Megaways and variable reel mechanics explained

The idea: a grid that is redrawn every spin

Most slots keep the same grid from spin to spin. A variable reel game does not. Each reel can show a different number of symbols on each spin, so the geometry of the game, and with it the number of possible winning combinations, is rebuilt before every result.

Megaways is the best known example of this family. Evolution, which owns Big Time Gaming, describes it as dynamic reel mechanics where symbol heights change on every spin, fitting two to seven symbols per reel, and creating thousands of potential ways to win, with up to 117,649 win ways replacing fixed paylines¹.

The mechanic arrived with Bonanza in 2016¹, and Big Time Gaming's game page for that title describes the system as giving each spin the potential of playing up to 117,649 ways to win².

Where the numbers come from

The arithmetic is the same as any ways-to-win game, explained in cluster pays explained: multiply the symbol positions on each reel together. What changes is that the multiplicands change every spin.

With six reels each capable of showing two to seven symbols¹:

• All six reels at seven symbols: 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 × 7 = 117,649 ways.
• All six reels at two symbols: 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 64 ways.
• A mixed spin, say 4, 6, 3, 7, 2, 5: 5,040 ways.

All three are ordinary spins of the same game at the same stake. The headline figure quoted in marketing is the ceiling of that range, not its typical value, and a spin offering 64 ways is not a malfunction.

Who owns and licenses the mechanic

This is the part that explains why titles from many different studios carry the same name.

Megaways was created by Big Time Gaming¹, which runs a licensing programme: the studio invites casino partners and slot developers to join its licence programme alongside other names in the industry, and lists Megaclusters and Megapays as further licensable mechanics³. Relax Gaming, which distributes Bonanza, refers to the system as Big Time Gaming's unique patented Megaways system⁴.

Evolution states that Megaways is today licensed to hundreds of developers worldwide¹.

The practical consequence for a reader is that "Megaways" identifies a licensed mechanic, not a studio and not a standard of quality. Pragmatic Play's Madame Destiny Megaways, for instance, is a licensed use of the mechanic by a different studio, published with a return to player of 96.56%⁵.

So two Megaways titles can differ in reel count, in the size of the ways range, in volatility and in return to player, while sharing a name.

Variations within the family

Variable reel games rarely stop at the basic mechanic, and each variation changes the ways range rather than the rules for reading it.

Extra rows and reel modifiers. Many Megaways titles add a horizontal row above the reels that contributes additional symbols to specific reels, changing the achievable maximum.

Cascading or reacting reels. Bonanza combines the mechanic with what Big Time Gaming calls a cascading reel system allowing the reels to cascade in both directions²⁴. Because the grid is redrawn as symbols are removed and replaced, the ways count changes again within a single paid spin.

Cluster variants. Megaclusters, listed among Big Time Gaming's licensable mechanics³, applies variability to a grid read as clusters rather than as reels; the cluster rules themselves are covered at .

Different reel counts. Nothing in the mechanic requires six reels. Where a provider uses a different reel count, both the ceiling and the floor of the ways range move.

Reading a variable-reel game honestly

Four things are worth checking on the information screen before deciding whether the game suits you.

1. The ways range, not just the maximum. The minimum tells you what a quiet spin looks like.
2. Whether the bonus round uses a different reel set. Free spins frequently change the achievable range compared with the base game.
3. The return to player version in use. Providers often publish more than one, and the operator selects which runs; what RTP means explains why this matters more than the ways figure.
4. The volatility statement. A large ways count is usually paired with a wide outcome distribution, which is the subject of what volatility means.

In Great Britain, that information must be easy to find: operators are required to make the rules and the information that helps a customer judge the likelihood of winning available before the customer commits to gamble⁶.

What a big ways figure does not mean

• It is not a return figure. 117,649 ways says nothing about what the game pays back; that is the published return to player¹.
• It is not a hit frequency. More combinations does not mean more frequent wins, and in practice a wider grid spreads the same return across more, smaller outcomes.
• It is not a guarantee of a maximum win. The maximum win is a separate published figure, and reaching it usually requires a specific combination of feature outcomes.
• It is not a studio. The name identifies a licensed mechanic used by many developers¹³.

Our collection page at lists the titles in the database that carry the name, recorded only where the provider's own page or the game itself uses it, in line with the method at our review methodology.