Anyone who loves the winter season will recognise in an instant the magic of Merry Megaways. There’s just something special about all Christmassy things, and 1×2 Gaming’s Megaways slot has it too. From the game’s aesthetic to the music, symbols and features – everything screams Christmas. And we love it! Sometimes all we need is our own personal holiday retreat to get reacquainted with the child in us. If any of this makes you nod in agreement, do yourselves a favour and join the Christmas fray with 1×2 Gaming’s Merry Megaways.
Beginner’s Guide to Merry Megaways
Let’s first introduce you to the basics: Merry Megaways operates with 6 reels and anywhere from 2 to 7 rows, which appear in various scenarios. In addition, there’s a horizontal 4-symbol bonus reel situated at the top of the game grid. Players need to remember that like most Megaways out there, this one, too, has high volatility, meaning that it has both a high winning potential and a great degree of risk involved. The paylines Merry Megaways offers range from 324-200,704, so if you fall in the higher end of the spectrum, you’ll definitely find the game worth your while.
Merry Megaways’ RTP varies, and we recommend each time you check carefully before you start playing so as to avoid any unpleasant consequences. The RTP can range between 92%, 94% and 95,9%, which is what you should ideally be aiming for. The max payout for Merry Megaways is 20,000x the size of the initial bet, so be sure to leave Santa a tray of cookies baked with a spoonful of love, and you might just turn out on the upper end of that spectrum.
Moving on, let’s talk betting. As you well know, each Slot has a maximum and minimum amount allowed. For this one, the minimum is set at €0.10 while the maximum is €20. All in all, nothing is out of the ordinary for a Megaways Slot. Note also that the game is available for tables, desktop and mobile, meaning you’ll be able to play from both your winter cabin and your favourite Hawaiian beach.
Symbols
Before you rush off to play along with Santa’s reindeer, however, you’ll need to know a bit more about the game’s symbols. Think of it like the secret alphabet to decoding Merry Megaways.
Starting off, we have the Low-value symbols. These are your typical slot symbols: A, K, Q, J and 10. If you manage to land them in a combination six-of-a-kind, you’ll be awarded 0.4x to 0.6x the amount of your initial bet, which, in all fairness, is nothing but spare change.
There are, however, High-value symbols, which may end up paying you quite well, especially if you’re on Santa’s ‘Nice’ List. The High-value symbols are the Milk and Cookies, the Christmas Pudding, the Candy Canes, the Reindeer and Santa Clause himself. You can also encounter them as ‘Premium’ symbols, but essentially, they refer to the same thing. A six-of-a-kind High-value win will grant you anywhere from 1.5x to 3x the size of your bet. Unfortunately, even though they’re High-value symbols, the payout isn’t that great. However, that’s why Features exist. Let’s take a look!
Wilds & Scatters
If you’re a veteran player, you probably know what Wilds and Scatters are by heart. Still, for any beginners out there, we’ll go into detail.
Wilds are symbols that act as a substitute for all non-special symbols in the game. For example, if you have 4 Qs and 1 Wild symbol, you will be awarded the amount that’s designated for a combination of 5 Qs. In Merry Megaways, Wilds appear on reels 2-6 during the base game.
Scatters do not appear on the horizontal line. They appear on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5, only once per reel. A combination of 4 Scatters will award you a random Bauble. From 6 to 11, Free Spins will be given to you once a Bauble is randomly picked. Scatters can land during Free Spins, Tumbles and in the base game.
Tumbles Feature
While it may sound perplexing, in reality, the Tumbles Feature is nothing too complicated. Whenever symbols are destroyed, and a win is paid out, the remaining ones tumble, as the name suggests, and replace the now empty spots on the grid. If the new symbols also form a winning combination, they’ll again be replaced with more new ones. This will continue until there are no more possible Win Ways. If the Tumbles Feature is activated during a round of Free Spins, each Tumble will increase the Free Spins Multiplier by 1.
Santa’s Sack
It wouldn’t be a Christmas special without a sack of presents, would it? Merry Megaways has a special symbol for even more wins – Santa’s Sack.
You can encounter Santa’s Sack only during Free Spins on the horizontal reel, so make sure to be on the lookout. Santa’s Sack will act as a Wild and substitute all non-special symbols. Should 1 Santa’s Sack appear, it will add 2-4 Wilds anywhere between reels 2, 3 and 4. In case 2 Santa’s Sacks appear, they will add an additional 4–8 Wilds across reels 2, 3, 4 and 5.
2 Free Spins will be awarded to anyone who lands 1 Santa’s Sack, while those who land 2 Santa’s Sacks will receive 4 additional Free Spins. A maximum of 2 Santa’s Sacks can appear on the reels at any time.
Christmas Crackers
Christmas Crackers are another special that appears only on the horizontal reel. They will act as Sticky Wilds and substitute any and all non-special symbols. If you win Tumbles with Christmas Crackers on the reels, but without a winning combination, the Christmas Crackers will explode, along with one random symbol from each vertical reel and two extra random symbols.
Keep in mind, however, that Christmas Crackers cannot explode Scatters and Wilds. If a reel happens to be covered only by Scatters and Wilds, no follow-up explosion will occur on that particular reel. You can find the Christmas Cracker in the base game, Tumbles and Free Spins. Be aware that only 1 Christmas Crackers symbol will appear on the reels at any one time.
Lucky Last Spin Feature
This one is precisely what the name suggests. If you win during the last round of Free Spins, you will be awarded a Lucky Last Spin. If you win during the Lucky Last Spin, you will get another spin, and so on, until no win is achieved. The only exception to the Lucky Last Spin Feature is that non-winning Christmas Crackers explosions do not award another Free Spin.
Bonus Upgrader Feature
If you’re itching for a faster way to win, you can make use of the Bonus Upgrader Feature. Simply put, it is a way to buy a few Free Spins and boost your winnings. The High Bonus Upgrader is enabled should you choose to purchase 15 Free Spins, while the Super Bonus Upgrader will be enabled if you buy 20 Free Spins.
What the ‘High’ and ‘Super’ refer to is the frequency at which Santa’s Sacks and Christmas Crackers appear. Consequently, when the frequency is changed from Normal to ‘High’ and ‘Super’, your likelihood of landing these special symbols is exponentially increased.
Bottom Line
“Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind”. If you carry the Christmas spirit in your heart, every day feels like a special holiday of its own. To aid your festive mood or break you out of the mundane 9-5 routine, 1×2 Gaming has prepared for you Merry Megaways. A Megaways Slot with more than one fabulous feature and a jubilant Christmas theme, this one is for the holiday enthusiasts who feel that every day is a day for celebration.
