Pompeii Megareels Megaways is a release from Pragmatic Play that brings the eruption of Mount Vesuvius onto the reels. The game uses the Megaways system that can generate up to 117,649 winning combinations. The visuals feature Roman shields, emperors, and lava flowing through the city while the soundtrack builds tension in the background.
Game Features
The slot runs on six reels, each showing between two and seven symbols. When a winning combination lands, the tumble mechanic clears those symbols and new ones fall into place. Any reel that helped form the win can also expand to add more symbol positions and increase the Megaways count.
Free spins are triggered when four or more fireball scatters appear. Four scatters award 15 spins, five scatters award 20, and six scatters award 25. During these spins, each tumble multiplies the payout by the number of symbols removed in that cascade.
Some operators also include a feature buy option. The cost is typically 100 times the bet for the standard free spins or 300 times the bet for an enhanced version where the tumble multipliers are doubled.
The return to player setting is around 96 percent depending on the site you are playing on but it can also appear at lower settings such as 95.04 or 94.07 percent. Volatility is high with a maximum payout of 10,000 times the stake.
My Session Playing Pompeii Megareels Megaways
I played a full session of this slot and recorded the results. The base game gave a mix of small wins with some stretches that were quiet, which is expected with high volatility. The real action came in the free spins round where the tumble multipliers stacked quickly and produced a strong result.
You can watch the recording of my session here:
The recording shows how the expanding reels combine with the multipliers during free spins, creating sudden swings and adding excitement.
Overall Impressions
Pompeii Megareels Megaways is not a casual slot for players who want steady returns. The design is meant for high variance gameplay where long stretches of base spins can suddenly turn into explosive payouts once the bonus is triggered. The expanding reel system adds extra unpredictability compared to traditional Megaways titles, since the game state can change mid-tumble and create more win paths on the fly.
In practice, this makes the slot a test of patience. The volatility means you might wait through many spins before anything significant happens. When it does, the combination of multiple cascades and rising multipliers can be dramatic. This structure rewards players who enjoy the chase for large multipliers and can handle long dry spells in between.
Compared to other Pragmatic Megaways slots, Pompeii stands out with its expanding reels mechanic and its strong theme integration. The Roman setting feels more immersive thanks to the visuals and soundtrack, which intensify during bonus play. It also has one of the higher potential payouts in the Pragmatic Megaways catalog at 10,000 times the stake.
For anyone who has seen the movie Gladiator, the tone will feel familiar. The game does not directly borrow from the film, but the atmosphere of ancient Rome, the battle for survival, and the tension before a decisive moment have the same cinematic quality. In a way, hitting the bonus round in Pompeii Megareels Megaways feels like stepping into the arena and waiting to see if fortune will side with you.
From my experience, the game delivered exactly what it promised. The base game was steady but uneventful, while the free spins round provided the highlight of the session. Watching the recording back, the volatility is clear but so is the potential. For players who enjoy high risk and the possibility of very high reward, Pompeii Megareels Megaways is worth trying.
