The Dog House Megaways swapped the original’s 20 fixed paylines for up to 117,649 ways across six reels when it launched in 2020, and it’s still the entry in the series most players mean when they just say “Dog House.” The wild-multiplier idea carries over from the 2019 original, but the free-spins round doesn’t: instead of one fixed format, Megaways hands you an actual choice between two different modes before the bonus begins. That choice, more than the ways count, is what makes this the most tactically interesting game in the family.
Key facts
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Provider | Pragmatic Play |
| Release | Soft launch 17 July 2020; wide release 13 August 2020 |
| Grid | 6 reels, 2 to 7 symbols per reel |
| Ways | Up to 117,649 Megaways |
| RTP versions | 96.55% by default, with 95.53% and 94.55% versions also in circulation |
| Volatility | Medium (in-game rating) |
| Hit frequency | Base spin roughly 1 in 4.3; free spins roughly 1 in 372 (third-party estimate, BigWinBoard) |
| Max win | 12,305x stake |
| Bet range | 0.20–100 per spin |
| Buy feature | 100x stake |
| Theme | Suburban back-garden setting, unchanged from the 2019 original |
How the base game works
The dog cast keeps the Rottweiler as top payer, with Shih Tzu, Pug and Dachshund below it, alongside collar, bone and 10-to-Ace card symbols. None of the sources we checked give an exact payout figure for the Rottweiler the way they do for the original’s Doberman, so we won’t put a number on it here. The wild appears on reels 2 to 5 — one reel wider than the original’s 2-to-4 spread, which tracks with Megaways running six reels rather than five — and lands with a 2x or 3x multiplier each time. When more than one wild contributes to the same winning combination, their multipliers add together rather than multiply — the same rule the 2019 original uses, just spread across a wider set of reels.
What “ways” means in practice: a payout doesn’t need matching symbols in fixed positions, only on adjacent reels starting from reel 1, so a reel showing seven symbols instead of two multiplies the number of matching combinations rather than just adding more rows to look at. That’s how six reels turn into up to 117,649 ways rather than the 20 fixed lines the original game uses.
Free spins in The Dog House Megaways
A paw scatter landing anywhere across the six reels is what opens the bonus; Pragmatic Play doesn’t publish the exact count needed for this title, unlike the confirmed three-scatter trigger on the 2019 original.
Trigger the bonus and, instead of dropping you straight into a fixed round, Megaways asks you to choose. Sticky Wilds mode runs 7 to 20 free spins, with up to seven sticky wilds able to build up on a single reel across the round. Raining Wilds mode runs longer — 15 to 30 free spins — and drops up to six wilds at once on a single spin. Both modes carry 1x to 3x multipliers on their wilds, adding together rather than multiplying when more than one lands on the same combination.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Sticky Wilds mode | 7–20 free spins; wilds stay put once they land, up to 7 per reel, each worth 1x–3x |
| Raining Wilds mode | 15–30 free spins; up to 6 wilds can appear on a single spin, each worth 1x–3x |
| Choice screen | You pick one mode before the round starts — no switching once it’s under way |
| Buy Feature | 100x stake buys straight entry to the bonus |
The names Pragmatic Play gave these two modes are a fair guide to how they differ in practice. Sticky Wilds is about accumulation: fewer spins, but every wild that lands stays there, so a reel that fills up with 3x wilds early keeps paying out that way for the rest of the round. Raining Wilds spreads the same basic ingredient — 1x to 3x wild multipliers — across nearly twice as many spins instead, with a fresh chance at up to six wilds landing together on any given spin rather than a smaller number building up over time. Neither mode is described in our sources as better value than the other; it’s a genuine style choice between a shorter, accumulating round and a longer, spikier one. Our sticky wilds guide covers both modes alongside the equivalent mechanics used elsewhere in the series.
Buy feature
Buying the feature costs 100x your stake, which is worth being clear-eyed about: that’s the same money as around a hundred ordinary spins, spent in a single click. It doesn’t shorten the odds inside the round, and it certainly doesn’t make either free-spins mode more generous — it just gets you there faster, with all the same variance still ahead of you. Whether buying the feature lets you choose between Sticky Wilds and Raining Wilds, or assigns one automatically, isn’t confirmed in any source we checked — treat it as unconfirmed rather than assuming either way. Our bonus-buy guide lists this alongside the buy prices for every other game in the series.
Max win, RTP and volatility
12,305x stake is the confirmed ceiling, and Pragmatic Play doesn’t publish the exact route to it — but the ingredients are on the reels either way: several 3x sticky wilds stacked on the same reels late in a Sticky Wilds round, or a lucky Raining Wilds spin where multiple 3x wilds land together. Either way, 12,305x is an extreme outlier, not something a normal session should be judged against.
