Megaways slots at bet365 Casino: how the reels work

At BCP, our casino coverage includes individual slot reviews and guides to game mechanics. Megaways needs both perspectives: the changing reel layout explains the name, while each game has its own symbol rules and bonus features.

How do Megaways slots work?

Megaways changes the height of the reels on a spin. A reel can display a different number of symbols from its neighbour, and the resulting layout determines how many combinations the game can evaluate.

Big Time Gaming created the mechanic and licenses it to other developers. Its Megaways licensing announcement describes a random reel modifier that changes the number of symbols across the reels. That shared system explains why you can find Megaways games from different studios, with quite different features.

On a fixed-payline slot, a winning combination follows one of the game’s defined paths through the symbols. A ways-based game counts matching symbols across qualifying adjacent reels without requiring them to sit on one fixed line. The paytable still decides which symbols pay, how many reels they must cover and which direction the game reads them.

The changing grid is the part you notice immediately. It doesn’t tell you everything about the game: a taller reel, a wild symbol and a bonus trigger each do a different job. Understanding those jobs makes the screen easier to read without suggesting that you can control the result.

How is the Megaways count calculated?

For a simple six-reel layout, multiply the number of available symbol positions on each reel. If every reel has seven positions, the calculation is 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7, or 117,649 possible ways. Games with extra reel features can count positions differently, so use their own displayed total.

These are arithmetic examples, not results from a particular spin. The total counts possible paths through the grid; a payout still needs the right symbols in the positions required by that game.

Suppose a game pays a particular symbol across three adjacent reels. If there are two copies on the first reel, one on the second and three on the third, there are six combinations of that symbol across those reels. Whether those combinations qualify, and what they pay, comes from the paytable. The full-grid Megaways total alone cannot answer either question.

There is no single maximum for every Megaways slot. Eye of Horus Megaways has a different layout from Gonzo’s Quest Megaways, while Buffalo King Megaways uses a higher ways count again. Their studio specifications below show why 117,649 should never be treated as a rule for the whole category.

What are cascades and tumbling reels?

In a cascading or tumbling game, a winning combination clears symbols and allows replacements to enter the grid. The game then evaluates the new arrangement. One initial spin can therefore produce a sequence of reactions, though a fresh arrangement can also produce no further win.

Studios use different names for this. Gonzo’s Quest Megaways calls its system Avalanche; Buffalo King Megaways describes tumbling reels; Millionaire Megaways uses reactions. Those labels tell you how the symbols move, but you still need the individual rules to know which symbols remain and when a multiplier changes.

A cascade is separate from the changing reel-height mechanic. Don’t assume that every game in a Megaways category uses the same clearing sequence, or that all wilds disappear after a win. Gonzo’s Quest Megaways, for example, has wilds that can remain during an Avalanche sequence. That difference matters when you’re following several consecutive reactions.

Reading a reaction from start to finish

Follow the game in stages: first the arrangement of symbols, then the combinations the game pays, then any replacements. If a multiplier applies, identify whether it belongs to a particular wild or to the reaction sequence. This keeps the moving grid separate from the calculation of the win.

For a purely illustrative calculation, suppose a qualifying combination has a value of ten units and an applicable multiplier doubles it. Its value becomes twenty units. The calculation says nothing about how often that combination occurs. Nor does it mean that an unrelated combination on the same screen receives the same multiplier; that depends on the feature rules.

A game that clears winning symbols can then evaluate a new arrangement. Look at which symbols actually move: persistent wilds, such as those described for Gonzo’s Quest Megaways, can stay while other positions refill. A fresh spin and another reaction within the same spin are different events, and the game may reset a multiplier at one but retain it at the other.

This is also why a single still image is a poor explanation of a cascade. It shows one grid, while the feature works through a sequence. The studio descriptions below explain the relevant sequence for each featured title without assuming that every Megaways game follows it.

How do free spins work in Megaways games?

Free spins are an in-game bonus round, usually triggered by the game’s scatter or bonus symbols. The trigger, starting number of spins and retrigger rules vary between titles; there is no standard Megaways free-spins round.

Big Bass Bonanza Megaways uses a collector system during the feature. Buffalo King Megaways attaches multipliers to wilds, while Eye of Horus Megaways upgrades symbols during its free games. The reel mechanic gives those games a shared category, but their bonus rounds ask you to follow different events on screen.

