Old Gold Miner Megaways Slot Review
Timber beams frame the reels, lanterns glow amber at either side, and dark rock walls close in behind everything: a mine shaft that’s been working long enough to feel it. Old Gold Miner Megaways from Pragmatic Play draws its old-time gold camp with a cartoonist’s hand rather than a gravedigger’s, and beneath the warm lamplight sits an argument: more of this game is decided by a single spin of a wheel than by anything you’ll do at the reels.
There’s a case to make that this mine rewards patience over spectacle. The RTP sits at 96.56% (96.67% with the ante bet or a bonus buy), volatility is high, and the win ceiling is 5,000x the bet. Six Megaways reels serve up to 200,704 ways to win, with stakes from 0.20 to 300.00 a spin. It digs the same seam as Mining Rush, Gold Rush and Drill That Gold, though its free spins arrive by wheel rather than by pick.
The Mine and Its Ways to Win
Six reels sit inside the shaft, each spinning up a different number of symbols every time. Reels one and six carry up to seven symbols; the four middle reels carry up to eight. The top row of reels two to five spins independently, right to left, which is what pushes the way count to its ceiling of 200,704.
Wins are simple in shape: matching symbols on adjacent reels from the left, in combinations of any size. Only the highest win per way counts, and wins across multiple ways all add together. The wild lands only on reels two to six, substitutes for everything except the gold cart, and doubles any win it’s part of, in the base game and free spins alike.
A spin resolves in coins or cash, whichever view you’ve picked from the credit display, and every win is multiplied by the base bet. Wins from free spins and bonuses are added to payline wins before the round’s total is paid out as one figure at the end.
Symbol pays, at the base 2.00 stake:
- Miner: the only two-of-a-kind payer, at 2.00, rising through 4.00, 8.00 and 20.00 to 40.00 for six
- Dog: 2.00 for three, 4.00 for four, 5.00 for five and 7.50 for six
- Gold cart: starts at 0.60 and climbs to 4.00 for a full six
- Lantern: 0.60 at three of a kind, topping out at 3.00
- Pickaxe and A: a shared row, 0.40 up to 2.50
- K: pays 0.40 for three and 2.00 for six
- Q, J and 10: the lowest rung together, from 0.20 to 2.00
- Scatter (gold nugget): 5x, 10x, 20x and 100x the total bet for three to six
The miner paying from two of a kind matters more than it looks on a grid this wide, where a pair is never far away. Scatters land on all reels and trigger the free spins round at three or more, paying on top of any line wins from the same spin.
Tumble Feature
Every winning spin sets off a tumble. Winning symbols are paid and cleared away, everything above falls to the bottom, and new symbols drop in from above at the same size as the original result. If those form new wins, the process repeats.
Tumbling only stops when a board produces no new winning combinations. All wins from a base spin’s full chain of tumbles land in the balance together at the end, rather than one at a time. On a grid that can carry more than 200,000 ways, a single chain can run a long way from one spin, and the wild’s 2x applies to every win it helps form along the way.
Free Spins and the Wheel of Fortune
Three or more scatter nuggets anywhere on the reels trigger the free spins round. Before a single free spin plays, a Wheel of Fortune appears with two slices, one carrying a number of free spins and the other a multiplier. The wheel spins and awards whatever combination it lands on.
Both values then hold for the round. The multiplier applies to the total win of every free spin, not just the first, and special reels are in play throughout. That makes the opening spin of the wheel the round’s defining moment: a poor pairing caps what the whole feature can do.
Retriggers follow the same route. Landing three or more scatters mid-round brings the wheel back out, and whatever free spin count and multiplier it awards are added to the values already running. There’s no limit on how many times this can happen, so a round that keeps hitting scatters keeps compounding both numbers.
Ante Bet and Buy Free Spins
Two bet options change how the game plays. The Ante Bet raises the bet multiplier from 20x to 25x, and in exchange the chance of triggering free spins naturally is doubled, with more scatters present on the reels. The RTP rises to 96.67% when it’s on.
The Buy Free Spins option skips the queue entirely, triggering the feature instantly for 100x the current total bet. Its RTP is also 96.67%. The two can’t be combined: enabling the 25x ante bet disables the buy option, so it’s one route or the other into the same wheel.
Whatever the route in, the round’s total win is capped: if a free spins round’s winnings reach 5,000x the bet, the round ends immediately, the win is awarded and any remaining free spins are forfeited.
Our Honest Verdict
Overall Rating: 7.1/10
Playing this is a long walk down a shaft with a lamp that only brightens when scatters turn up. The base game tumbles and pays doubled wild wins often enough to keep the pickaxe swinging, but the reason to be here is that wheel: one lucky pairing, stacked by retriggers with no limit on them, is where the whole mine pays out.
Its strength is that the round grows rather than resets; each retrigger adds to both the spins and the multiplier already running, which is rarer than it should be. Its weakness is the 5,000x cap, which arrives while other Megaways titles are still warming up, and the wheel hands out its stingy pairings with a straight face.
This suits players who enjoy the build: a slow dig, a bonus round that compounds, and the ante bet and buy options there for anyone who’d rather not wait for scatters. Anyone hunting five-figure potential won’t find it down this shaft. For everyone else, the lanterns burn steady and the seam runs deep enough to be worth the climb down.
Old Gold Miner Megaways FAQs
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What is the RTP of Old Gold Miner Megaways?
The RTP is 96.56% in normal play. Both the Ante Bet and the Buy Free Spins option run at a slightly higher 96.67%. -
Is Old Gold Miner Megaways high volatility?
Yes, it’s a high volatility game, so wins tend to be spaced out and the free spins round carries most of the win potential. -
How many ways to win does Old Gold Miner Megaways have?
Wins are awarded for left to right adjacent symbol combinations of any size. The top row of reels two to five spins independently, and the maximum number of ways to win is 200,704. -
How does the Wheel of Fortune work in the free spins round?
Before the round starts, a wheel with two slices spins and awards a random combination of free spins and a multiplier. Both hold for the whole round, and the multiplier applies to the total win of every free spin. -
Can you retrigger free spins in Old Gold Miner Megaways?
Yes. Scatters landing during the round bring the wheel back out, and the new free spin count and multiplier are added to your current values. There’s no limit on retriggers. -
Can you buy the bonus on Old Gold Miner Megaways?
Yes, the free spins feature can be triggered instantly for 100x your current total bet. The buy option is disabled while the 25x ante bet is switched on, so you can’t use both at once. -
What is the maximum win on Old Gold Miner Megaways?
The maximum win is capped at 5,000x your bet. If a free spins round’s total win reaches that cap, the round ends immediately and any remaining free spins are forfeited. -
Who makes Old Gold Miner Megaways?
Pragmatic Play. Old Gold Miner Megaways’ release date is 8 November 2022.
