Spartacus Megaways: Overview

A true veteran of slot creation, WMS, goes full swords-and-sandals with its Roman-inspired release Spartacus Megaways. Using the Megaways license, WMS/SG Digital delivers a follow-up to their land-based favourite Spartacus: Gladiator of Rome. The original game was a fairly complex beast with a dual 5×4 + 5×12 layout. This Megaways edition makes the setup more straightforward, while boosting the number of win ways by 10,000 and adding a couple of fresh features.

Spartacus is a figure that turns up often in popular culture. That’s hardly surprising, given the stories of him being trained as a gladiator before leading a slave revolt that defeated Roman forces in multiple battles across the peninsula. Commonly shown in a romanticised, epic style on film and TV, the theme receives much the same dramatic treatment in Spartacus Megaways.

Taking place in a pillared setting, the visuals lean heavily on thick red curtains that give the whole thing a stage-like atmosphere. The layout features 6 main reels plus a horizontal 4 position reel. While bonus reels are typically placed above the main grid, WMS breaks the usual approach by positioning them along the bottom instead.

A rousing musical score supports the action, reinforcing the theatrical vibe. It has the feel of a soundtrack from those 70s biblical or mythology epics that get replayed around Christmas or Easter. Think Ben Hur, a Franco Zeffirelli production, or one of those stop-motion ‎Harryhausen classics. The electric guitar lead layered over it might spoil the mood for some, or make it feel even bigger—up to you.

Each spin drops a varying number of symbols, with anywhere from 2 to 10 appearing on the main reels. Add in the bonus reel and the game can reach up to 1 million win ways. That’s a huge jump from the 117,649 you’d normally expect from a Megaways title. It may sound oddly specific, but the same figure has shown up before in 1 Million Megaways BC.

With stakes ranging from 20 p/c to $/€20 per spin, Spartacus Megaways comes with a healthy RTP of 96.32%, which is better than average and higher than the original—so no issues there. Volatility may not be quite as brutal as facing the lions, but it definitely sits on the higher end.

The paytable includes 12 symbols, divided into low and high tiers. Low pays are Roman-styled 9-A royals, followed by axes, swords, helmets, tigers, gladiators, and the game logo. Payouts are somewhat modest, likely balancing out the potential for 1 million Megaways on screen. The maximum reward is 25x for six logos, with the gladiator topping out at 7.5x by comparison.

One quirky detail is that the wild only appears on the main 6 reels, not on the bottom reel. It has no payout value by itself, but it substitutes for all symbols except the Amphitheatre bonus symbol.

Spartacus Megaways: Features

Spartacus Megaways includes a handful of features, including cascades across all parts of the game, a curtain mechanic, and a free spins round.

Hitting a winning combination of three or more matching symbols activates the cascade feature. Winning symbols blast away, allowing new ones to drop into place—potentially creating strings of back-to-back wins from a single spin and continuing as long as fresh combinations keep landing. Every win also increases a win multiplier by +1 with no defined cap on how high it can climb.

On each spin, a random number of reel positions are hidden behind red curtains. When a win lands in the base game, it removes a curtain from one position on a random reel. This expands the win ways and opens up the grid, improving the odds of further cascades.

To trigger free spins, you’ll need 4 or more Amphitheatre symbols visible. A wheel then spins, awarding between 6 – 16 free spins along with a specific curtain setup. The number of curtains selected stays fixed for the entire feature, meaning wins can’t reduce them like they can in the base game. That’s excellent if you roll a small number of curtains—or none at all—but far less appealing if a large section of the reels remains covered.

In the free spins round, every wild that appears expands to fill the entire reel, including any positions covered by curtains. In addition, landing 3 or more visible scatters awards the same number of free spins that originally triggered the feature. Curtain patterns do not change on retriggers.

Spartacus Megaways: Verdict

Anyone who played Spartacus: Gladiator of Rome and thought it would be incredible with a million ways to win will likely feel right at home here. Neither game is what you’d call simple, so fans of the original may find plenty to enjoy. In many respects, even though Megaways has made the layout(s) more manageable, WMS has kept the exaggerated spirit of the first game intact.

So, does it succeed? To a degree. The expanded win ways concept lands better than the double-grid approach in Beetlejuice Megaways, which felt more awkward than inventive. And the sheer absurdity of having so many win ways does add a certain curiosity factor.

That said, the curtain mechanic is undeniably odd. On the one hand, it gives you a clear objective in the base game, and removing curtains through cascades is logical. On the other, being stuck with a fixed curtain layout during free spins is a double-edged gladius. It’s fine when you get a small amount, but it’s frustrating if a big chunk of the reels stays blocked for the full feature. If you end up with lots of locked curtains, free spins can feel more restricted than the base game in several respects.

No one can see what’s coming, but Spartacus Megaways doesn’t give the impression it will reach the same popularity as Spartacus: Gladiator of Rome. It still has its own appeal—fans of the physical machine may appreciate the familiar old-world presentation, for example. The idea of a million Megaways is compelling too; it’s just unfortunate that so many curtains get in the way of what could have been.