A scatter’s role is also separate from a normal paying symbol. It can trigger a feature under a separate set of symbol rules. BCP’s guide to scatter symbols in slots explains that distinction. The particular game’s rules decide the exact trigger, including any exception involving a wild.

When reading a free-spins description, look for what carries through the round. A multiplier might rise after a reaction, apply only when a wild participates in a win, or increase when a collector retriggers the feature. These are different calculations. A headline multiplier without that context leaves out the part that explains the payout.

Keep the base game and bonus round separate when comparing features. A game can use one multiplier limit in ordinary play and another in free spins. The feature rules also decide whether a symbol adds more spins or changes the value of a winning combination; those effects are not interchangeable.

What Megaways slots are on bet365 Casino in the UK?

The Megaways tab includes all six featured titles below, plus games such as Great Rhino Megaways, 5 Lions Megaways, Raging Rhino Megaways and Dragon’s Luck Megaways. The directory lists the game tiles in bet365 Casino’s Megaways category; it is a catalogue, with no ranking.

Use the full title when looking for a game. Big Bass Bonanza Megaways and Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways are separate entries, as are Eye of Horus Megaways and Eye of Horus The Golden Tablet Megaways. A shared name or character doesn’t mean the versions share the same rules.

The games are alphabetised across each row. Names follow the lobby tiles, including titles that sit in the Megaways tab without putting “Megaways” in their name.

The lobby can change, and this directory does not claim to include every title available through search or further loading. Similar names remain separate entries wherever bet365 lists them separately.

Six Megaways games and how their features differ

These six games illustrate different uses of the mechanic: collecting symbols, tumbling reels, expanding wilds and reactions. Their RTP figures come from the studios’ own game pages, not from bet365’s game information panels.

A studio can supply several RTP versions of one game. Read the percentage in the specific game’s information panel for the version you open. The studio stake ranges below also describe the provider’s specification; they do not establish bet365’s available stakes.

Big Bass Bonanza Megaways

The collector is the defining feature here. During free spins, fisherman symbols collect the values of money symbols that land alongside them. Every fourth fisherman retriggers the round, with the multiplier increasing through the stages described by the studio.

Pragmatic Play’s Big Bass Bonanza Megaways game page lists a studio RTP of 96.70%, correct at time of publishing. Its free-spins round starts with 10, 15, 20 or 25 spins for three, four, five or six scatters respectively. The collecting feature then supplies the main distinction from simply watching ordinary symbol combinations pay.

BCP’s original Big Bass Bonanza guide covers the related collector format in more detail. It is a guide to the original game, so use the Megaways version’s own rules for its trigger and reel layout. The familiar name is useful for finding the family, but the suffix identifies a different game.

Buffalo King Megaways

Buffalo King Megaways uses six tumbling reels and more than 200,000 possible ways. During its free-spins feature, wild symbols carry multipliers, giving it a different structure from Big Bass’s collector round.

The Buffalo King Megaways studio page publishes an RTP of 96.52%, correct at time of publishing. Its free-spins feature starts with 12–22 spins triggered by four to six bonus symbols, with wild multipliers of 2x, 3x or 5x during the feature. Further bonus symbols can retrigger the round.

The useful comparison is how a win forms and how the feature modifies it. Tumbling reels can create another arrangement after a win, while the wild multiplier changes a qualifying payout in the feature. Neither the larger ways count nor the multiplier figure tells you what an individual spin will return.

Madame Destiny Megaways

Madame Destiny Megaways starts its free-spins feature with a wheel that determines the round’s spins and multiplier. Its wild also doubles a winning combination when it participates.

Pragmatic Play’s Madame Destiny Megaways game page gives a studio RTP of 96.56%, correct at time of publishing. The page describes a feature triggered by three to six scatters, with the wheel awarding up to 12 spins in the feature and a multiplier of up to 25x.

The wheel’s feature multiplier and the wild’s effect have different roles. Read each multiplier in the context of the round where it applies. BCP’s Pragmatic Play game comparison puts these kinds of features alongside other formats from the studio.

Eye of Horus Megaways

Eye of Horus Megaways combines expanding wilds with symbol upgrades during free games. Blueprint lists a maximum of 15,625 ways, making it a useful example of a Megaways game that does not use the familiar 117,649 maximum.

