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Megaways slots: A reel height that changes on every spin
Megaways is not a theme, it is an engine, and it is licensed from the studio that invented it. Each reel draws a random height on every spin, so the number of ways to win changes while you watch.
An «engine», not a theme
Megaways is a licensed game «engine» rather than a subject, which is why it sits on this list beside Egypt and fishing and does not belong in the same category; it is owned by the Australian studio that invented it (licensed to other studios for a fee), and it appears under every theme in a British «lobby». What it does is vary the height of each reel on every spin. A six-reel game whose reels can each show between two and seven symbols has up to seven to the power of six ways to win, which is a hundred and seventeen thousand six hundred and forty-nine, and the figure is recalculated every spin in front of you.
Great Rhino Megaways
Pragmatic Play · demo screen, 7 November 2026
The Megaways engine, licensed from the studio that invented it: each reel draws a random height on every spin, so the number of ways to win changes while you watch.
What a variable reel height does to the maths
It concentrates the value; most spins present a modest number of ways, a minority present an enormous number, and the large wins come almost entirely from the second group, usually combined with a tumble mechanic and an increasing multiplier in the free games. The result is a volatility profile at the top of the market. Megaways titles routinely advertise maximum wins in the tens of thousands of times the stake, and they are correspondingly quiet, which is the trade every player of one is making whether or not it has been explained.
The horizontal reel, and why it matters
Most Megaways games carry an extra reel running horizontally above the main grid, which adds symbols to four of the columns and is the single largest contributor to a high-ways spin. Watching it is the quickest way to tell whether a spin is going to be interesting before it resolves.
Some implementations include it in the ways calculation and some treat it separately, and the game's own information panel is the only reliable place to find out which.
What to check before playing one
Three things, all in the «information panel». Whether the free games carry a running multiplier that persists between spins, which is the difference between a good feature and an extraordinary one. How many scatters the feature needs and whether it can retrigger. And the published return, which on licensed Megaways titles varies more between games than in most categories. The fourth, for a British player, is that the feature cannot be bought. The buy button exists in most of these games in other markets and is removed here, which makes the «base game»'s job considerably more important than its design assumes.
Questions readers ask
What does 117,649 ways actually mean?
That six reels each showing up to seven symbols produce seven to the power of six combinations of adjacent matching symbols, counted left to right. The number changes every spin because the reel heights do, and it is displayed on screen as it changes.
Is Megaways a theme or a mechanic?
A licensed «engine», owned by the studio that invented it and licensed to others for a fee. It appears under every theme in a «lobby», which is why a Megaways game and an ordinary game can look identical and behave nothing alike.
Are Megaways games more volatile?
As a rule, substantially. The combination of variable reel heights, tumbles and an increasing multiplier concentrates the return in rare sequences, which is why these titles advertise maximum wins in the tens of thousands of times the stake and pay nothing for long stretches.
Why can I not buy the feature?
Because feature buys are banned in Great Britain. The button exists in most of these games in other markets and is removed for British operators, which means the base game has to be played through rather than skipped.
By the UK Pound Casino editorial team · Last updated November 2026 · Online since 2026