RTP runs in three versions: 96.55% by default, with 95.53% and 94.55% versions also in circulation depending on the casino. Check the info screen in the game itself to see which one you’re actually playing. Many third-party trackers rate this game’s volatility high; the game’s own splash screen says medium, and that’s the label we use here. For the full picture, our RTP guide breaks down every version, and our max win guide ranks 12,305x against the rest of the series.
Stake also carries a related exclusive: The Dog House Mansion Megaways runs the same up-to-117,649-ways engine as this game, at a 98.00% RTP — a build found nowhere else, and not the same title as this one. Its wild multipliers multiply together instead of adding, which matters more than the shared ways structure underneath. See our Mansion Megaways review for the full picture.
The Dog House Megaways vs Megaways 1000
Six years apart, these two share their up-to-117,649-ways structure, but not much else. The original Megaways caps out at 12,305x with wild multipliers topping out at 3x and adding together when more than one contributes to a win; Megaways 1000 — a genuinely separate title, not a re-skin — pushes multipliers as high as 1,000x, stacking multiplicatively instead, for a 25,000x ceiling. Volatility doesn’t move the way that bigger number might suggest: both games carry Pragmatic Play’s own medium rating, despite Megaways 1000’s max win running twice as high.
The choice-of-mode structure carries over in spirit — Megaways 1000 also offers Sticky Wilds or Random Wilds — but adds an Ante Bet on top, a stake increase for better bonus odds that this original Megaways game doesn’t have at all. Structurally, both need up to seven symbols on each of six reels to reach that 117,649 figure — the arithmetic behind Megaways is identical in both games; what changed is everything built on top of it, from wild multiplier size to the volatility rating. Our series comparison covers the rest of the family in the same format, and the series hub lists every review in one place.
At a glance: pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Up to 117,649 ways gives far more ways to land a payout shape than a fixed-payline game | Medium volatility (in-game rating) still means the big multiplier wins arrive only in a minority of free-spins rounds |
| A genuine choice between two free-spins modes, not just one fixed format | Buying the feature at 100x stake is an expensive way to skip the wait, not the variance |
| Highest max win (12,305x) of the three original-era Dog House games | The choice screen picks a risk shape, not a way around the underlying variance |
Verdict
8.5/10. The choice screen before every bonus round is the one moment of real strategy the whole Dog House series offers, even if it’s ultimately a choice between two flavours of the same medium-volatility risk. Combined with the 117,649-ways structure, it’s the entry that still holds up best against everything Pragmatic Play released afterwards.
100 free spins on The Dog House, no deposit. VAVADA currently credits new players with 100 free spins on The Dog House after registration — no deposit and no promo code needed details and conditions are on our offer page. Winnings from the spins carry wagering conditions; read them before you play. Offers change without notice, and availability depends on your country. 18+.
Play The Dog House Megaways demo
You can run both free-spins modes back to back in the demo without spending anything, which is the best way to actually compare Sticky Wilds against Raining Wilds before choosing with real money. Try the dedicated Megaways demo, or start from our demo hub to try the rest of the series too. Ready to play for stakes instead? Our where-to-play guide lists the casinos that carry the series, though availability depends on your country.
FAQ
When was The Dog House Megaways released?
It had a soft launch on 17 July 2020, followed by a wide release on 13 August 2020.
What is The Dog House Megaways’ RTP?
96.55% in the default version, with 95.53% and 94.55% versions also available depending on the casino. Pragmatic Play ships all three; check the game’s info screen to see which one is live.
What is the max win?
12,305x stake — a rare, extreme outcome rather than a typical result.
How much does the buy feature cost?
100x your stake for direct entry to the free-spins choice screen.
What’s the difference between Sticky Wilds and Raining Wilds?
Sticky Wilds runs 7 to 20 spins with wilds that stay in place once they land, up to seven per reel. Raining Wilds runs longer, 15 to 30 spins, with up to six wilds able to land on a single spin instead of accumulating. Both carry 1x to 3x multipliers.
Can I play The Dog House Megaways for free?
Yes, via the demo — same ways count, same maths model, no real stakes. Try it through our free-play demo hub or the dedicated Megaways demo page.
Do the wild multipliers stack?
Multiple wild multipliers landing on the same winning combination add together rather than multiply — 1x to 3x per wild in free spins, 2x or 3x in the base game. That’s the same adding rule the 2019 original uses; Megaways 1000 and the Stake-exclusive Mansion Megaways multiply theirs instead.
Is this game on mobile?
Device compatibility isn’t something our source sheet for this piece covers directly. In my own sessions the demo has run fine on a phone screen, but confirm on the casino you actually plan to use.
Where to play The Dog House slots — the series is listed at VAVADA and 1WIN. Try the demo first. Availability of Pragmatic Play titles depends on your country and the casino’s licence.
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