What does Ways to Win mean in slots?

Think of the reels as columns rather than lines drawn across the screen. A Ways game looks for matching symbols on the qualifying consecutive reels. Those symbols don’t have to line up in one row.

Depths of Fortune puts it plainly in its rules: three matching symbols on adjacent reels can count even when they’re at different heights. Leave a reel without the matching symbol and the sequence breaks.

You’ll see names such as Ways Pays, Win Ways and, in Vikings Video Slot, betways. The labels vary, but the useful question is the same: which reels and symbols does the game count? That’s different from Fixed Paylines, where a winning combination must follow a predefined route.

Do the symbols need to be on the same row?

No. It’s the run of reels that counts, not the rows. Buffalo King, with 4,096 Ways, counts left to right across neighbouring reels, so a symbol at the top of one reel can join one at the bottom of the next. They don’t have to make a neat shape on the screen.

How does a Ways win work?

Each matching symbol gives the game another possible position to use on that reel. Barbarossa Beyond The Edge, for example, counts identical symbols on three, four or five consecutive reels from the left. More than one matching symbol on a reel can produce more ways for the same symbol.

In the illustrated example, Reel 1 has one matching symbol, Reel 2 has two and Reel 3 has two. That’s 1 × 2 × 2 = 4 three-reel combinations. Reel 4 has none, so the matching symbol on Reel 5 cannot extend them.

Those are combinations of positions, not four lines drawn through the grid.

Pick any two games in the Face-Off to compare how they count their ways.

Why 243 Ways is not 243 paylines

It’s an easy mix-up, but there are no lines involved. Barbarossa Beyond The Edge uses five reels with three symbol positions on each. For a combination spanning all five reels, that gives 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 243 possible positional combinations.

Those are the possibilities, not the wins. On any spin, only the combinations that match the paytable pay, and it doesn’t mean every win needs five symbols either: Barbarossa also counts combinations across three or four consecutive reels.

Do Ways wins always start on the left?

Most of the games on this page count from the left. Nitropolis 5 is the exception: when its Both Ways modifier is active, a win can count from the leftmost reel or the rightmost one.

The consecutive-reel rule is what makes it a Ways system. Which end the game starts counting from is a separate rule.

Fixed, mode-based and changing Ways counts

Ways counts come in three kinds. Barbarossa and Buffalo King have one number and stick to it. Vikings has one number for the base game and a different one for Raid Spins. Fire in the Hole 2 and Extra Chilli Megaways change as the reels themselves change, so the figure you see advertised is the most the game can reach.

Ways counts in games I’ve checked

Game	Ways structure	What it shows
Barbarossa Beyond The Edge	243 Ways on a 5×3 layout	One fixed count
Buffalo King	4,096 Ways on a 6×4 layout	One fixed count on a bigger grid
Fire in the Hole 2	Up to 46,656 Ways as the active grid expands	Changes as rows open, from three to six
Vikings Video Slot	243 betways in the base game; 78,125 in Raid Spins	A different count in a different game mode

Fire in the Hole 2 starts with six reels and three active rows, and the grid can open up to six rows, reaching a published maximum of 46,656 Ways. More active positions can mean more combinations.

Vikings Video Slot changes the grid by mode instead. The base game has 243 betways on a 5×3 area; Raid Spins uses a 7×5 area and 78,125 betways. So a published Ways count belongs to a particular layout, not necessarily to every spin of a game.

The same thing happens with Expanding Reels and win-driven reel expansion, where the space available can change during play.

What is Megaways?

I remember Megaways arriving in UK lobbies, and it was a big deal, with a lot of marketing and fanfare behind it. It’s Big Time Gaming’s own version of Ways, though, not another name for all of them.

In Extra Chilli Megaways the six reels change height and a horizontal reel sits on top, so the number of ways moves with them, up to 117,649. Matching symbols still have to land on neighbouring reels from left to right.

Ways to Win vs Fixed Paylines vs Cluster Pays vs Pay Anywhere

Ways, fixed lines, clusters and Pay Anywhere all decide which symbols make a win. They just don’t use the same pattern.

Ways still needs that run of reels. Matching symbols scattered around the grid don’t pay just because you can see them, unless the game gives a symbol its own rule, as many do with Scatters.

Related slot mechanics

If you’re comparing how slots decide wins, these are the closest guides.