Counted amongst the best online slots ever created for the online gambling industry, Bonanza slot, combined with Megaways technology changed the way how people perceived and played online slot games.
Anyone who has played online slot games in the past would be well aware of Bonanza slot. Megaways phenomenon hit the online gambling industry with complete force during the early part of the casino streaming era. Prior to that, streaming sessions used to be majorly dominated by products from companies like Microgaming, Play’n GO, WMS, Thunderkick and NetEnt.
Even though people could indulge in some online slots offering 1024 ways of winning by this time, Microgaming’s 243 pay liners that all were focused on to get their fill of online slots, were eventually replaced by the Megaways technology.
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What Is Megaways engine?
Prior to the invention and introduction of Megaways technology, the only way online slot players could win at these games was by getting certain pre-defined sequences of symbols on the screen. Megaways changed that completely.
This technology is essentially about a random modifier that changes the total number of slot symbols appearing on the screen after every spin. It implies that players get multiple chances of winning, with the increasing number of sequences. It was Big Time Gaming, a company that has produced many popular games powered by Megaways engine that invented this method of counting the winning lines.
How Megaways works?
With more number of potential winning sequences, the possibility of winning also increase considerably for the slot lovers. In order to make a winning sequence, the player simply needs to match from any of the symbols visible on the different slot reels. With Megaways engine, it’s possible to get the winning combination by landing matching symbols from left to right. It’s not mandatory for the symbols to be connected to each other, to score a win, something that conventional slots are characterized by.
Often, winning symbols of certain combinations can even trigger reactions, leading to replacement of other symbols, with newer ones. You get rewarded even if these new symbols make a winning sequence. All pay outs in the Megaways-powered slots get multiplied by the wagered amount, enabling players to score some handsome wins.
On Bonanza slot
When Bonanza slot was launched at online casinos, it didn’t make a lot of noise initially. However, as time passed, the game slowly started gaining recognition from casino streamers, and picked-up pace from that point on, snowballing into something very big. And then came a time came when no one played anything other than Bonanza.
It was an online slot game which was entirely different from slots people had seen or played till that point. Right from its novel reel layout, quirky music, unprecedented ways of winning and unmatched potential, it was completely new and exciting for the slot players.
For people who are new to the online gambling world, let’s tell you quickly about this phenomenally popular slot title. Bonanza is essentially a 6-reel online slot game themed around a goldmine. Although it wasn’t the first Megaways powered slot, it became the one which popularised Megaways technology to a great extent.
Its release offered many new features like up to 117,649 pay lines, cascading reels, increasing win multiplier, extra horizontal lines for creating more winning combinations, and much more. People could play this new exciting slot for anywhere from £ 0.20 to £ 20 per spin.
The game has waterfalls, hills, an iconic little hut, and a busy goldmine as its backdrop. The first six symbols appear in the form of differently colored playing cards – purple A, red K, blue Q, green J, yellow 10, and aqua 9. You also get to witness five-colored gemstones as higher-paying slot symbols – amethyst, emerald, ruby, and sapphire. These can multiply your wagered amount by up to x50 if you land a ‘six of a kind’ type of combination.
Features That Made Bonanza Megaways Slot A Rage
As soon as you launch Bonanza Megaways Slot, you realize that it isn’t all about visuals alone. Agreed that visuals constitute an exciting and integral part of this game, it’s the features that make it very thrilling.
Firstly, you will witness carts full of symbols coming up on a horizontal reel, right above the reel numbers 2 to 5. Basically, the purpose is to include an extra symbol for those 4 reels, giving you an exciting chance to form bigger or more number of winning combinations, after every spin of the reels. It’s also the only area where you will witness wild symbols making an appearance.
A feature that has stood out for Bonanza over the years is its Reactions. Anytime you land a winning combination across the game’s reels, you will receive a perk in the form of Reactions. How this works is that each symbol constituting the winning combination will undergo a reaction and disappear from the screen. The symbols will get replaced by new symbols from above as well as from the right, potentially creating even more wins. As a result, you are in with a chance to create multiple winning combinations from a single spin, making this game even more appealing.
There are more exciting features. Land the symbols that spell out G O L D during the base game and you’ll be rewarded with 12 free spins (every scatter symbol during these spins will add extra five spins). In addition, any time you see three scatter symbols anywhere on the screen during free spins, you will be awarded extra 5 free spins, over and above the rest.
Not just that, you’re also in with a chance to land an Unlimited Win Multiplier, which begins at x1, but goes up with every Reaction you witness during the free spins. In a nutshell, although this game might not win you huge amounts as in some of the popular progressive jackpot slots, you’ll nevertheless be in with a chance to win decent sums.
Final Word
Bonanza slot and Megaways engine have both proven to be highly influential, popularising this new-age technology and also taking Big Time Gaming to great heights. The game firmly cemented the developer’s reputation as amongst the leading providers of high potential and high variance online slot games. Many believe, the success and influence accomplished by the Bonanza brand can be likened to Starburst, which might be true to a certain extent, but in reality Bonanza’s impact has been much bigger.
Even today in 2020, Megaways engine continues to be a big market dominator, and we are yet to witness a new innovation capable of threatening its position. Rather, competitors have been lining up for acquiring their own Megaways license, something that goes on to show the incredible success this technology continues to enjoy.
There are very few games in the online slot world which have been discussed with as much interest and zeal as Bonanza slot. Furthermore, there is a great multitude of Bonanza slot variations offered in the marketplace today, which have been created and released by several different Megaways licensees like Red Tiger, Blueprint Gaming, etc.
There’s not much that’s left to be said about the way in which Bonanza slot and Megaways Technology has changed the online slot landscape in the iGaming world. It is undeniably amongst the top-rated online slot games ever made and should be right up there on your list if you’re planning to start playing online slots soon.
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