Megaways and Paylines
Paylines, ways-to-win and Megaways are three different answers to one question: what counts as a winning combination on a slot. A payline pays only on a fixed line; ways-to-win pays anywhere the symbols line up across adjacent reels; Megaways changes how many of those ways exist on every single spin. Knowing which a slot uses tells you how often it’ll pay and roughly how it’ll feel.
None of these systems pays back more in the long run on its own — that’s set by the RTP, covered in RTP and volatility. What they change is the texture of the game: how many combinations land, how often, and how the bonus features stack on top.
Paylines — the classic way
A payline is a defined path across the reels, and you only win when matching symbols land along it. A classic slot might have a single line straight across the middle; a modern one might have 20, 25 or 50 lines zig-zagging across the grid.
The key thing about paylines: you usually stake per line. On a 20-line slot, a “R1 a line” bet costs R20 a spin, and a win only counts if the symbols hit one of those exact 20 paths. More lines means more chances to hit, but a higher cost per spin — so the line count alone tells you little until you check the stake and the RTP.
Ways-to-win — lines go out the window
Ways-to-win slots drop the idea of fixed lines entirely. Instead, matching symbols pay whenever they land on adjacent reels, anywhere on the rows. The most common version is 243 ways (a 5-reel, 3-row grid: 3×3×3×3×3 = 243), and you’ll also see 1,024 ways and more.
The practical effect: you hit far more winning combinations, because a win doesn’t need to sit on a specific line — it just needs matching symbols marching left to right across the reels. That makes ways-to-win slots feel busier, with smaller wins landing more often, though the per-spin cost reflects all those extra ways.
Megaways — the ways change every spin
Megaways is a ways-to-win system with a twist: the number of symbols on each reel changes on every spin. One spin a reel shows two symbols, the next it shows seven. Because the ways multiply across the reels, the total can swing from a few hundred up to 117,649 ways on a standard six-reel Megaways slot.
| System | What counts as a win | Ways | Feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paylines | Symbols on a defined line | Fixed (1–50+) | Predictable, classic |
| Ways-to-win | Adjacent matching symbols | Fixed (243, 1,024) | Busy, frequent small wins |
| Megaways | Adjacent matching symbols | Changes each spin (up to 117,649) | Chaotic, big-bonus driven |
Megaways slots also tend to come loaded with cascading wins — winning symbols vanish and new ones drop in for a chance at back-to-back wins on one spin — plus big free-spin features with rising multipliers. That combination makes most Megaways slots high volatility: long quiet stretches, then a feature that can pay enormously. If that swing doesn’t suit your bankroll, check the volatility before you commit.
A note on “group pays” slots
A few slots ditch lines and reels and pay when a group of matching symbols touch on the grid — five or more of the same symbol connected together pays, then they’re removed and new symbols drop in. Think of it as “match pays”: you’re not chasing a line, you’re trying to land a big connected block of the same symbol. These are usually high volatility too, since the big payouts hinge on chaining those drops together.
Does more ways mean more money?
It’s the natural assumption — 117,649 ways must beat 20 lines — and it’s wrong. More ways means more frequent wins, not bigger long-run returns. A Megaways slot lands small wins constantly, but each one is often less than your spin cost, and the RTP can sit identical to a plain 20-line game. You’re not winning more over time; you’re winning more often, smaller, while waiting on the bonus that actually pays.
So treat the ways count as a description of the rhythm, not a measure of value. A slot with hundreds of thousands of ways and a 96% RTP gives back exactly the same long-run percentage as a 10-line slot at 96% — the difference is entirely in how the experience feels and how the wins are distributed. Always check the RTP and volatility, never the headline ways number.
So which should you play?
Don’t pick on the number of ways — pick on RTP and volatility, then let the system pick the feel you want. Fixed paylines for a calmer, classic spin; ways-to-win for a busier game with frequent small hits; Megaways for the rollercoaster and the shot at a massive bonus. The underlying mechanics are the same machine every time — how slots work — and every game is live in the Scorebet casino.
Frequently asked
What are Megaways slots?
Megaways slots change the number of symbols on each reel every spin, so the number of ways to win shifts round to round — up to 117,649 on a six-reel game. More ways means more frequent small wins, and these slots tend to be high volatility with big bonus features.
Are more paylines better?
Not automatically. More lines or ways means you hit winning combinations more often, but you usually stake across all of them, so the cost per spin is higher. What matters is the RTP and volatility, not the raw number of lines.
What's the difference between paylines and ways to win?
Paylines pay only when symbols land on a specific defined line. Ways-to-win pays whenever matching symbols land on adjacent reels anywhere on the rows, ignoring lines entirely — so a 243-ways slot pays far more combinations than a 20-line one.
Where does the figure 117,649 ways actually come from?
It's seven raised to the power of six — a six-reel Megaways slot can show up to seven symbols on each reel, and 7×7×7×7×7×7 equals 117,649 ways. That's the ceiling, not the norm: most spins land far fewer because the reels rarely all hit their maximum height at once. The number is a marketing headline for the best-case grid, not what you face on a typical spin.
Why do Megaways slots so often cap the multiplier instead of the win itself?
On a cascading Megaways game, winning symbols vanish and an increasing multiplier ladders up through the free-spins round, so the studio limits variance by capping how high that multiplier can climb rather than the raw payout. It's a maths-control lever: an uncapped multiplier on a busy ways-to-win grid could blow the game's whole RTP budget on one freak spin. Knowing the bonus has a multiplier ceiling tells you the realistic top end before you chase the feature.