Introduction to Merge Up 2
Merge Up 2 is a casino slot from BGaming, offering a clean, straightforward gaming experience, where you'll play around with clusters of colorful gems that connect, merge, transform, and award lucrative multipliers. The game is a product of collaboration between the studio and Strmlytics (formerly known as Casinolytics), a company providing data analysis services for the iGaming industry. The firms have joined forces before to create Merge Up, a fun, casual slot that combined engaging mechanics with sleek visuals. In the follow-up, the creators went into a more 2D direction with the graphics, making them resemble such online mobile hits as Candy Crush Saga, and evolved the gameplay through additional symbols and enabling position multipliers also in the base game.
Comparing sequels to originals is always intriguing, so if you're curious how Merge Up 2 measures against its older sibling, you can check out the demo at the top of this page to play without any risk.
Theme, Gameplay & Payouts
Merge Up 2 is a video slot from BGaming with 6 reels, 6 rows, and a cluster-pays win system, where wins are awarded for landing 4+ symbols horizontally and/or vertically adjacent. You can choose their stake from a range of options, starting from a Min.bet of 0.25 up to a Max.bet of 25. The game offers a massively favorable default RTP of 98.00%, which is a figure rarely appearing in online slots. The mathematical profile comes with high volatility, which focuses on less frequent but more sizable wins, and a max win capped at 10,000x the bet. You will experience the base hit frequency of 29.41%, with the bonus round triggerable at an average rate of 1 in 409 spins.
Merge Up 2's plays to its strengths with an utterly straightforward design that tells you everything you need to know about the gameplay by looking at the main screen. There are no distractions in the turquoise, tiled background, letting you focus your entire attention on the gem-filled grid in the middle. Graphics are simple, and the distribution of elements around the screen intuitive. Above the main grid, you'll see the symbol hierarchy, explaining in a readable format how symbols upgrade after wins are created. On the left, you'll find two Feature Buy options, while the right side is reserved for displaying the win history of the current spin. It's all very organized and transparent and contributes to a smooth experience. Additionally, the game is fully optimized to work on a wide range of modern devices, from desktops to smartphones and tablets.
The paytable comprises two sets of 8 regular symbols, all represented by gems in different shapes and colors. You can make up the hierarchy by tracking the number of angles each icon contains, from a 2-corner tear-shaped one to a 3D-ish purple diamond. Payouts range from 0.08x to 0.8x the bet for the smallest clusters of 4, and 4x to 80x the bet when you form sets containing 12 or more matching instances. In addition, there are two special symbols, a Bomb and a Scatter in the shape of a star, covered in a multi-color pattern.
Special Features & Slot Mechanics
What is the max win in the slot Merge Up 2?
You can win up to 10,000x the bet.
What features are available in the slot Merge Up 2?
The features are Cascading & Merging, Position Multiplier, Bomb & Scatter Symbols, Free Spins, and Feature Buy.
Cascading & Merging
Merge Up 2 operates on the cascading mechanism, although one that functions slightly differently from the traditional format. Some of the winning symbols included in the clusters do not disappear but merge and transform into the next symbol type in the hierarchy. Next, a cascade occurs, dropping the remaining symbols into available positions and adding new ones to complete the view. This process will continue as long as you keep creating new clusters.
The number of new symbols formed after a cluster is scored depends on its size.
4 or 5 = 2 new symbols
6 or 7 = 3 new symbols
8 or 9 = 4 new symbols
10 or 11 = 5 new symbols
12 or more = 6 new symbols
Position Multiplier
Each winning cluster marks the positions it appears on with a faint white highlight. Any successive combination landing in those spots will increase their multiplier to x2. Then, each following one will double that multiplier value, up to a maximum of x128 per position. Payouts from clusters that cover several positions with multipliers will be multiplied by their sum.
Bomb & Scatter Symbols
When you score a winning cluster on the highest-paying regular symbol, it will transform into a Bomb. Next, the Bomb explodes, destroying 8 symbols around its position and increasing multipliers by 1 step in those spots. Finally, it transforms into a Scatter. Scatters can also land organically on the reels on any spin.
Free Spins
When there are 3, 4, 5, 6, or more Scatters on the grid at the end of a spin, you'll be awarded 12, 15, 20, or 30 free spins, respectively. During the round, any Position Multipliers generated on the board will remain persistent between spins, so you can increase them continuously as long as the bonus continues or the cap of x128 is reached. Landing 3 or more Scatters throughout the round awards 5 additional spins.
Feature Buy
While watching clusters merge and explode in the base game is fun, you might want to speed things up and progress to the bonus rounds a little faster, which you can do through the Feature Buy options.
1.2 = Chance x2, increasing the probability of triggering the bonus round from the base game.
100x = Bonus 1 - a regular free spins bonus.
250x = Bonus 2 - an enhanced variant with all positions starting with an x2 multiplier.
500x = Bonus 3 - starts the round with 3-9 Bombs randomly placed on the grid, which will explode and generate the starting multipliers.
Final Thoughts on Merge Up 2
The original Merge Up, released in October 2023, was a genuinely fun game that transformed the usual cluster-pays system by introducing a progressive element, while also combining it with fan-favorite Position Multipliers, popularized by Pragmatic Play's hit slot, Sugar Rush. It was an elegant and engaging mechanism, but the downside was that the multipliers were only available during the bonus round. The sequel fixes that 'issue' by incorporating them also in the base game, making the entire experience more consistent and rewarding. Additionally, a new symbol steps in once you form a cluster that consists of the top-paying symbols, the Bomb. Previously, such a combination was transformed into a Scatter, but now, before that happens, you also get a helpful explosion that affects 8 positions, whose multipliers will increase by 1 step. This additional step, between forming the valuable cluster and achieving a Scatter, fits seamlessly into the merging and multiplier features. Once you line up 3 or more of those colorful stars, the bonus round will keep all the position values persistent throughout, which is expected since most games based on that model do it in the same way. Lastly, we couldn't not highlight the massively attractive RTP of 98.00%, which is quite a unicorn among online slots. Altogether, Merge Up 2 does everything a competent sequel should, improving the most crucial areas of the gameplay.
On the audiovisual side, the clutter-free 2D design may feel like a step back from the highly polished 3D outlook we've seen in the original. However, we must say it fits the game better, making it blend with the mobile gaming world. While the previous one came across as more 'slotty', the sequel, paradoxically, gives a more contemporary impression due to the simplified artwork.
Merge Up 2 skillfully elevates the original gem-merging experience by adding enhancements in the crucial gameplay stages.
