Wild Wild Riches Megaways

There’s no shortage of Irish themed slots available online, and one provider that has made use this theme in the past is Pragmatic Play. With hundreds of games available in their catalogue, it’s no wonder the Pragmatic team have made visits to the Emerald Isle to help bulk things out. In September 2020, we were treated to Wild Wild Riches, and now we’re back again for a sequel to this popular release, in Wild Wild Riches Megaways. With RTP options up to 96.02%, this highly (5/5) volatile release can produce wins up to 10,000x bet – more than double the potential of its predecessor.

Wild Wild Riches Megaways Base Game

Visual, there hasn’t been much of a change between the original and this newer release. Gameplay still takes place in a field with a white picket fence and a rainbow. A top hat sits to the right of the reels filled with coins, and Celtic imagery sits throughout, around the reels and upon symbols, including pot values. It’s all very stereotypically Irish – nothing groundbreaking, but nice enough to look at. Audios are exactly what you’d expect – more or less the same as Wild Wild Riches, but working to tie everything together.

Wild Wild Riches Megaways Offers Players Up To 117,649 Ways to Win

Wild Wild Riches Megaways Base Features

Taking place across 6 reels, wins are formed on Wild Wild Riches Megaways by matching at least 3 symbols on adjacent reels, beginning with the leftmost reel. Each reel can hold a maximum of 7 symbols through the Megaways mechanic, producing up to 117,649 ways to win. Symbols available begin with non premiums, with 10s, Js, Qs, Ks, and As, awarding wins between 0.05 and 0.10x bet for 3 of a kind, increasing to values between 0.50 and 1x bet for 6 of a kind matches. At the premium end, we have pipes, mushrooms, harps, four leafed clovers, and horseshoes, awarding wins between 0.15 and 0.50x bet for 3 of a kind, increasing to values between 1.50 and 2.50x bet for 6 of a kind wins. Beers are the highest paying symbol, awarding wins of 0.75, 2, 4, or 10x bet for 3, 4, 5, or 6 of a kind wins. Finally, Wild symbols substitute for all symbols except Bonus symbols and Money symbols, which we’ll explain soon.

Match Symbols on Adjacent Reels, Beginning With The Leftmost Reel, to Form Wins

So first up, there is no Ante Bet available in Wild Wild Riches Megaways to increase the chance of triggering the bonus naturally, which is one way this release differs from the original. However Wilds continue to work hand in hand with Money symbols to facilitate wins, so there are plenty of similarities.

Money symbols can appear on reels 3, 4, 5, or 6, and are pots of gold with cash values attached. At the beginning of every spin, all Money symbols take on a random value from a pre-defined set of options – 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 10x, 12x, 15x, or 20x bet.

Land Wilds on Reels 1 and 2 To Be Awarded Money Symbol Values

Wild symbols can only land on reels 1 or 2. If a Wild symbol lands on both reels, any adjacent Money symbol values will be collected and awarded. This means if a Wild lands on reels 1 and 2, with Money symbols on reels 3, 4, and 6, the values from reels 3 and 4 will be awarded – the gap created on reel 5 by no Money symbols landing means the values on reel 6 will not be considered adjacent.

Alongside cash values, Money symbols can also reveal multipliers of 2x, 3x, or 5x, or the following Jackpot values:

• Mini – 25x bet
• Minor – 50x bet
• Mega – 100x bet
• Maxi – 250x bet

Multipliers or Jackpots can only land on Money symbols that appear on reel 6. Multiplier values will be applied to the total collection value.

Land Wilds on Reel 1 and 2 With a Bonus Symbol on Reel 3 to Trigger Free Spins

Wild Wild Riches Megaways Bonus

The Bonus symbol can only land on reel 3. Land a Wild symbol on reels 1 and 2 with a Bonus symbol on reel 3 to trigger Free Spins. Before Free Spins begin, a random number of spins are awarded by spinning a wheel. Possible spin amounts are – 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, or 20 spins.

If less than 20 spins are awarded, it is possible to gamble for additional spins – up to a maximum of 20 spins. Players will have to gamble to progress to the next number of possible spins, but can collect at any point. If the gamble loses, all spins are lost and the bonus round will end.

• When gambling from 6 to 7 spins the chance of winning is 85.71%
• When gambling from 7 to 8 spins the chance of winning is 87.51%
• When gambling from 8 to 10 spins the chance of winning is 80.01%
• When gambling from 10 to 12 spins the chance of winning is 83.30%
• When gambling from 12 to 15 spins the chance of winning is 80.04%
• When gambling from 15 to 18 spins the chance of winning is 83.33%
• When gambling from 18 to 20 spins the chance of winning is 89.99%

Gamble Free Spins Up To 20 Free Spins

During Free Spins, things continue in much the same way as the base game, although additional Wild symbols and Money symbols are now present on the reels. By landing a Wild symbol on reels 1 and 2 with a Bonus symbol on reel 3, an additional +6 spins are awarded. There is no limit to how many times this can happen.

Finally, players in appropriate regions can skip to the action with the addition of the Buy Free Spins option, wherein for a cost of 100x bet, players can guarantee Free Spins will be triggered. RTP does not change when buying Free Spins.

The maximum win available in Wild Wild Riches Megaways is 10,000x bet. If the sum of a single game round exceeds this, the game round will end and 10,000x bet will be awarded.

Wild Wild Riches Megaways Free Spins

First Impression

There hasn’t been a great deal changed between Wild Wild Riches and Wild Wild Riches Megaways, but that isn’t to say there haven’t been improvements. I guess the main improvement is the Megaways mechanic itself, on licence from Big Time Gaming. In spite of how many years it has been, Megaways continues to be a sought after mechanic, with few other options coming close, so it won’t be a surprise to see players try this release for this reason alone.

A few other changes are noticeable. For one, the Ante Bet has been removed in favour of the Buy Free Spins option, which probably won’t be great news for players in regions without access to feature buys – especially with a Free Spins frequency of 1 in 363.18. That said, there’s plenty happening in the base game that might make this more forgiving – like a 1 in 3.09 hit frequency. Aside from this, the option to gamble up to 20 spins has added an extra splash of excitement into the bonus round.

Free Spins are where most of the excitement comes from, with more Wild symbols and Money symbols added to the reels to facilitate wins. With the Megaways mechanic it is possible to see impressive wins outside of this Money symbol feature, but it is the driving force behind everything. When the right combinations hit, wins are possible up to 10,000x bet – more than double the potential of Wild Wild Riches.

Finally, maths is highly (5/5) volatile, and RTP options are available up to 96.02% (again a small improvement), but as always it’s worth checking this. There maybe haven’t been enough big changes to convince players who didn’t take to the original, but if you were a fan, Wild Wild Riches Megaways offers sufficient improvements in win potential and RTP to make it worth your while.

*The screenshots taken of games reviewed on this site are taken from Demo Play, as reviews are often written before games are released for real play.