Megaways Dictionary: Good-to-Know Game Terms
Just getting started? Here's a quick-reference guide for the terms you'll encounter.
Variable Reel Setups
The mechanic at the core of a Megaways game. With variable reels, the number of symbols on each reel changes with every spin to help drive the ever-shifting ways to win.
Maximum Megaways
This is when all reels are at their maximum height simultaneously, giving you the highest possible number of ways to win, typically 117,649.
Cascading Reels
With these, winning symbols are removed and replaced by new ones dropping in from above. If the new symbols form another win, the process repeats, meaning one spin may produce a chain of consecutive wins.
Multipliers
A multiplier increases the value of a win by a set amount. In a free spins round, the multiplier typically grows with each cascade, so the longer a winning run continues, the bigger the return can be.
Scatter Symbols
Special symbols that trigger bonus features – usually in the free spins round - when enough of them land on the reels at the same time. For most games, three or more scatters are needed to trigger the bonus.
Wild Symbols
These substitute for other symbols to help complete winning combinations. Wilds can appear in the base game and during free spins.
Mystery Symbols
Symbols that can transform into another matching symbol when they land, helping to create unexpected winning combinations across the reels.
Ways
Known also as ‘paylines’, this simply refers to the total number of possible winning combinations available on a given spin, determined by the number of symbols on each reel.
Clusters
Some variants use cluster pays rather than the traditional left-to-right paylines, awarding wins when a matching symbols land adjacent to each other.