Anyone who has played online pokies for some time will understand the importance of paylines within gameplay. In online pokies, the paylines are defined as the sections that must be filled with symbols in order to grant payouts to players. In typical games, the payline value is set at 10, 20, or 30 paylines across the reels. This has been the standard for years, but in 2015, it all changed. Big Time Gaming is now regarded as an innovative pioneer within the iGaming world thanks to its creation of the Megaways mechanic. This new category of pokie games has expanded over time an is now one of the most infamous types of pokie available.
Upon its initial release, the Megaways mechanic was a welcome invitation to the online casino space, and many of the most established pokie creators jumped at the opportunity to use this new mechanic, not only because it was a fresh thing for their fans but also because of the benefits that come along with it.
What Are Megaways Slots?
In most Megaways titles, the initial layout of the reels looks identical to that of other variants, but once you make the first spin, you will realize what makes these games different. Symbols will typically only land on the reels within the specific layout – the standard is 3 by 5 – but in a Megaways title, these sections can be divided into even smaller sections, allowing many more symbols to be visible. Thanks to this, the number of paylines increases drastically, with Megaways titles boasting up to 117,649 paylines. Having the opportunity to land many symbols across many more paylines makes Megaways titles more exciting than generic pokies. Other than this increased payline value, the rest of the gameplay is the same as the original.
A standard layout, like the 5-reel, 3-row layout mentioned earlier, will typically contain 15 symbols and between 10 and 30 paylines along which you aim to make matching symbol combinations. Some standard games will have larger reel layouts or different shapes like diamonds, but none have anything close to the symbols and paylines offered by Megaways titles. On the outside of the grid, typically in the top-right or top-left corner, you will see the current payline value for each spin, and this number will vary on every individual spin as different numbers of symbols will be present.
The Rise of the Megaways Slot Genre
The history of Megaways is pretty simple to follow and understand, as there is not a lot behind the creation, and it came to fruition just as suddenly as any other bonus feature. This phenomenon was introduced in 2015 by Big Time Gaming, an Australian game developer who released some Megaways titles before the initial success was spurred into action. One of the most popular titles is Bonanza Megaways, which took an infamous pokie title and amped it up with a crazy amount of paylines and symbols. Big Time Gaming is a pioneer in the online casino space, and since this date, they have continued to pump out pokies using the Megaways mechanic. They have also started to allow other developers to license and use the Megaways mechanic, meaning some of the most popular titles like Fishin’ Frenzy and Diamond Mine have been re-released and caused a stir in the iGaming space. The entire idea of Megaways was later purchased by Evolution Gaming, another giant in the industry.
How Do Megaways Slots Work?
The variation in paylines from spin to spin on a Megaways pokie is caused by the variation in symbols visible. Each spin is triggered, and then a random number generator system decides how many symbols – and, therefore, paylines – will be visible when the spin finishes. While the payline amount is increased massively, this does not mean there are guaranteed payouts, and grand prizes should still be seen as a chance and not a promise.
One major benefit of the Megaways feature in relation to gameplay is that it can actually increase the chance of triggering the game’s bonus round. This is because there are more symbols landing on the reels on each spin, so you will notice that the Scatter symbols are also more present on each spin. A typical Free Spins bonus requires 3 Scatter symbols to be landed on the reels, and with a grid of up to 49 symbols, there is a mathematically higher chance than that of a 15-symbol grid. We must reiterate that this does not guarantee anything at all while playing, but the chances are logistically increased based on the maths.
What Are the Most Popular Megaways Games?
If you have reached this point in the article, you may be wondering, “I’ve heard about Megaways, but not about any specific games. Which ones are the best?”. In the next few brief sections, we will list a few of our personal favorite Megaways titles, and this will give you some insight into the top pokies.
Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways
Fishin’ Frenzy by Blueprint Gaming is highly regarded as one of the best pokies in the world. Thanks to this, it has seen many variations over the years, and in 2019, the Megaways mechanic was introduced to the underwater landscape of this series. The game is designed in the same way as the original, with the same graphic design and audio features, but the reels have been boosted by the Megaways addition. This game offers a maximum payout of 10,000x the stake.
Desperados Wild Megaways
While the Desperados Wild slot is not as popular as Fishin’ Frenzy, it is definitely still high in the ranks. Upon the Desperados Wild Megaways version being released, it quickly gained fans. This title, by Inspired Gaming, boasts some Wild-based bonus features, Western graphics, and up to 117,649 paylines.
Return of Kong Megaways
From the names on this list, Return of Kong Megaways has the best visuals by far. This is the main reason that the game is so popular. This title was released in 2019 and quickly rose in popularity thanks to the prowess of the developers and the fact it is a Megaways installment.
Summary
There are many reasons why Megaways titles are so famous in the iGaming world. If you have not yet tried a Megaways title, you should now have enough reason to try them out!