The Eye of Horus Megaways studio specification lists four RTP settings: 95.49%, 93%, 92% and 90%, correct at time of publishing. Those are separate published configurations; none is identified here as bet365’s setting. Blueprint also publishes a £0.10–£10.00 stake range, with a currency-conversion qualification.

Expanding wilds can fill a reel. During free games, particular expanding wilds activate the symbol-upgrade feature, changing higher-paying symbols to the next available higher-paying symbol. The upgrade changes the symbol’s identity and its associated paytable value during the feature.

Gonzo’s Quest Megaways

Red Tiger’s Gonzo’s Quest Megaways uses Avalanche cascades: winning stone symbols disappear and new ones fill the spaces. Some wilds remain during that sequence, and successive Avalanches can increase the multiplier.

Evolution’s Gonzo’s Quest Megaways game page lists two RTP figures: 94.66% and 96.00%, correct at time of publishing. It describes a six-reel layout with up to 117,649 ways and labels the game high volatility. The page lists both settings without identifying bet365’s configuration.

The studio calls its bonus round Free Fall. It allows a higher Avalanche multiplier than the base game, so the same sequence of symbols can sit within different feature rules. The provider page also gives a numeric bet range without a currency; that is insufficient for a useful sterling stake comparison.

Millionaire Megaways

Big Time Gaming’s Millionaire Megaways uses reacting wins, with Dual Reactions and an extra horizontal reel affecting the grid. During free spins, reactions increase the win multiplier.

The studio’s Millionaire Megaways game specification gives an RTP of 96.30%, correct at time of publishing, and a six-reel, seven-row layout. It publishes a €0.20–€15.00 stake range. That range is in euros on the provider page; it is not a sterling range or a statement of bet365’s stakes.

The additional reel helps explain why a Megaways game can need more than a simple glance at the six vertical columns. Read how those extra symbols participate in the game before applying a basic ways-count example to it. Its reacting-win sequence also differs from a game centred on collecting money symbols.

What does RTP tell you about a Megaways slot?

Return to player, or RTP, describes a game’s theoretical return over a very large amount of play. It does not predict the result of your next spin or the amount you will have left at the end of a session.

The number of ways and the RTP answer different questions. Ways describe combinations in the reel layout. RTP belongs to the game’s mathematical configuration. Counting more possible combinations on the screen is therefore not a method for identifying a better return.

Multiple settings deserve particular attention. When a studio page lists several percentages, quoting only the highest makes the comparison misleading unless the operator’s version is known. Eye of Horus Megaways and Gonzo’s Quest Megaways show that problem directly. Their figures above remain provider figures, with every published setting retained.

Volatility describes how unevenly a game distributes returns. Two games can have similar theoretical RTP figures and still produce quite different patterns of smaller wins, losing spins and occasional larger payouts. A volatility label cannot tell you when a bonus round is coming. BCP’s guide to slot RTP explains the distinction between a long-run percentage and a session result.

For a practical comparison, read the exact title and version first, then the information panel. Match the paytable to the feature description: which symbols pay normally, which trigger the round, and which modify a win? Understanding those rules helps you follow the result on screen.

Megaways slots FAQs

The shared reel mechanic explains the category, but individual games set their own maximum ways and feature rules.

Are all Megaways slots made by Big Time Gaming?

No. Big Time Gaming created and licenses the Megaways mechanic, so other studios can make games using it. The featured titles here include games from Pragmatic Play, Blueprint Gaming and Red Tiger as well as Big Time Gaming itself.

Do Megaways slots always have 117,649 ways?

No. The maximum depends on the layout and rules of the particular game. Gonzo’s Quest Megaways uses that maximum, while Eye of Horus Megaways has fewer ways. The ways available on an individual spin also depend on its reel arrangement.

Is a Megaways spin with more ways more likely to pay?

The ways counter alone cannot tell you the chance of a payout. A win still depends on the symbols and the game’s rules. It is a count of possible combinations through the layout, not a displayed probability or a guaranteed number of wins.

Are the studio RTP figures the same as bet365’s?

A studio figure does not identify the operator’s configuration. Some studios publish several RTP settings for the same title. Read the game information panel for the version you open; the provider figures in this guide are labelled separately for that reason.

Does every Megaways game have the same free spins?

No. Games differ in how the round triggers, how many spins it starts with and what happens during it. A collector round, an expanding-wild feature and a cascading multiplier round can all appear within the Megaways category while working differently.

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