Pompeii Megareels Megaways

Pompeii Megareels Megaways Slot Review

Vesuvius is already erupting on the title screen of Pompeii Megareels Megaways, its cone spilling fire onto a white-columned temple while rivers of lava crawl across the cracked ground beneath the reels. The interesting part of this game isn’t the spin, it’s the moment after a win: the reels that paid out grow, and the grid you’re playing on becomes bigger than the one you paid for. Few Megaways titles let a win change the shape of the board mid-chain, and it’s the one idea here that justifies a second visit to Pompeii.

Pragmatic Play have dressed this one better than they’ve changed it. It’s the Megaways take on Pompeii Megareels, a game our 2024 review found competent but short on fresh ideas, and the maths here is familiar: 96.00% RTP, high volatility, a 6×4 grid where each reel can grow to seven symbols for up to 117,649 ways to win. It shares shelf space with Gates of Olympus 1000 and Great Rhino Megaways. The volcano, at least, isn’t decorative.

Base Game & Features

Wins pay left to right for adjacent symbol combinations of any size, so there are no fixed paylines to track. Each of the six reels holds a variable number of symbols per spin, and the ways counter above the grid shifts as the reels reshuffle. When every reel sits at its maximum, the count tops out at 117,649 ways.

Three symbol types sit outside the standard paytable, and each does its own job:

• Wilds – volcano-stamped symbols that stand in for any paying symbol to complete combinations
• Fireball scatters – land four or more to trigger the free spins round
• Paying symbols – the Roman emperor, four artefacts and five royals, listed below

Tumble Feature

After any winning spin, the winning symbols disappear and the remaining symbols fall into the gaps. Empty positions are refilled with new symbols, and any reel that contributed to the win can randomly grow, adding symbols beyond the count it started with. Tumbling continues for as long as new wins keep forming, with everything banked once the chain stops.

That growth mechanic is the Megareels hook, and it’s what separates the base game from a standard tumble title. A single win can snowball into a much larger grid than the spin started with, which matters here because ways pay, and more symbols on the reels means more ways for the next win to form.

Symbol Values

The paytable leans Roman, with a stern emperor up top and a run of artefacts and royals behind him. Values below are multiples of the line bet for three, four, five and six of a kind:

• Roman Emperor – 0.75x, 1.5x, 2.5x and 5x
• Armor – 0.4x, 0.75x, 1.5x and 2.5x
• Chariot – 0.25x, 0.75x, 1x and 2x
• Shield – 0.25x, 0.4x, 0.75x and 1.5x
• Coin – 0.25x, 0.4x, 0.6x and 1.25x
• A – 0.2x, 0.3x, 0.5x and 1x
• K and Q – 0.15x, 0.2x, 0.4x and 0.75x
• J – 0.15x, 0.2x, 0.3x and 0.5x
• 10 – 0.1x, 0.2x, 0.3x and 0.5x

The emperor pays 5x for a full six-of-a-kind, which is modest by the standards of a high volatility title. It means the big swings in this game come from tumbles and multipliers rather than from the symbol ladder itself. Only the highest combination per way counts.

Pompeii Megareels Megaways Free Spins & Bonus Buy

Fireball scatters are the key to the bonus round, and the more of them you land in one spin, the longer the round runs. The trigger ladder looks like this:

• 4 scatters – 15 free spins
• 5 scatters – 20 free spins
• 6 or more scatters – 25 free spins

Special reels are in play for the duration, so the symbol mix differs from the base game. The round cannot be retriggered, so the spins you start with are the spins you get.

The multiplier is the point of the round. Every win during free spins is multiplied by the total number of symbols that exploded in the current tumble. Long tumble chains feed directly into bigger multipliers, so a win that clears a crowded grid pays far more than the same win on a sparse one.

1. Scatters land and the round opens with 15, 20 or 25 spins on special reels
2. A winning combination forms and its symbols explode
3. The win is multiplied by the number of symbols that exploded in that tumble
4. Remaining symbols fall, new ones drop in, and the next win in the chain carries its own count
5. The round runs to its final spin or the win cap, whichever comes first

Win Cap

Wins in both the base game and free spins are capped at 10,000x the bet. If a free spins round reaches that ceiling, the round ends immediately, the win is awarded and any remaining spins are forfeited. It’s the same ceiling the original Pompeii Megareels carried, so the sequel hasn’t raised the stakes on paper.

Bonus Buy

There are two purchase options, and they differ more than the prices suggest:

• 100x total bet – triggers the standard free spins round, with 4, 5 or 6 scatters guaranteed to hit randomly on the triggering spin
• 300x total bet – triggers the double multiplier round, where every win is multiplied by double the number of exploded symbols in the current tumble

The double multiplier option is the aggressive pick. Since the standard multiplier already scales with the size of each tumble, doubling it rewards exactly the kind of long chains the feature is built around. On a full grid with a long chain, the difference between the two modes compounds quickly.

Our Honest Verdict

Overall Rating: 7.7/10

This is a game of long quiet spells punctuated by chains that build on themselves, and you come to it for one thing: watching a small win leave you on a bigger board than you started with. Under the smoke and the gilded columns, it plays like a slow fuse. When a chain catches, it really catches.

The growing reels are the best idea in it, because they make every tumble feel like it’s going somewhere rather than just refilling the same grid. The weakness is that beyond that one twist, there’s a single bonus mode with no retrigger and a ceiling the original already carried, so the volcano has more to look at than it has surprises.

It’s a good fit for anyone who likes a patient build and multipliers that earn their size. If you want variety in your features, this isn’t the ruin to excavate. But for players happy to wait on Vesuvius, the eruption pays off often enough to be worth the ash.

Pompeii Megareels Megaways FAQs

• What is the RTP of Pompeii Megareels Megaways?

  The RTP is 96.00%.
• Is Pompeii Megareels Megaways high volatility?

  Yes, it’s a high volatility slot, so wins tend to be less frequent but larger when they land.
• How do you trigger the free spins in Pompeii Megareels Megaways?

  Landing four, five or six scatter symbols awards 15, 20 or 25 free spins respectively. The round can’t be retriggered.
• How does the free spins multiplier work in Pompeii Megareels Megaways?

  Every win in the round is multiplied by the total number of symbols that exploded in the current tumble. Longer tumble chains that clear more of the grid therefore carry bigger multipliers.
• How many paylines does Pompeii Megareels Megaways have?

  There are no fixed paylines. Wins pay for left to right adjacent symbol combinations of any size, and each of the six reels can hold up to seven symbols, giving a maximum of 117,649 ways to win.
• Can you buy the bonus on Pompeii Megareels Megaways?

  Yes. Paying 100x your total bet triggers the standard free spins round with four to six scatters guaranteed, while 300x buys the double multiplier version where wins are multiplied by double the number of exploded symbols in each tumble.
• What is the maximum win on Pompeii Megareels Megaways?

  Wins are capped at 10,000x your bet in both the base game and free spins. If a free spins round hits the cap, it ends immediately and the win is paid.
• Who makes Pompeii Megareels Megaways?

  Pragmatic Play. It was released on 15 February 2024 as a Megaways follow-up to Pompeii Megareels.