Megaways Slots – Play For Fun

Megaways Slots are an exciting and innovative genre of online slot games created by Australian slot developer Big Time Gaming in 2016. They feature a reel modifying mechanic that alters the number of symbols appearing on a reel each time it is spun. This leads to the Megaways engine generating a random number of paylines on every spin, potentially creating thousands or even millions of ways to win. Through Megaways versatility and ingenuity, it can offer players games with higher volatility levels and a superior standard of entertainment compared to traditional and classic slots.

Megaways games are now among the most popular slots found in online casinos. Through our informative guide to the gaming engine, you can learn how the mechanics behind them work, try over 500 free demo slots featuring Megaways, and use our data tables to quickly find the best games rated by review score, RTP and biggest payouts.

Casino Bonuses

Megaways Demo Slots

Bonus Features & Mechanics

The volume of Megaways slots that can now be played is so substantial that there are various bonus rounds and in-game modifiers that can be experienced. However, there are some core mechanics that tend to feature more in the slots than others.

  • Cascading Reels: A long-standing element of the Megaways series and found in one of its earlier releases, Bonanza Megaways, cascading reels remove winning symbols from the playfield with new symbols then dropping in from above, creating the possibility for more chances to win from one single paid spin.

  • Mystery Symbols: First seen in Blueprint Gaming’s Diamond Mine Megaways, the mystery symbols will transform into randomly selected symbols from the paytable when they land. These can be particularly lucrative during the free spins bonus.

  • Free Spins & Increasing Multiplier: The most known feature pairing throughout Megaways is the free spins round, which includes the win multiplier. This will typically begin with a value of x1 and rise in value each time a successful winning cascade is made during the bonus.

  • Feature Gambles: Integrated into even the earliest Megaways slots, the bonus gamble gives players the opportunity to risk the volatility of their bonus. However, if the gamble is lost, in many instances, it can end the feature before it even begins.

  • Bonus Buy: While most games now fall into the bonus buy slots category, offering players instant access to the free spins round, this feature was initially only found in Megaways slots. Big Time Gaming’s Extra Chilli slot and White Rabbit were the first titles to offer the facility.

Highest RTP Megaways Slots

With over 500 slots in the Megaways catalogue, there are various low, medium and high-volatility games to choose from. These all have a different range of return to player percentage, which is the value you would expect to see over a period of time, often defined as millions of spins. This may seem insignificant given that the statistics are taken over such a large amount of spins, but it will still make a difference to you if you are playing a game with a low RTP, even on a short session. To avoid such games, our data table below of the Megaways slots with the highest RTP will help you choose the best titles for your bankroll.

Slot NameRTP
1. Medusa Megaways97.63%
2. White Rabbit Megaways Slot97.24%
3. Savage Buffalo Spirit Megaways97.04%
4. Gorilla Gold Megaways97.00%
5. Queen Of Riches Megaways96.90%
6. 8 Golden Skulls Of Holly Roger Megaways96.86%
7. Danger High Voltage 296.77%
8. Primal Megaways96.76%
9. King Of Cats Megaways96.72%
10. Dwarven Gems Megaways Demo96.70%

Software Provider Game Franchises With Megaways

  • Big Time Gaming: One of BTG’s all-time greats was the original Bonanza slot. Such was its success that the provider would go on to make a Christmas version of the slot and a follow-up release titled Bonanza Falls.

  • Relax Gaming: The first game featuring Megaways from Relax that gained recognition was the superb Temple Tumble Megaways. The developer would go on to create several titles in this series, with TNT Tumble being another brilliant release.

  • Blueprint Gaming: Taking an iconic TV Gameshow and turning it into an online slot is no easy task, but Blueprint made a deal to develop a collection of Deal or no Deal slots, with the original Deal or no Deal Megaways still being one of the best creations of that franchise to this day.

What is a Megaways Slot & How Does It Work?

A Megaways slot is defined as such because it works under the premise that each reel can contain a random number of symbols on each spin, generally between 2 and 7. The size of these symbols will then be multiplied across each reel adjacently to determine the final amount of paylines you are awarded. All mathematics behind the gaming engine will be worked out for you on each spin, with the result typically displayed above the reels on each game.

Whilst each slot within the Megaways series can potentially differ with its amount of reels or rows of symbols that are present upon them, the principle behind the mechanic will always remain the same, with the more symbols that appear across the reel set delivering a higher amount of paylines that are in play.

How Do You Win on a Megaways Slot

Once your total amount of Megaways has been determined, winning combinations can occur across the reel set. This may seem a little puzzling, to begin with, but working out how to win on a Megaways slot is a very basic and uncomplicated process. 

Wins are awarded on a Megaways slot when matching symbols land from left to right on adjacent reels. Generally, you will require a symbol to land on at least three reels to create a win, with the first symbol needing to land on reel 1. The size of the symbols that help to create the wins is insignificant, but the number of symbols on each reel when they are part of a win is a major factor in calculating how many winning Megaways have been formed and what win will be paid. 

Megaways Slots With the Biggest Payouts

Almost all of the Megaways slots fall into the high volatile slot bracket, so as you can imagine, many of these games can pay huge multiples of your stake. Rather than taking hours to sift through the 100s of Megaways games to find out which have the biggest jackpots, our helpful table cuts out all the hard work, presenting you with up to date facts of the top 10 biggest paying Megaways slots.

