Megaways and Hold and Win are often lumped together as “modern slot mechanics”, but they do different jobs. Megaways changes how the reels pay on every spin; Hold and Win changes how the bonus round plays out. Evoplay’s Basket Bounty is a neat test case: it has no Megaways engine at all, just a fixed 3×3 grid, yet almost all of its potential sits in a Hold and Win round with four fixed jackpots. Put it next to a typical Megaways slot and the difference becomes easy to see.
Below we break down both mechanics, walk through Basket Bounty’s Bonus Game step by step and compare what each design means for an actual session. One thing to keep in mind from the start: no mechanic changes the house edge. It only changes how the wins are packaged.
Basket Bounty at a glance
| Provider | Evoplay |
|---|---|
| Released | October 2025 |
| Grid | 3 reels × 3 rows |
| Paylines | 5, fixed |
| Main feature | Hold and Win Bonus Game with respins |
| Jackpots | Mini 25×, Minor 50×, Major 150×, Grand 1,000× (fixed) |
| Other features | Apple Rush, Apple Harvest, Bonus Buy (where available) |
| RTP | 96.06% (96.01% with Bonus Buy) |
| Volatility | High |
| Max win | 6,249× the stake |
| Megaways? | No |
These are the figures Evoplay publishes for the standard version. Casinos can run versions with different stake limits, and a few casino listings show other numbers, so always open the game’s info panel (the “i” or “?” icon) and check the version you are actually playing.
How Megaways works
Megaways is a reel engine created by the Australian studio Big Time Gaming. Instead of a fixed number of rows, every reel lands a random number of symbols on each spin. Wins are counted as “ways” rather than paylines: matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel, pay wherever they sit.
The number of ways on a spin is simply the number of symbols on each reel multiplied together. In the classic six-reel layout each reel shows between two and seven symbols, so one spin can offer anywhere from 64 ways (2 on every reel) to 117,649 ways (7 on every reel). A spin with 3, 5, 7, 4, 6 and 2 symbols gives 3 × 5 × 7 × 4 × 6 × 2 = 5,040 ways. You can check any layout with our Megaways calculator.
What usually comes with it
- Cascades. Winning symbols disappear and new ones drop into their place, so a single paid spin can produce a chain of wins. Different studios call it cascades, tumbles or reactions.
- An extra horizontal reel. Many Megaways titles add a row above the middle reels, which puts more symbols, and so more ways, on screen.
- Multiplier free spins. The big Megaways wins usually come from free spins where a multiplier grows with every cascade.
A short history
Dragon Born is generally credited as the first Megaways slot, but it was Big Time Gaming’s Bonanza, released in December 2016, that made the format famous. The studio then began licensing the engine to other developers, which is why you now find Megaways games from Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Blueprint and many more. Buffalo King Megaways is a good example of the format in another studio’s hands. Big Time Gaming itself has been part of Evolution since 2021. Megaways is a trademark of Big Time Gaming.
How Hold and Win works
Hold and Win is not a reel engine. It is a bonus format. Land enough special symbols and the game switches to a respin round: the special symbols stay locked in place, the other positions spin again, and every new special symbol resets the respin counter, usually to three. When the respins run out, you collect everything shown on the grid.
The format was popularised on casino floors by Aristocrat’s Lightning Link, which launched around 2015 with its “Hold & Spin” feature. Online studios now use it under names such as Hold & Spin or Hold and Win. The ingredients are usually the same:
- cash values printed on the special symbols;
- fixed jackpot labels, typically Mini, Minor, Major and Grand;
- a round with no fixed length, which lasts as long as new symbols keep landing.
That last point is what gives Hold and Win its feel. A Megaways free-spins round has a set number of spins, plus any retriggers. A Hold and Win round can end after three empty respins or keep going for a long time.
Basket Bounty’s Bonus Game, step by step
- The trigger. On the same spin you need at least one Bonus symbol on reel 1, at least one on reel 3 and the Basket symbol on reel 2. The middle reel is the key: Bonus symbols on the outer reels are not enough on their own.
- Apple Rush. A random feature can also start the Bonus Game on any base-game spin. It does not depend on your stake or on previous spins, and you cannot force it.
- Three respins. Only Bonus symbols count during the round. Those already on the grid stay locked, and each new one resets the counter to three.
- Values and jackpots. Every Bonus symbol shows 1×, 2×, 5×, 10× or 15× your stake, or one of the jackpot labels: Mini 25×, Minor 50×, Major 150× or Grand 1,000×.
- The payout. When the respins run out, all visible values and jackpots are added together.
