The Top 10 MegaWays Slots

If you’ve been hanging around the best online casinos for the past year or so, then you’ve probably noticed that more and more slots are appearing with the made-up word ‘MEGAWAYS’ emblazoned across them. This may confuse you somewhat, as you have no idea what it means and why so many online casinos now have lots of MegaWays slots.

New Australian casinos and new Canadian casinos are especially eager to snap up video slots with this feature, but what makes such online pokies so special, and which are the best MegaWays slots? Here are the answers to both those questions!

What is the MegaWays Concept?

It is a brilliant concept from the online software company Big Time Gaming. When you play any slot, you will notice that it may have a fixed number of paylines. These are sequences across the reels that identical symbols need to fall upon to trigger a win.

Some have the ‘all ways win’ feature. Here, you have to land identical symbols on successive reels to win. Their actual positions on the reels are of no consequence.

To work out how many paylines this is, you have to multiply the number of rows in sequence as many times as there are reels. So, if a slot has three rows of five reels, then that’s a possible 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 which equals 243 paylines.

With MegaWays, the actual number of rows per reel varies with each spin. Some reels may have as little as two symbols on them, while others can have as many as eight! To max out your chances of a winning combo, even more, there are six reels in play as opposed to the ‘traditional’ five.

Now, you would think this would give you a maximum of 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 = 262,144 ways to win – however, there’s a catch! But it’s a good catch! Above the middle four reels, there’s an extra, ‘sideways’ reel that spins each time you spin the main reels. This gives the middle four reels and extra symbol, meaning that the maximum ways to win are actually 8 x 9 x 9 x 9 x 9 x 8 = 419,000,914!!

Of course, this number is controlled by parameters set within the video slots game, and few games actually max out at this stunning total. Typically with all MegaWays slots, the number of paylines is displayed with each spin, so you know how many chances to win you have!

Are all Slots with the MegaWays Feature made by Big Time Gaming?

No—the technology is licensed! If you search across both established and new UK casinos you will quickly notice that there are numerous games saying they are ‘MegaWays’ reel-system games, and all from separate providers. Have these software providers ‘stolen’ the variable-reel mechanic of their games from Big Time Gaming?

The answer is ‘No!’ – Big Time Gaming have been very clever, and they lease the popular concept to other gaming providers, meaning that their fellow online wagering software companies can jump about the bandwagon … for a suitable fee of course!

Top 5 Online Casinos that offer MegaWays Slots

What are the Best MegaWays Slots that are Available to Play?

Here then, without further ado, are what we at Casino Digest judge to be the ten best online video slots games to play that have been blessed with the MegaWays concept.

[10] Rainbow Riches (Barcrest/SG Digital)

Rainbow Riches has always been one of Barcrest most popular slots. Still, when SG Digital snapped the company up in 2011, the new guys eventually decided to give Rainbow Riches a fresh lick of paint and add the MegaWays concept. This is an Ireland-themed slot where you explore the path along a rainbow hoping, of course, to find a pot of gold right at the end of it. This slot maxes out with 117,649 ways to win, plus a pleasing RTP (Return-to-Player) of 95.9%.

[9] Sweet Success (Blueprint Gaming)

Blueprint Gaming was one of the first software houses to lease the concept from Big Time Gaming, and so this company has more MegaWays slots than anyone else, aside from Big Time Gaming themselves of course! You can experience a real sugar-rush via this sweetie of a game that comes complete with mystery symbols and a ‘Pick ‘n’ Mix’ bonus trail. It also comes complete with max paylines of 117,649 and a finger-sucking RTP of 96.06%.

[8] Rick and Morty (Blueprint Gaming)

Wubba-lubba-dub-dub! If you’ve never entered the cartoon world of Rick and Morty, then we suggest you do so pronto! A loose spoof of ‘Back to the Future’, Rick is a nihilistic time-travelling genius who takes his generally hapless grandson Marty along for the ride. This game pays homage to the Adult Swim series, with an RTP of 96.55% and a maximum number of ways to win set at 117,649.

[7] Battleship Direct Hit (WMS/SG Digital)

It’s hard to believe, but in the days before XBOXs and PS4s children were content to play games involving just pen and paper. The ‘Battleship’ was one such game that eventually became an electronic game but has since faded out of existence. You can, however, relive those days by playing the “Battleship Direct Hit” game, originally from WMS. This game has a maximum 117,649 ways to win and an explosive RTP of 95.9%.

[6] Holy Diver (Big Time Gaming)

As you may have noticed by now, the majority of the slots on this list are from the originators of this concept – Big Time Gaming! This is a mega MegaWays slot as the number of paylines maxes out at a spiffing 586,971! This slot is set in the middles ages when knights were bold, and damsels were always getting kidnapped by dragons … or should that be dragon-napped? Anyhow, this slot has a rewarding RTP of up to 96.54%.

[5] Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (Big Time Gaming)

Of course, when asked, most people would say that they would want to be a millionaire. Unfortunately, you will not become a millionaire if you play, but you’ve still the chance of winning something, as thanks to this concept this slot has a maximum of 117,649 ways to win and an RTP of 96.27%. The slot is, of course, based on the top-rated quiz show of the same name.

[4] Vikings Unleashed (Blueprint Gaming)

What is it about Vikings and slot machines? It seems that there are plenty of Viking-themed slots around, so those Nordic nuisances must have been playing slots when they were not invading foreign territories and generally being bad people. This innovative game from Blueprint Gaming is another to have been given the ‘MegaWays’ concept, giving it a maximum of 117,649 ways to win and helping it towards a decent RTP of 96.5%.

[3] Extra Chilli (Big Time Gaming)

There are many hot and spicy slots about, but perhaps none hotter and spicier than Extra Chilli MegaWays from Big Time Gaming themselves. This is the second game made with this concept (see our number one selection for the first-ever made game) and the gameplay is set around a Mexican market. You might get a little hot and sweaty playing this game with its 117,649 max paylines and a max RTP of 96.82%.

[2] Primal (Blueprint Gaming)

There’s a rumble in the jungle, and it’s thanks to Primal from Blueprint Gaming which wins our vote as the best MegaWays game that has not been produced by Big Time Gaming themselves. Not quite up to the max with 46,656 ways to win, this animalistic slot still boasts an RTP of 96.76% which is pretty impressive. Look out for the free spin bonus with multipliers up to x243.

[1] Bonanza (Big Time Gaming)

For number one we are of course going to select the game where it all started for Big Time Gaming – Bonanza MegaWays. Nothing to do with the 60s TV show, this game sets you searching an old abandoned gold mine for treasures. Maxing out with 117,649 paylines and a 96% RTP, you are more likely to hit gold than with other, non-MegaWayed slots!

Remember, just because a slot has the Megaways concept, it does not mean you are more likely to win a vast fortune if you play it. All slots should be played for entertainment purposes only, and you should only ever gamble with money that you can afford to lose. Stay safe!