Slot NameMax Win
1. Mermaid Queen Megaways Slot250,000x bet
2. Fireworks Megaways150,335x bet
3. Golden Goose Megaways150,335x bet
4. Apollo Pays Megaways116,030x bet
5. Panda Money Megaways67,330x bet
6. King Of Cats Megaways56,620x bet
7. Beef Lightning Megaways56,000x bet
8. Spicy Meatballs Megaways55,210x bet
9. Danger High Voltage 252,980x bet
10. Lucky Nuggets Megaways50,000x bet

Best Megaways slots By Demoslot Rating

8.7 / 10
Spartacus Megaways Online Slot

Demo & Review

#5 Spartacus MegawaysSG Gaming

Slot Stats: RTP: 96.32% | Review & Demo

8.8 / 10
Invaders Megaways Online Slot

Demo & Review

#4 Invaders MegawaysSG Gaming

Slot Stats: RTP: 96.30% | Review & Demo

9.0 / 10
Vikings Unleashed Megaways Online Slot

Demo & Review

#3 Vikings Unleashed MegawaysBlueprint

Slot Stats: RTP: 96.50% | Max Win: 50000x | Review & Demo

Our Conclusion: If you enjoy the standard Megaways slot formula, you will undoubtedly get a kick out of Vikings Unleashed Megaways, but for me, it’s difficult not to get the feeling that I’ve just seen it all before. On the plus side, the top jackpot of 50,000x is extremely attractive, and the presentation is top-notch as well. Furthermore, Blueprint has made an even more volatile edition of this slot, so make sure you check out Vikings Unleashed Megaways 2.

9.1 / 10
Temple Tumble Online Slot

Demo & Review

#2 Temple Tumble Megaways SlotRelax Gaming

Slot Stats: RTP: 96.25% | Max Win: 7767x | Review & Demo

Our Conclusion:

I absolutely love the fast-paced action of the Tumble games, and the graphical style of Temple Tumble is my favourite of the bunch. I think it's fair to say that Relax Gaming certainly hit the mark with this release as their first-ever Megaways slot, and If you haven’t tried any of the machines yet in this series, you are seriously missing out! Highly recommended!

10 / 10
Bonanza Megaways Online Slot

Demo & Review

#1 Bonanza MegawaysBig Time Gaming

Slot Stats: RTP: 96.00% | Max Win: 10000x | Review & Demo

Our Conclusion: Bonanza Megaways is quite possibly the best online slot ever to be created. Not only was it the first of its kind in the Megaways series, but it would go on to inspire hundreds of new games that featured the combo of an unlimited win multiplier and cascading reels.Such was the success of Bonanza that Big Time Gaming even added their Megapays Jackpot Engine to it, so players could enjoy all the thrills they had experienced before, but with Bonanza Megapays, they now had the chance to win a life-changing amount of money too.To conclude, Bonanza Megaways is rated so highly at Demoslot that it is currently the only slot ever to receive the MAX WIN rating and a perfect score of 10. Simply put, this is a sensational slot that every player must try at least once.;

Megaways Slots Summary

The Megaways engine dominated the online slot scene for around five years after its creation in 2016, but since 2021, due to countless clones and the arrival of new game developers and mechanics, it has taken somewhat of a backseat. The majority of the new games feel lazy and almost predictable before you even play them now, with hardly any innovation seeming to go into the development.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as we do still get the odd stellar release from a tier-one provider, and there is still a good selection of legacy titles in the Megaways niche that will remain firm favourites with both of us here at Demoslot and among the millions of players around the world.

Pros

  • Games with extreme volatility and huge jackpot prizes.
  • Numerous themes have the Megaways engine incorporated into them.
  • You get to play with hundreds of thousands of ways to win for just a small stake if you wish.

Cons

  • Many of the games use the original Bonanza slot format.
  • Without the bonus buy option some slots can be incredibly difficult to bonus.
  • The slots created by the lower-end studios are of poor quality.

Megaways Games FAQ’s

The Megaways engine was created and developed by Australian slot provider Big Time Gaming. The company has since licensed the mechanic to other game providers, and whilst they still have ownership over it, all licensees can release games featuring the popular slot engine.

With hundreds of thousands and, in some cases, millions of ways to win, Megaways remain popular as they feature high volatility, big jackpots, and action-packed bonus rounds and in-game modifiers.

Due to the nature of how the free spin feature is triggered, we believe that Fruit Shop Megaways is the easiest and best Megaways slot to bonus. Other online slot games in the niche considered less difficult to bonus are Millionaire Megaways and Dragon Born Megaways.

The creation of Megaways has undoubtedly slowed down since 2023, but you can still expect to find two or three new online slots a month being released within the genre.

Most Megaways slots come with a maximum of 117,649 paylines, but more slot machines are now being developed that feature over 1 million paylines. If you want to choose Megaways slots to play with more than the standard 117,649 ways to win, we suggest White Rabbit Megaways, 1 Million Megaways BC, Rasputin Megaways, Holy Diver Megaways and Wheel of Fortune Megaways.