Rules & Mechanics
How Buffalo King Megaways Works
How the reels, wilds, and free spins fit together in Buffalo King Megaways.
Check partner casinos- Win lines
- 200, 704 ways to win
- Average return
- 96.52%
- Volatility rating
- high
- Reels
- 6 reels
- Maximum win
- 5000x
Buffalo King Megaways runs on six reels of variable height plus a sliding top reel, paying for matching symbols on adjacent reels from left to right rather than on fixed paylines. Winning symbols clear and tumble away, new ones drop in, and the reel re-checks for further wins in the same spin. Landing four or more golden buffalo bonus coins triggers a free spins round with multiplier wilds.
- Wins pay left-to-right across adjacent reels, not on fixed lines.
- Ways range from 64 up to 200,704 depending on reel heights that spin.
- Free spins start at four or more golden buffalo bonus coins.
The Ways-to-Win Mechanic
Buffalo King Megaways replaces fixed paylines with a ways system: each of the six main reels can show anywhere from two to seven symbols, and a horizontal top reel feeds an extra symbol above each of the four middle reels. Because the number of symbols per reel changes on every spin, the number of active ways changes with it, ranging from a modest 64 up to the maximum of 200,704. A win needs matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from reel one; how many ways that combination pays depends on multiplying the symbol counts across the reels involved. There is no right-to-left evaluation and no both-ways scoring, so the leftmost reel is always the anchor for any win.
Reels, Symbols, and the Tumble Sequence
The paytable splits into royals and wildlife. Card symbols from 10 through A form the low end and account for most small hits during ordinary spins. Above them sit five animal symbols: moose and wolf pay the same and sit at the bottom of the premium tier, the cougar pays more, the eagle pays more again, and the buffalo tops the set, capable of paying even on just two matching symbols thanks to the ways structure.
Two special symbols carry the mechanics. The wild, shown as a canyon rock marked WILD, only appears on the four middle reels and on the top horizontal reel — it substitutes for any regular symbol but never for the bonus coin. The bonus coin, a golden buffalo marked Bonus, has its own scatter payouts and is the only symbol that triggers free spins, landing anywhere in view rather than needing to line up on adjacent reels.
After any winning spin, the tumble mechanic clears the symbols that formed a win and drops new ones into their place, sometimes fed by the sliding top reel. The grid is then re-checked, and if the new arrangement produces another win, the process repeats within that same paid spin. A single stake can therefore trigger a short chain of wins before the round settles and the next spin becomes available.
Because wilds are restricted to the middle and top reels, buffalo wins in the base game usually depend on the buffalo symbol landing on its own rather than being completed by wild substitution on reel one. Visually, this keeps the base game centred on the animal set and the royals doing most of the work between bonus rounds.
Strengths and Trade-Offs of the Ruleset
- Retriggerable free spins mean a single bonus round can extend well beyond its starting spin count.
- High volatility means long stretches without a bonus are common, and dry spells can run into the hundreds of spins.
- Multiplier wilds in free spins compound across a tumble chain rather than applying once.
- No published hit frequency exists for the free spins trigger, so the realistic wait between bonuses is not quantified.
- The ways range gives every spin a slightly different geometry instead of a fixed grid.
- Bonus buy costs 100x stake, a steep upfront commitment relative to a single spin.
A Round, Step by Step
Set your stake on the bet panel before starting a spin.
Decide whether to enable Ante Bet, if your casino offers it, before committing to a spin.
Press spin and watch the six reels and the sliding top reel populate with symbols.
Check the grid for matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from reel one.
Watch winning symbols clear and new ones tumble in, potentially chaining further wins.
Watch for four or more golden buffalo bonus coins anywhere on the grid to trigger free spins.
During free spins, track multiplier wilds and watch for three or more bonus coins to retrigger the round.
Terms Used on This Page
- Megaways
- A licensed mechanic where reels vary in height each spin, changing the total number of ways to win.
- Tumble (cascade)
- The process of clearing winning symbols and dropping new ones into the same spin for a chance at further wins.
- Bonus coin (scatter)
- The golden buffalo symbol that pays its own scatter amount and triggers free spins when four or more appear.
- Wild
- The canyon rock symbol that substitutes for regular symbols on the middle and top reels only.
- Retrigger
- Landing three or more bonus coins during free spins, which adds further free spins to the round.
- Ante Bet
- An optional stake increase offered by some operators that is said to alter bonus-related odds.
- Ways to win
- The total number of adjacent-reel symbol combinations active on a given spin, replacing fixed paylines.
Questions About How the Game Plays
Why do the six reels sometimes show more symbols than others?
Each reel's height is randomized every spin between two and seven symbols, which is what changes the total number of ways to win from spin to spin.
Does the wild symbol appear on every reel?
No. The wild only lands on the four middle reels and on the horizontal top reel — it never appears on the two outer reels.
What happens when a multiplier wild lands during a tumble chain in free spins?
Each wild carries a 2x, 3x, or 5x multiplier, and when several land within the same tumble sequence their values multiply together before the chain resets for the next spin.
Can the free spins round be retriggered more than once?
Yes. Landing three or more bonus coins during free spins adds five more spins, and no documented limit stops this from happening repeatedly.
Why do some reviews list 25 free spins for six bonus coins while others say 22?
Documentation is inconsistent across third-party sources; most detailed paytables list 22 spins for six coins, but a minority report 25, and this discrepancy has not been resolved against an official source.
Does the Ante Bet change how bonus coins land?
Ante Bet is reported to affect bonus-related odds where offered, but this is an operator-side option and not a change to the base game's core ways mechanic.
How does the bonus buy interact with the tumble mechanic?
Bonus buy skips straight to the free spins round for a fixed cost of 100x stake; once inside, tumbles and multiplier wilds behave exactly as they would after a natural trigger.