We are sure you have seen many Megaways slots in online casinos these days. Almost all the developers offer a Megaways game and even update their old games to use this feature. As easy as you can play WMS free slots with Megaways features like Spartacus Megaways, you will soon be playing Megaclusters games too, and this new feature is becoming as popular as Megaways. So, how do these new slot features work? What’s the difference between the two? Most importantly, how can they offer over a hundred thousand paylines? Below you can find answers to all of these questions.
First Things First: What You Need to Know about Paylines
Classic, video, 3D, jackpot, progressive jackpot – no matter what category it falls into, all slot games have paylines. These are real lines that connect both sides of the reels. In other words, a line starts at the leftmost reel, passes over the others, and connects to the rightmost reel. It sometimes follows a straight, sometimes a zig-zag route. After winning a spin, you can see what it looks like. And to make a win in slot games, identical symbols must be placed side by side on any of these lines.
Traditionally, classic slots have few lines. There are even games with one line. The number of lines of video slots starts from 10 and goes up to 243. Although rare, it is possible to see 1,024-line slots too. Slot machines usually have 5 reels, and each reel usually contains 3 symbols (5×3), so there is a physical limit for the line numbers. Therefore, it is possible to say that 1,024 is the maximum number. This was at least the case until Megaways technology.
The importance of the line numbers is in regards to the probability of winning. The more lines there are, the more combinations the symbols can be placed on. In other words, the higher the number of lines, the higher your chances of winning. For this reason, it is almost always more advantageous to play multi-line slots.
What Is Megaways?
After the basics, we can start talking about the Megaways system. Games with this feature have dynamic paylines, and the number of lines is determined randomly in each spin. The maximum number of lines that can occur is 117,649. Yes, you read that right. There can be 117,649 paylines in Megaways games. What makes this possible is that these slots have a dynamic reel and row values.
But first, let’s talk about who owns this innovative feature and how it came about. Megaways is a technology owned by Big Time Gaming (BTG) and was invented by Nik Robinson. Robinson focused on creating a new feature that players can easily get used to, and the Megaways idea appeared in 2015. This system was first used in the Dragon Born slot developed by BTG and released in 2015. It was used on another slot called Bonanza to attract attention, and this time it became popular around the world. Other companies started to buy this technology from BTG to use it in their own games.
Currently, it is possible to see the Megaways feature in the games of many developers, such as NetEnt, 1×2 Games, Scientific Games, iSoftBet, and Blueprint Gaming. BTG has made an incredible income by leasing the Megaways license and has become one of the biggest developers in the iGaming industry.
So how exactly does the Megaways feature work, and what’s the secret that it can offer so many lines? To explain simply:
- Megaways slots have dynamic numbers of reels, rows, and symbols. These games usually start with a 6×4 layout. So there are 6 reels, and each reel contains 4 symbols.
- However, these numbers randomly change with each spin. For example, there may be eight symbols in the first reel, six symbols in the second reel, and five symbols in the other reels. With the next spin, you can see completely different results.
- These symbols can also expand and cover the entire reel. Since the paylines pass over the rows and symbols, new routes are created with each spin that the lines can pass over. Therefore, a different number of paylines will appear on each spin. (You can see the actual number on the interface).
- In this regard, 117,649 is the maximum number of lines that can occur on Megaways slots. So it is not a fixed number, and you do not make every spin with 117,649 lines. Thanks to the random combinations we explained above, you can get as many lines at most. To reach this number, seven symbols must be displayed on all six reels (7x7x7x7x7 = 117,649).
Other Features of Megaways Slots
Megaways games have two other important features. First of all, almost all of them have multiplier payouts. In other words, your winnings are multiplied by a certain number and increases. Thanks to this feature, it is possible to reach high payouts, especially in bonus rounds.
The second feature is in terms of bet values. Normally, stakes in slot games are determined by the number of lines. This is because you bet per line, not per spin. Let’s give a simple example:
- If the minimum bet limit per line in a 20-line slot game is 0.20 coins, the minimum total bet per spin is 4 coins (0.20 x 20 = 4).
- If the minimum bet limit per line in a 243-line slot game is 0.10 coins, the minimum total bet per spin is 24.30 coins (0.10 x 243 = 24.30).
In other words, the higher the number of lines, the higher the chances of winning, yes, but the bet size also goes up. Therefore, a larger budget is required to play games with a large number of lines. In Megaways games, this is not a problem because the stakes are fixed. That is, they do not increase or decrease according to the number of dynamic lines. In this way, you can easily play Megaways slots even if you have a low budget.
What Is Megaclusters?
Megacluster is a new slot concept developed by BTG. Star Clusters, the first slot to use this concept, has been launched, and we expect new games to be developed using the same feature shortly. There are no paylines in these games, instead, you try to create winning clusters. Each cluster consists of a 4×4 grid, and there must be identical symbols in this grid. In this respect, they resemble match-3 games. Some slots using this concept already exist, but the Megacluster concept does not limit the number and size of clusters. It is possible to create vertical or horizontal clusters of unlimited numbers and sizes. In this context:
- Let’s assume that you created 10 winning clusters.
- All symbols in these clusters disappear, and they are replaced by new ones.
- This means there will be a gap of 40 rows in the playing area. New symbols that fill this gap can create new clusters, and this cycle can go on indefinitely.
- It is possible to create 16×16 grids in this way, and currently, no cluster slot on the market offers such potential.
Megacluster and Megaways are concepts that work completely differently from each other, but both have a high earning potential. Try both and find out which one suits you best. All these innovative concepts offer incredible fun and winning opportunities.
