Wild Wild Riches Megaways is an online slot from developer Pragmatic Play and a follow-up to one of the studio's previous Irish-themed games. To be precise, it's a Megaways remake of an earlier slot called Wild Wild Riches released in the latter part of 2020, which, at the time, didn't exactly rock our world. It must have rocked a few worlds, though, because Wild Wild Bananas followed, and now we've got a Megaways version. Is it any better?
One of the first things eagle-eyed readers might notice is that Wild Wild Riches Megaways has a much flusher game grid than the two Wild Wild games which preceded it. Previously the panels had a 3-3-4-4-4 alignment, whereas now, we get a straight 6-reel action area, with anywhere from 2 to 7 symbols possible on each reel. The rest of the view is basically the same, meaning grassy green hills, a white wooden fence and a rainbow landing on a hat brimming with gold coins sitting right beside the grid - tempting or taunting?
Along with the larger gaming area, many of Wild Wild Riches Megaways numbers have been shaken around as well. Aside from winning potential, the changes haven't been massive, though. As always, be on the lookout for variable RTP models, with the highest return to player figure being 96.02%. The math model is slightly more volatile, too, this time rated 5 out of 5. Any device may be used to play the game, offering a stake selection of 20 p/c to $/€100 per spin when players are ready to begin.
Like before, Wild Wild Riches Megaways uses a ways system to create winning combinations, except this time, there can be up to 117,649 ways to win rather than 576. Matching symbol combinations must start on the first reel and fall across adjacent reels, from left to right. Landing a six-of-a-kind way pays 0.5 to 1 times the bet for the game's 10-A card symbols or 1.5 to 10 times the stake for six pipes, mushrooms, harps, four-leaf clovers, horseshoes, or beer mugs. Classic or cliched? You be the judge.
Now for the features, which rely on three more symbol types – wilds, bonus symbols, and Money symbols. They lead players to the Money Collect feature, and the free spins round when they land in the required manner. Wilds are up first; they appear on the first and second reels and can replace any regular pay symbol. The bonus symbol can land only on the third reel.
Money symbols appear on reels 3, 4, 5, and 6. Whenever 2 wilds land on reels 1 and 2, as well as adjacent Money symbols, making a left to right way, the Money symbol values are collected. They may award:
Hitting wilds on reels 1 and 2 plus a bonus symbol on reel 3 triggers the free spins round. Players are randomly awarded 6 to 20 free spins and given the option of gambling for more if they win less than 20. Gambles take place on a red and green divided wheel. Successful gambles increase the awarded number of spins (up to 20 max), while unsuccessful gambles lose the lot. Now, during free spins, more wild and Money symbols are present on the reels. Also, hitting wild symbols on reels 1 and 2, plus a bonus symbol on reel three awards +6 extra free spins.
On a final note, players may use the bonus buy option to gain direct access to free spins for the cost of 100x the bet. The RTP remains the same when doing so.
Wild Wild Riches Megaways and its forebear both display a phrase beneath the title saying, 'Luck of the Irish'. That got us thinking, where exactly did the phrase come from? After digging around the internet for a bit, there didn't appear to be one definitive reason. However, here's one explanation from Associate Professor of History at Holy Cross College, Edward T. O'Donnell. He put forward the notion that the term arose during the gold and silver rushes of the later part of the 19th century. Since some of the most successful miners were apparently of Irish or American Irish origins, it led to the saying 'luck of the Irish', though it was not always said in a positive way.
Players who take on Wild Wild Riches Megaways will no doubt be hoping luck is on their side, too. One of the main reasons is that Pragmatic Play has seen fit to extend the winning potential to match the grid expansion between this and the last game. This time around, should the rainbow lead right to a pot of gold, players can collect payouts of up to 10,000x the bet – more than double Wild Wild Riches, though interestingly, less than what's on offer in Wild Wild Bananas. The rest of the experience is similar to how it was before – hit wilds on the first two reels in conjunction with a bonus symbol to barge into free spins or with Money symbols to collect some cash.
So, if bigger means better, then yeah, Wild Wild Riches Megaways has to be, by definition, a more tempting proposal on account of the larger reel set-up as well as its burlier max win. And there's plenty here for fans of Irish gaming to tuck into. Otherwise, it's pretty much business as before, but this time, there's a larger game grid to work with.
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