Last updated: 6 September 2026
01 / U88 GUIDE
Where does the 117,649 ways figure on a Megaways slot come from?
A standard five-reel slot shows the same grid every time. Three rows, five reels, fifteen symbols, spin after spin. Megaways breaks that assumption. Before each spin, the game decides independently how tall each reel will be, and the visible grid changes shape in front of you.
The arithmetic is simple once you see it. Multiply the number of symbols on each reel together and you have the ways count for that spin. A spin showing 4, 6, 3, 7, 5, 2 symbols across six reels gives 4 × 6 × 3 × 7 × 5 × 2, which is 5,040 ways. The next spin might land on 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 and produce the headline number: 7 to the power of 6, or 117,649 ways.
That maximum is not marketing puff. It is the ceiling of the format, and it appears on screen only when every reel independently rolls its tallest configuration on the same spin, which is uncommon. Most spins sit in the low thousands. The counter in the corner of the screen updates live, and watching it is genuinely the fastest way to understand what the mechanic does.
02 / U88 GUIDE
Megaways is a licensed mechanic, not a genre anyone can copy
Big Time Gaming, an Australian studio, developed the variable-reel engine and holds the intellectual property. Other providers do not simply build their own version. They sign a licence and release titles under the Megaways name, which is why the same branded mechanic turns up across catalogues from studios with otherwise nothing in common.
This is a public commercial arrangement rather than a secret, and it explains two things players notice. First, why Megaways titles from different studios share a recognisable structure: the same reel-height behaviour, the same live ways counter, the same cascade rhythm. Second, why the format spread so quickly across the industry rather than remaining one studio's speciality.
What each licensee controls is everything on top of the engine: theme, symbol set, paytable weightings, feature design, maximum win and published return figure. Two Megaways games can therefore share a skeleton and behave quite differently in practice. Never assume the return percentage of one Megaways title tells you anything about another; check each game's own info screen, and see RTP explained for what that figure does and does not promise.
03 / U88 GUIDE
Wins pay on adjacent reels from the left, with no paylines involved
There are no paylines in a Megaways game. A win needs matching symbols on consecutive reels starting from reel one, and it does not matter which row each symbol occupies. Three matching symbols on reels one, two and three pay regardless of whether they are top, bottom or scattered vertically.
Because reels can be seven symbols tall, a single reel can carry several copies of the same symbol, and each copy counts as a separate way. That is how a modest-looking win can pay a surprisingly large multiple: eight ways, twelve ways or more all landing on the same combination simultaneously.
Most Megaways layouts also include a horizontal reel above or below the main grid, adding extra symbols to the reels it sits over. It is best understood as a bonus row that widens the ways count further. The underlying logic is an extension of the ways-to-win idea covered in slot paylines and ways-to-win systems, pushed to its practical limit.
| Feature | Standard 5-reel slot | 243 ways slot | Megaways slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grid shape | Fixed, usually 5×3 | Fixed, usually 5×3 | Variable, 6 reels of 2 to 7 |
| Win definition | Symbols on a defined payline | Adjacent reels, any row | Adjacent reels, any row |
| Ways or lines | 5 to 50 fixed lines | 243 fixed ways | Up to 117,649, changes per spin |
| Cascades | Rare | Sometimes | Standard to the format |
| Free spins multiplier | Usually capped | Usually capped | Commonly unlimited and progressive |
| Typical variance | Low to medium | Medium | Medium-high to high |
04 / U88 GUIDE
Cascading reels turn one paid spin into a chain
Cascades, also called tumbles or avalanches, are near-universal in the format. When a win lands, the winning symbols are removed and the symbols above drop down to fill the gaps, with new ones falling in from the top. If the new arrangement produces another win, the cycle repeats.
Two effects come out of this. The obvious one is that a single spin can pay several times. The less obvious one is that the reel heights change during the cascade, so the ways count moves while the sequence runs. A cascade can begin at 2,000 ways and finish at 40,000, which is why the counter is worth watching mid-sequence rather than only at the start.
There is a knock-on effect on how long a spin takes. A single spin with a five-step cascade occupies several seconds rather than one, which slows turnover slightly compared with a flat five-reel game at the same stake. That is a small mercy rather than an advantage.
Cascades also make the base game read as more generous than it is. Chained small wins feel like momentum. The paytable has already accounted for them, and the return percentage is calculated across the full cascade behaviour, not per drop.
05 / U88 GUIDE
The unlimited multiplier free spins round is where most of the return lives
The pattern is consistent enough across Megaways titles to be treated as a format convention. Land the scatter trigger, enter free spins, and a win multiplier increases by one with every cascade, and crucially it does not reset between spins for the duration of the feature. Start at 1×, cascade fifteen times across the round, and later wins in that round are paying at 16× or higher.
That structure is the engine behind the enormous maximum wins these games advertise. It is also the reason the base game feels thin. A studio funding a five-figure multiple has to take the money from somewhere, and it takes it from base-game hit frequency. The full trade-off is set out on slot volatility, but the short version is that Megaways titles generally belong at the higher end of the variance scale.
Several Megaways games also offer a feature buy, letting players pay a multiple of stake to enter free spins immediately. That is a separate decision with its own maths, covered on bonus buy slot features, and it does not make the round any more likely to pay well.
06 / U88 GUIDE
Treat Megaways as a variance choice, not a value one
The headline number is genuinely impressive and genuinely irrelevant to expected return. A game offering 117,649 ways is not paying you more than a 20-line slot at the same return percentage. It is paying you differently: more often in tiny amounts during cascades, far less often in the amounts that matter, with the real weight sitting inside a feature you may wait several hundred spins to see.
If long dry runs are unpleasant, this is not the format for you and no amount of ways-counting changes that. If you want a shot at a large multiple and accept that most sessions end without one, Megaways is built for exactly that appetite. Set a budget before you start, size stakes so the bankroll survives long enough to reach a feature, and treat the spend as the cost of the entertainment. Browse the wider slot games range if you would rather something steadier. Play only if you are 18 or over.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
What to remember
- Megaways is a licensed mechanic developed by Big Time Gaming and used by many studios under licence agreements.
- Reel heights vary each spin, typically between two and seven symbols, so the ways count changes from one spin to the next.
- The maximum of 117,649 comes from seven symbols on each of six reels, which is seven to the power of six.
- Wins pay for matching symbols on adjacent reels from the left, with no fixed paylines anywhere in the format.
- Cascading reels remove winning symbols and drop replacements in, so one paid spin can chain into several more wins.
- Most Megaways titles sit at the higher end of the volatility range because the upside is funded from the free spins round.