Over the years, casinos have undergone a steady evolution that continues to this day. Each year, thousands of new games are released in the casino industry, which can now be played online and offline. The iGaming industry today features a range of interesting games, spanning traditional table titles, live casino formats, and innovative slot releases; however, many believe online slots dominate the market, with more slot games released than any other category. Slot games have been evolving since their creation in the late 1800s, and recently, the Megaways mechanic has emerged as one of the most notable innovations.
What is the Megaways Slot Mechanic?
The Megaways slot mechanic is one of the revolutionary changes brought to the iGaming industry in recent years, completely changing the ways some slots operate. Before the innovation, slot games featured fixed play grids, with each reel showing the same number of symbols on every spin. The Megaways mechanic completely changed this, allowing for dynamic play grids and each reel to feature a unique number of symbols on each spin.
Along with the unique number of symbols on each reel, the paylines would alter depending on the number of symbols available. Previously, each slot had a fixed number of paylines, determined by the developers. The invention of the Megaways mechanic changed this, with Megaways slots featuring a unique number of payliens on each spin, determined by a Random Number Generator (RNG). Many Megaways slots in the iGaming industry feature 6 reels, with each reel holding 2-7 symbols, a format that has become the industry standard.
Alongside the dynamic playgrid, the Cascading Reels feature became an industry-standard element of Megaways slots, first implemented in the first-ever Megaways slot. The Cascading Reels feature is unique, allowing all symbols in matching combinations to be removed from the reels, with the symbols above them falling. Empty spaces will be left in their positions, which will be taken up by new symbols that enter the reels from above.
The Top 3 Megaways Slots Released
Bonanza
Big Time Gaming released the Bonanza slot to screens in 2016, marking an important landmark in the industry as the first ever Megaways slot. As this slot was the pioneering title, it is no surprise that many elements from it have returned in subsequent releases, including the playgrid size and payline count. The Bonanza slot game features 6 reels, each with 2 to 7 symbols, for a maximum payline count of 117,649. The game’s theme is mining, which is effectively showcased in the slot’s design, set on the outskirts of a mine.
The Bonanza slot also features the Cascading Reels game mechanic, which plays an important role in the Free Spins feature. In the Free Spins feature, each cascade of the reels will increase the multiplier, which will remain throughout the feature and reset once the free spins bonus rounds conclude.
Buffalo King Megaways
The Buffalo King Megaways slot game has introduced the Megaways mechanic to the already popular Buffalo King title. Pragmatic Play is the developer behind the Buffalo King Megaways slot game, which features an animal theme throughout gameplay, as seen in the symbols and the fitting setting. The Buffalo King Megaways slot features a 6-reel play grid that can display 2 to 7 symbols on each spin.
Some of the bonus features in the Buffalo King Megaways slot are similar to those in the previous instalment in the series, with the Free Spins feature and the Wild symbols. Pragmatic Play has incorporated the Cascading Reels mechanic in this gameplay, which can be triggered in both the base gameplay and Free Spins feature.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways
The Big Bass series is one of the most notable in the entire iGaming industry, and has returned for another instalment, this time with the Megaways mechanic embedded. The Megaways mechanic has never been seen in the series before, making the title unique, though many gameplay features return. Reel Kingdom released the slot game to screens in 2021, just one year after the release of the original slot game. The Big Bass Bonanza Megaways slot game has 6 reels, with the first and last ones featuring between 2 and 6 symbols, and reels 2 to 5 featuring between 2 and 5 symbols. Fully maxed out, this fishing-themed slot game features a payline count of 46,656, which is considerably lower than the industry standard, though it is still much larger than that of traditional slots.
Some of the bonus features from previous releases in the series return in this Megaways instalment, one of which is the Fisherman. The Fisherman symbol is available strictly during the Free Spins feature, and if landed, may collect the values of the Fish symbols on the reels at the same time. Additionally, the progression trail returns in this sequel title, advancing if the required number of Fisherman symbols is landed, potentially awarding multipliers. On top of this, there are also some additional bonus features in the Big Bass Bonanza Megaways title slot game, one of which is the Cascading reels mechanic.
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