Elemental Gems Megaways by Pragmatic Play, Demo & Review

Elemental Gems Megaways Review: 512 Ways and the 100x Fourth Reel

Elemental Gems Megaways is a Pragmatic Play slot released in 2022 with an unusually compact interpretation of the Megaways mechanic. Instead of using six conventional Megaways reels with more than 100,000 possible ways, the game centers on three variable-height main reels and a separate fourth reel dedicated to multipliers.

Pragmatic Play publishes a maximum of 512 winning ways and a maximum win of 5,000x the bet. The fourth reel can display a multiplier reaching 100x, making that single mechanic central to how the game's larger payouts are formed.

Why the Fourth Reel Is Different

The fourth reel does not operate like another normal symbol reel.

Winning combinations are created using matching symbols on the main reels. The multiplier displayed on the dedicated fourth reel can then increase a qualifying payout, with values reaching as high as 100x.

This creates two separate parts of one result:

Main reels → determine whether a winning combination forms

Fourth reel → determines the multiplier applied to that win

A 100x multiplier therefore does not independently award 100x the bet. A qualifying win must first exist for the multiplier to have something to increase.

Why This Is an Unusual Megaways Game

The “Megaways” name can create the expectation of 117,649 ways, six reels, cascades and a large Free Spins feature. Elemental Gems Megaways does not follow that common structure.

Its main reels can vary in height, producing up to 512 ways. Pragmatic Play specifically compares its underlying approach with Aztec Gems, emphasizing the multiplier reel as the key mechanic.

Detailed game rules also document no conventional Scatter-triggered Free Spins round. This means the game's 5,000x payout ceiling is built around the base-game symbol combination and multiplier system rather than a separate Free Spins bonus.

Wilds and Symbol Wins

Pragmatic Play identifies the Yin-Yang symbol as the Wild. It can substitute for normal paying symbols to help complete combinations.

The provider states that regular symbol values reach up to 1.5x the bet before the fourth-reel multiplier is applied. This is why the multiplier reel matters: a relatively modest base symbol win can become substantially larger when it coincides with one of the higher multiplier values.

RTP Should Be Checked by Configuration

Published game databases document multiple RTP settings, commonly including 96.51%, 95.45% and 94.46%. Because Pragmatic Play games can be deployed with alternative RTP configurations, the version displayed in the active game information panel should be checked before publishing one figure as universal.

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