You may have seen slots with the Megaways label in their title and wondered what it meant. These games come from various providers, and with all kinds of different themes and features. If you have a 100 free spins no deposit bonus and you're wondering how to make use of it, you may be tempted by Megaways slots, but first, you'll need to know how they all work.

The origin of Megaways

The original Megaways slots were developed by Big Time Gaming, which was already a prominent name when it came to online casino software. It launched the first games using Megaways mechanics in 2017. Megaways are a specific kind of reel modifier that can dramatically increase your ways to win into the tens or even hundreds of thousands, which understandably has become a very popular feature. It wasn't long before other developers were joining in on the action, producing their own Megaways titles, sometimes with their own specific quirks.

How do they work?

Most slots come with 3 or 5 reels, and you win by matching symbols across a handful of fixed paylines. Other slots are a little more ambitious, allowing you to create winning combinations in every available way. For a standard 5x3 slot, this generally means 243 possibilities. Megaways are different because the exact layout of the reels changes on every single spin. This means the number of ways to win is modified too.

It's not unusual for a Megaways slot to have 6 reels, but what really sets it apart is how many symbols each reel can host. Maybe there will only be 3 or 4, but sometimes there could be as many as 7. That's why the ways to win continuously shift. If every row has the maximum number of symbols, then the total number of winning ways in a Megaways slot can go as high as 117,649.

You still need at least 3 identical symbols to create a paying combination, but they don't have to follow set paylines. As long as they're on adjacent reels and start on the left, any matching combination can win.

How many ways to win?

That 177,649 figure is pretty high. It can be hard to see how one slot can have room for so many options. Of course, not all Megaways slots have quite that many maximum ways. You might find one where the biggest possible total is 16,807. Admittedly, that is still massive compared to your average slot. You also need to remember that not all of those ways will be active on every spin. When the reels and rows shift, so do the winning possibilities.

If you're wondering how to figure out exactly how many ways are available on your current slot at the current time, look at how many symbols are visible on the first reel. Then, look at the number of symbols on reel 2. Multiply them together. Now it's time to take your result and multiply it again, this time by the third reel's symbols. Do the same for the fourth, fifth and sixth reels. Once you've combined all of them together, you've calculated your ways to win. Many slots will also tell you the current number of ways based on the current symbols available. Look for a display box somewhere near the top of the screen.

What about RTP?

A slot's RTP is its return to player average. It's calculated over millions of spins, so it's not always directly relevant to your considerably shorter session, but it can be a useful indicator. For instance, a slot with a 96% RTP should eventually average out a £96 return for every £100 bet. Players often consider RTP before choosing a slot, even whilst knowing that few slot games are over average.

RTP can vary a lot between slots, and that's true of Megaways games as much as any other. They might have a lower RTP to offset the increased number of ways. After all, providers can't make it too easy for you. Others will have a solid 96.22%, which Big Time Gaming claims is the average for this type of slot. There may even be a few that go higher, to as much as 97.77%, like White Rabbit Megaways.

Using RTP as a guideline is OK, but don't forget, it is only a guideline. The random nature of slots means any one game can vary from its average return from spin to spin. Your results could be significantly higher, or lower. This unpredictability is part of what makes slots fun, but it does mean you shouldn't rely on any guaranteed payouts.

Popular Megaways slots

So which Megaways slots should you be playing with your 100 free spins? The choices are broad. Particularly popular games include Blood Suckers Megaways from Red Tiger, which is all about the vampires and has a particularly high RTP, 10,001 Megaways, also from Red Tiger, which is inspired by Arabian folklore, and Fruit Shop Megaways from NetEnt, which is not your typical fruit machine.

Megaways slots are usually defined by their high number of ways to win and the shifting reel mechanics, but there can be a lot more to them than that. They could have any other combination of features like free spins, multiplier and cascading symbols, and the different themes are almost limitless. There's lots for you to explore if you want to discover the full range of Megaways slots and everything they can do.

Find yourself a reputable online casino, one that's regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, and see what they have on offer. Most places with the right iGaming software will have some Megaways titles.