Slots where winning symbols fall away and new ones drop in, with a multiplier that grows on each win. Five NetEnt and Red Tiger games compared, from Gonzo's Quest to Finn and the Swirly Spin.
Symbols That Fall Instead of Spin
Avalanche is NetEnt’s name for reels that drop rather than spin. Symbols fall into place, any win is paid and blown away, and new symbols tumble into the gaps, so one stake can pay again and again until a drop brings no win. Each win in that chain also raises a multiplier, which is what sets Avalanche apart from a plain cascade.
It began with Gonzo’s Quest in 2010, and the name stays with NetEnt and its sister studio Red Tiger. Pragmatic Play calls the same idea Tumble and Big Time Gaming calls it Reactions; those games are on our cascading slots page.
Five Avalanche Games Side by Side
All five figures come from the studios’ own game pages, ordered by top prize. NetEnt and Red Tiger leave their volatility field empty, so the share of spins that win is shown instead where the studio gives it.
| Game | Studio | Layout | RTP | Max win | Spins that win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzo’s Quest Megaways | Red Tiger | 6 reels, up to 117,649 ways | 95.77% | 20,972x | – |
| Gonzo’s Quest II: Return to El Dorado | NetEnt | 6×4 growing to 6×8 | 96.06% | 15,825x | 23% |
| Reef Raider | NetEnt | 7×7 clusters | 96.10% | 8,700x | 33% |
| Gonzo’s Quest | NetEnt | 5×3, 20 lines | 95.97% | 2,200x | 41% |
| Finn and the Swirly Spin | NetEnt | 5×5 spiral | 96.62% | 300x | 22% |
Red Tiger does not publish a hit rate for the Megaways version, hence the dash.
Gonzo’s Quest Megaways
Red Tiger’s 2020 rebuild puts the Avalanche on a Megaways engine of six reels and up to 117,649 ways. Its wilds survive the wins they help make, an Earthquake can shake the low-paying symbols off the reels, and the Free Fall multiplier climbs to 15x. At 20,972x it has the highest ceiling in the family. More shifting-reel games are on our Megaways slots page.
Gonzo’s Quest II: Return to El Dorado
The 2025 sequel lets every win add rows, stretching the 6×4 grid to 6×8 and up to 262,144 ways. Regular and Calamity Wilds join colossal symbols of 2×2, 3×3 or 4×4, and the multiplier rises with each Avalanche. NetEnt lists 96.06% and a 15,825x top prize.
Reef Raider
Here the Avalanche runs on a 7×7 cluster grid. Clam Wilds cleared by wins fill a 15-bar Treasure Trail, and the bars unlock Anchor Drop, Random Wilds, Mystery Chest and Cannon Blast on the way to free spins at the top. It pays on a third of spins and reaches 8,700x. Other block-shaped games are on our grid slots page.
Gonzo’s Quest
The original 5×3 game with 20 lines still wins on 41% of spins, the highest share of the five. Its multiplier and Free Fall round are laid out in the next section, and our Gonzo’s Quest guide covers the game in full. Fans of the jungle setting will find more on our Aztec slots page.
Finn and the Swirly Spin
NetEnt’s 2017 Irish tale spins its symbols in a spiral towards the centre of a 5×5 grid. Wilds explode and clear the symbols around them, four random features can join in, and keys that land in the middle build towards four types of free spins. It has the highest return here, 96.62%, and the lowest ceiling, 300x.
The Multiplier Ladder in Gonzo’s Quest
Each Avalanche that follows a win raises the multiplier by one step, up to 5x in the base game, and it drops back to the start once a fall brings no win. That is why a chain of four or five wins in a row pays far more than the same symbols landing on separate spins.
Three Free Fall symbols on the first three reels start 10 free falls, and the ladder then runs up to 15x. More Free Fall symbols during the round add further falls, which gives the bonus most of its weight.
Avalanche or Megaways?
The two are often mixed up because Gonzo’s Quest Megaways uses both. Avalanche decides what happens after a win: symbols are removed and the multiplier steps up. Megaways decides what lands on each spin: every reel shows a different number of symbols, so the number of ways to win changes every time.
A game can have either one on its own. Gonzo’s Quest has Avalanche on fixed lines, and plenty of Megaways games have no falling symbols at all.
What an Hour Costs at 96.62% and 95.77%
Over 600 spins at £1, Finn and the Swirly Spin’s 96.62% averages a cost of about £20 an hour, against about £25 for Gonzo’s Quest Megaways at 95.77%. At the £5 limit for players aged 25 and over that becomes about £101 against £127, and at the £2 limit for 18 to 24-year-olds about £41 against £51.
Gonzo’s Quest II and Reef Raider both sell entry to their bonus elsewhere, but that option is switched off in Great Britain, so their free spins can only come from the symbols that land.
