ceilings require the maximum reel height configuration AND a long cascade chain AND an escalated multiplier to align simultaneously. They are rare by design. Practical implication: budget for 100-200 spins minimum on any high volatility Megaways title before expecting to reach the free spins where most of the value lives.
What Megaways Actually Feels Like — From Our Sessions
Having played dozens of Megaways titles across our documented sessions, three patterns repeat consistently. Base games are more active than fixed-reel slots at equivalent volatility. The variable reel height creates frequent small combination wins, particularly on high-ways spins. This activity masks the underlying volatility until you compare session ending balances.
The ways-to-win figure on screen creates psychological engagement. Watching 117,649 ways flash across the grid on a maximum reel spin feels significant and the math model engineers this feeling deliberately. High-ways spins create genuine win potential. Low-ways spins create visual drama without the combination density. The free spins shift is the most dramatic of any mechanic type we have reviewed. Megaways base games feel active.
Megaways free spins with the unlimited climbing multiplier active across a cascade chain can produce outcomes that make the entire preceding session feel like warmup. The gap between base game feel and bonus potential is structurally wider in Megaways than almost any other mechanic.
Megaways vs Traditional Paylines vs Cluster Pays
Three distinct win structures three different session architectures.
Traditional paylines: fixed lines, fixed positions, predictable probability tables. Every spin has the same possible outcome space. Easiest to understand and model.
Cluster pays: symbols pay when adjacent groups form. Position on grid matters. Spatial probability, where symbols land relative to each other is the win condition.
Megaways: ways to win changes every spin. Adjacency irrelevant, position on fixed lines irrelevant. The win condition is simply matching symbols on consecutive reels(different from scatter pays slots), but the number of positions per reel that count changes dynamically. Highest possible combination count per spin of any format. For bankroll planning: Megaways base games feel more active than cluster pays at equivalent volatility because more winning pathways exist per spin. But both concentrate real value in bonus features more than traditional paylines making bankroll management for the base game stretch equally important across both formats.
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FAQs
What is a Megaways slot?
Megaways is a patented slot mechanic developed by Big Time Gaming where each reel randomly displays between 2 and 7 symbols on every spin. This variable reel height creates a changing number of ways to win, from a minimum of 64 up to a maximum of 117,649 on every spin. The mechanic was first used in Dragon Born (2015) and became widely known through Bonanza (2016). BTG licenses the mechanic to other studios including Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger, and Blueprint Gaming.
How does the 117,649 ways to win work?
On a standard 6-reel Megaways game, when every reel shows its maximum of 7 symbols simultaneously, the total ways to win is 7×7×7×7×7×7 = 117,649. This maximum only occurs when all six reels hit their peak symbol count on the same spin a relatively rare event. Most spins produce a lower ways figure. The RNG determines both which symbols land and how many symbols each reel displays on every spin independently.
Are Megaways slots always high volatility?
Most Megaways titles are high or extreme volatility but this is a math model choice, not a structural requirement of the mechanic. The variable reel height and unlimited climbing multiplier during free spins naturally lend themselves to high-ceiling math models. Studios building Megaways titles consistently choose high volatility configurations because the mechanic’s architecture supports large win potential better than it supports frequent small wins.
How much bankroll do I need for a Megaways slot?
Budget for at least 100-200 spins at your chosen stake before expecting to reach the free spins bonus on a high volatility Megaways title. The base game distributes smaller frequent wins through variable reel combinations, but most significant value is concentrated in the free spins where the unlimited climbing multiplier compounds across cascades. On extreme volatility Megaways titles budget 300+ spins minimum.
Do all Megaways slots work the same way?
The core reel height randomisation mechanic is identical across all licensed Megaways games, every studio using the mechanic operates under the same BTG patent. The differences are in the features layered on top: bonus trigger conditions, multiplier structures, cascade mechanics, and special symbols vary significantly by provider and title. Bonanza’s conveyor belt reel, Gonzo’s Quest Megaways’ avalanche system, and Primal Megaways’ free spins structure all use the same underlying reel engine with very different feature architectures built on top of it.
About Author:
My name is Manish, and I’ve spent the last 6+ years working at the heart of the iGaming industry, not only as a reviewer, but as a developer building slot clients for some of the industry’s top providers. Read More→