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. 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. 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. That product is 117,649. Seven to the sixth power. It is the maximum the engine can produce, achieved only when all six reels land at full height simultaneously, which is uncommon. Wins pay on adjacent reels, left to right. Matching symbols count if they appear anywhere on consecutive reels starting from the first. Position within the reel is irrelevant, which is what makes the ways structure work. Some titles add a horizontal reel. Bonanza runs an extra row above the middle reels that contributes additional symbols to the count, and in that game it is the only place wild symbols appear. Cascading reels chain wins from one spin. Winning symbols are removed, new ones drop into the spaces, and any fresh combination pays again. The sequence continues until no new win forms, so a single paid spin can produce several wins. More Ways Does Not Mean Better Odds This is the point the marketing leaves implicit, and it is worth being direct about. The number of ways to win and the return of the game are set together. A game offering 117,649 ways pays proportionally less per matching combination than a game offering 20 paylines, because the paytable is calibrated against the ways count. Published return on Bonanza sits at 96%, which is squarely the industry average, and Megaways titles across studios cluster in the same range as ordinary slots. So the figure describes structural variety, not generosity. It tells you the grid changes shape and that wins can form in many configurations.