Megaways Feature in Online Slots Explained + Best Paying Slots

How does Megaways feature work?

To form a winning combination, the symbols in the classic slots must be lined up on a special line. The sole stipulation in Megaways slots is that the winning symbols must occur on neighbouring reels.

How do I calculate the number of pay lines in Megaways? It's easy enough: you have to find out how many rows there are in your chosen slot and then find out the number of reels. You then have only to multiply the number of rows by the number of reels. For instance, in Megaways slot 8 rows and 5 reels. Consequently, we do the mathematical operation: 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 = 32,768 pay lines. You can do this with any slot that has the Megaways option.

One more clarification, the number of Megaways paylines is not always fixed. That is, our calculation above is the maximum possible number of paylines. In the course of the game, this value is constantly changing. For example, the slot contains 7 rows and 5 reels. You have activated only the first 4 reels. Based on this, you can calculate how many lines were involved in this particular spin: 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 = 16,807 lines. And such calculations occur every new spin. So do not worry that you have to calculate these parameters yourself. Information about the current number of active lines in each spin can be seen on the scoreboard at the top of the game.

You can also calculate your own winnings from each bet you make on a particular spin. To do this, you must take into account:

• Number of pay lines involved in a particular spin

• The size of your total bet

• Determine the value of the winning combination by looking at the payout table.

Specifics of Megaways slots

There are several parameters here, which are as follows:

• The quantitative difference between the symbols on the reels. The fact is that Megaways slots have a somewhat chaotic arrangement of symbols. While in regular slots all the symbols are arranged exclusively in rows, in Megaways there may be 5 symbols on one reel and only 2 on the adjacent reel

• The same is true for the number of rows. This value also changes from spin to spin. If one spin has 4 rows on the first reel and 6 on the second reel, the next spin will have 3 symbols on the first reel and 5 on the second. It is almost impossible to find the same number of rows on all reels

• Notably, the maximum bet in Megaways slots is limited to $20-50. Such a limit is set for a reason. The fact is that such slots are capable of bringing a truly huge payout of x10,000. Accordingly, the maximum bet you can bring up to $500, 000 per spin

• As a consequence, Megaways slots have high volatility compared to conventional games

• Apart from all that, it's the newer products that get new players interested and keep the old ones coming back.

Common features of Megaways slots

The main prize options in Megaways slots are:

• Cascading reels are the most common. This is a bold and interesting innovation. It works in the following way: when a winning combination occurs, the symbols that made it disappear, and in their place fall those pictures that were above. Thus, we can make the assumption that in theory, this option can bring just an incredible series of destructions, which promises the player a big win

• Bonus Buy Feature. This option is another of the most popular ones. It invites players to simply buy a bonus game. What does this look like in practice? The player will no longer spin the reels to wait for the bonus option. He simply starts the Megaways slot and clicks on "Bonus Buy". For this, he has to pay a rather impressive sum of money. However, he can get a lot of coins as a result of the bonus. Eventually, when the bonus game purchase takes place, the bonus round itself is triggered and the player only has to take part in it

• Colossal Symbols. These symbols help players get the most out of a winning combination. This option involves a large symbol that takes up an entire reel or several reels and several rows. Thanks to these symbols, the payout can be truly enormous.

5 Top producers of Megaways slots

BigTimeGaming pioneered the world of Megaways slots. As a consequence, its games have gained dizzying popularity. Many developers seeing such an effect also began to adopt this option and implement it in their games. The most popular developers who use the Megaways feature in their games are:

• BTG

• Thunderkick

• Elk Studios

• Stakelogic

• Yggdrasil.