Ancient Island Megaways

Exploring the mysteries of these island peoples, Pragmatic Play takes us to the Ancient Island Megaways slot machine available in February 2025. The studio transports us to a paradise island where nature has reclaimed the remains of an ancestral civilization. A sculpted temple covered in moss is visible on the seaside, its ancient stones and statues are in the image of sacred animals, all just a few steps from the turquoise waters of the ocean. In the distance, there are also steep cliffs and a blue sky announcing a pleasant day.

We find a mystical atmosphere, somewhat tribal by the addition of a melody and symbols representing for the most part a collection of ritual masks in bright colors reminiscent of Aztec art. This immersion in a forgotten world is accompanied by the famous Megaways system which, once fully exploited, can transform each spin of the reel into an unpredictable and intense experience with payouts of up to 10,000x the stake.

The presence of a top reel that awards modifiers such as multipliers, cash prizes and maximum ways adds an element of surprise.

The encounter with island civilizations will take place on a grid composed of 6 reels with variable rows comprising between 2 and 7 symbols on each spin. A horizontal reel also allows various modifiers to be displayed during the game. This Megaways layout allows up to 117,649 ways to win to be displayed. We will play in a highly volatile setting with an RTP of 96.55% and the bet choice is between $0.20 and $240 per spin.

All symbols pay from left to right starting from the leftmost reel. You will need to make combinations of 3 to 6 identical symbols, aligned on adjacent reels to win. Thus, the mask and pattern symbols can pay between 0.25x and 5x the stake while the royals A, K, Q, J and 10 will pay between 0.10x and 0.80x the stake. There is also a Wild symbol capable of replacing all symbols in the game except the Scatter, it can appear on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5.

To consolidate regular winnings, Ancient Island Megaways includes the tumble system, but also the Wild & Top Modifiers function and Free Spins with a purchase option.

Tumble Feature

As with many Megaways slots, this game allows you to trigger cascades with each winning spin. When a win occurs, the winning symbols disappear and the remaining symbols tumble downwards while the empty spaces are replaced by new symbols from above. The tumbles continue until there are no more winning combinations and all wins are added to the player’s balance at the end.

Wild & Top Modifiers

When a Wild appears on the grid, it expands vertically to fill all reel positions. Above the main grid is the horizontal reel which includes random modifiers that can land in any position on each spin. When Wild symbols expand under a modifier, it is activated.

Here are the modifiers you may encounter:

• Cash Prize: Pays a prize between 2x and 100x the total bet.
• Multiplier: Pays a multiplier between x2 and x100 that applies to all winning combinations in the spin. If multiple Wilds contribute to the same winning combination, their multipliers are added together.
• Max Ways: Increases the number of symbols on all reels to the maximum by adding new positions and symbols at the bottom of each reel.
• Replace Non Winning Symbols: Before the win is evaluated, non-winning symbols are replaced by random ones.
• Extra Wild Reel: A Wild covering the entire reel is added to reels 2 to 5 at random. If a modifier is above the Wild, it is activated.

Ancient Island Megaways vs. 4 different slots from Pragmatic Play

Free Spins

Find 4, 5 or 6 Scatter symbols anywhere on the grid to trigger Free Spins and win 12, 14 or 16 free spins respectively. During this mode, all positions on the horizontal reel are guaranteed to be filled with a random modifier on each Free Spin.

An additional modifier that can appear in the Free Spins is the Extra Spins which grants 2 to 10 additional free spins.

Buy Free Spins

You can opt for this bonus purchase option in order to win access to the Free Spins for 100x the total bet.

An encounter with island civilizations

Pragmatic Play is usually quite good at adding interesting elements to its slot machines and Ancient Island Megaways has more than one. There is already the Megaways mechanic that many are familiar with, and this is coupled with a wide list of modifiers accessible thanks to the Wild when it expands on the reels. The Megaways payment system is very efficient with Wilds that make it easy to connect symbols to create winning combinations, it will be even more so here thanks to its expanding effect on the reel. On the other hand, in the base game, just like during the Free Spins, the modifier reel considerably strengthens the gameplay with plenty of extras adding wilds, removing non-winning symbols, increasing the size of the reels or granting multipliers and cash prizes. By combining the island theme with these features in a slot capable of paying up to 10,000x the stake, the studio promises good gaming sessions.