Two extra features are worth knowing. According to Evoplay’s launch announcement, Apple Harvest collects and pays the visible Bonus values when the Basket lands together with at least one Bonus symbol, even outside the main Bonus Game. Bonus Buy, where a casino offers it, lets you pay a multiple of your stake to go straight into the Bonus Game. Its RTP is 96.01% instead of 96.06%, so it does not improve your odds; it simply gets you to the expensive part faster. Availability depends on the market and the casino.
The jackpots are fixed: they are always the same multiple of your stake and do not grow with other players’ bets, unlike progressive jackpots. The Grand is not the ceiling either, because Evoplay states a maximum win of 6,249× the stake.
Megaways vs Hold and Win: side by side
| Megaways | Hold and Win (Basket Bounty) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A reel engine for the whole game | A bonus-round format |
| Grid | Usually 6 reels, 2–7 symbols each, changing every spin | Fixed; Basket Bounty uses 3×3 |
| Base-game wins | Ways: matching symbols on adjacent reels from the left | Paylines: 5 fixed lines in Basket Bounty |
| Where big wins come from | Chains of cascades and multiplier free spins | Locked values and jackpots during the respins |
| Jackpots | Optional; most rely on multipliers instead | Built in: Mini, Minor, Major, Grand |
| Bonus length | A set number of free spins plus retriggers | Open-ended: lasts while new symbols land |
| What you watch | The ways counter and the cascades | The respin counter and the grid filling up |
| Base game | Busy, with something new every spin | Plain on purpose: the bonus does the heavy lifting |
RTP and volatility: the packaging, not the price
A mechanic decides how wins are spread out, not how much a game keeps. Basket Bounty’s 96.06% RTP means that over a very large number of spins it returns about 96.06 for every 100 staked. In theory that is a loss of about 3.94 per 100 wagered, whatever is happening on screen. A single session can end far above or far below that figure; our Megaways simulator shows how wide that spread is for a given RTP and volatility.
Both designs tend to be high volatility, but for different reasons. A Megaways slot can string together a long run of cascades in the base game, and its free spins can snowball through multipliers. Basket Bounty’s base game is deliberately simple, so its swings come mostly from two things: how often the Bonus Game lands and how long it runs once it does. Evoplay does not publish how often the bonus triggers, and there is no number of spins after which it becomes “due”: every spin is independent.
Can a slot be both?
Yes. Mechanics are building blocks, and studios mix them. Pragmatic Play’s Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways, released in August 2023, runs on a Megaways engine and adds a Hold & Spinner feature: three or more Coin Money symbols lock in place and award respins, alongside the usual free spins. Basket Bounty goes the other way. It has no ways engine, uses a compact grid and focuses everything on one Hold and Win round. If you want to see the mechanic in its purest form, that simplicity is the point.
Which style suits you?
- Megaways fits players who enjoy constant variation, a screen that changes shape on every spin, cascades and big-multiplier free spins, and who don’t mind a busy game.
- Hold and Win, the Basket Bounty way, fits players who like a quiet base game, one clear goal (land symbols and keep the counter alive) and jackpots you can see coming.
Neither style pays more by design, and neither is a strategy. If you are curious, try the demo version first, for example on the pages in our Megaways slots list. It is the easiest way to feel the difference in rhythm without spending anything.
FAQ
Is Basket Bounty a Megaways slot?
No. Basket Bounty uses a fixed 3×3 grid with 5 paylines. Its main feature is a Hold and Win Bonus Game with respins and four fixed jackpots.
What is the difference between Megaways and Hold and Win?
Megaways is a reel engine: the number of symbols on each reel, and so the number of ways to win, changes on every spin. Hold and Win is a bonus round: special symbols lock in place and each new one resets the respins, until the counter runs out and the values are added up.
How do you trigger the Basket Bounty Bonus Game?
You need Bonus symbols on reels 1 and 3 and the Basket symbol on reel 2 on the same spin. The random Apple Rush feature can also start the round on any base-game spin.
What are the Basket Bounty jackpots?
Mini 25×, Minor 50×, Major 150× and Grand 1,000× your stake. They are fixed, not progressive, and can only be won in the Bonus Game.
What is Basket Bounty’s RTP and max win?
Evoplay lists an RTP of 96.06% (96.01% with Bonus Buy), high volatility and a maximum win of 6,249× the stake. Check the info panel of the version your casino offers.
Do Megaways slots pay more than Hold and Win slots?
Not by design. Payouts are set by each game’s RTP, not by its mechanic. Megaways and Hold and Win only change how wins are distributed: many small cascades and multiplier runs in one case, rare but concentrated bonus rounds in the other.
