Mahjong Ways 2: review, 96.95% RTP and that 100000× ceiling

Mahjong Ways 2 landed in 2020 and is still one of the most-played slots in PG Soft’s catalogue. It takes mahjong tiles — bamboos, circles, characters — and spreads them across a 5×4 grid with an irregular 4-5-5-5-4 layout, producing 2,000 ways. There are no paylines to memorise: matching tiles just need to land on consecutive reels from left to right.

Is Mahjong Ways 2 worth playing?

If you want a slot with a steady rhythm that survives a long session without draining your balance in ten spins, yes. Medium volatility and a default RTP of 96.95% — one of the highest PG Soft publishes — put it among the provider’s best-balanced titles.

The flip side: the minimum bet is 0.60, triple what games like Treasures of Aztec ask, and the base game without chained cascades is frankly dull. This is a slot where the fun lives in the free spins, and you have to wait for them.

Ways and cascades on the 4-5-5-5-4 layout

The layout isn’t a rectangle: the outer reels show 4 positions and the three middle reels show 5. Whenever a combination pays, the tiles involved disappear and the ones above drop to fill the gap — a cascade. If the new tiles form another combination, it repeats within the same spin, at no extra cost.

Wilds with a climbing multiplier

This is where Mahjong Ways 2 sets itself apart. The wild arrives with a multiplier attached, and across chained cascades that multiplier climbs with each new cascade inside the same spin. A long sequence can turn a small win into a serious payout — and this mechanism, and only this one, is what makes the 100000× ceiling mathematically possible at all.

Free spins: where the game actually happens

Scatter tiles unlock the free spins round. There, multipliers don’t reset between spins the way they do in the base game, which lets you build taller multiplier ladders. In practice, nearly all of the slot’s potential sits inside this bonus.

Symbols and payouts

PG Soft doesn’t publish a stable official paytable outside the game itself, so we’re not going to invent per-symbol values. What actually matters is the structure:

Element	What it does
Grid	5×4 on the 4-5-5-5-4 layout
System	Ways — 2,000 ways to win, left to right
Cascades	Winning tiles vanish and are replaced within the same spin
Wild	Substitutes for regular symbols and carries a multiplier
Multiplier	Climbs with each chained cascade inside the same spin
Scatter	Triggers free spins, where multipliers stack further
Minimum bet	0.60
Win ceiling	100000× your bet (theoretical)

Note: 96.95% is the default RTP published by PG Soft. Casinos can license and run versions of the same game at a lower RTP — always check the number in the in-game paytable before you play for real. And remember: RTP is an average measured over millions of spins, not a promise about your session.

Mahjong Ways 2 vs the competition

Slot	Provider	RTP	Volatility	Max win
Mahjong Ways 2	PG Soft	96.95%	Medium	100000×
Treasures of Aztec	PG Soft	96.71%	Medium	100000×
Lucky Neko	PG Soft	96.73%	Medium	100000×
Ganesha Gold	PG Soft	96.08%	Medium	100000×
Fortune Tiger	PG Soft	96.81%	Medium	2500×
Gates of Olympus	Pragmatic Play	96.50%	High	5000×

Among the PG Soft slots sharing that 100000× ceiling, Mahjong Ways 2 has the highest RTP — but it also demands the highest minimum bet. Against Fortune Tiger the contrast is total: Mahjong Ways 2 is more complex and carries far more potential, while Fortune Tiger gives you instant rhythm on a 3×3 grid you understand in ten seconds. Gates of Olympus, running high volatility, is a different animal: drier, more explosive, and with a 5000× ceiling that — precisely because it’s modest — is a great deal more plausible.

Bankroll tips

• Count spins, not euros. At 0.60 a spin, a 60 € balance buys you 100 spins. If you’re waiting on free spins, that may not be enough. Decide up front how many spins you’re willing to spend.
• Don’t raise your bet waiting for the bonus. Free spins don’t get “closer” because you stake more; the probability is identical on every spin, whatever came before.
• Ignore the 100000×. If you’re playing with that number in mind, you’re playing with the wrong expectation. The realistic prize from a good session is a decent multiplier ladder in the free spins.
• Set a loss limit and a win limit. Most players forget the second one — and it’s the difference between walking away ahead and handing it all back.