There isn’t one answer, because the six games aren’t chasing the same thing: Money Train 4 holds the outright ceiling at 150,000x, Money Train Origins Dream Drop is the only one with real jackpots, and Money Train (2019) is still the simplest version of the format. This page puts all six side by side, works through how consecutive pairs differ, and ends with a personal ranking — treat that last part as one analyst’s read of the mechanics, not a verdict. Money Train 5 releases on 24 September 2026; its figures below are from the pre-release demo build and could still change at launch.
The six games side by side
| Game | Release | RTP | Max win | Grid | Bonus buy | Theme | What’s unique |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Money Train | Summer 2019 | 96.20% (98.00% buy) | 20,000x | 5×4, 40 lines | 80x | Wild west | Smallest special-symbol set in the series: Payer, Collector, Widener |
| Money Train 2 | 2 September 2020 | 96.40% (98.00% buy) | 50,000x | 5×4→7×4 in the bonus | 100x | Steampunk wild west | A full 7×4 grid pays an extra 500x |
| Money Train 3 | 22 September 2022 | 96.10% (96.50% buy) | 100,000x | 5×4, 40 lines | 20x / 50x / 100x / 500x | Dark, futuristic | Four bonus-buy prices, and a Shapeshifter that changes identity every spin |
| Money Train 4 | 20 September 2023 | 96.10% (96.50% buy; 94.00%/90.00% versions exist) | 150,000x — series record | 6×6 scatter pays, no paylines, no wild | 100x / 500x | Not specified | No paylines — wins come from scatter-pay counts; largest special-symbol roster (23) |
| Money Train Origins Dream Drop | June 2023 | 94.00% Dream Drop / 96.11% non-jackpot | 10,000x + Dream Drop jackpots | 5×4, 40 lines | 80x (non-jackpot version only) | Classic western | Only game with real progressive jackpots — five tiers, Rapid to Mega |
| Money Train 5 | 24 September 2026 | 96.10% (94.00%/92.00%/90.00%/86.00% versions exist) | 50,000x Standard / 100,000x Ultra Mode | 5×4, to 5 rows in free spins | 10x–2,000x across several tiers | Post-apocalyptic | Standard/Ultra split; a 20-station free spins journey (pre-release figures) |
A reminder: a bonus buy skips the wait, not the odds — it spends the stake many times faster than a normal spin. Every max win is a ceiling, not a typical result; Origins’ 10,000x cap, for one, is roughly 1 in 7 million spins. The RTP guide explains how each figure is reached.
Money Train 2 vs Money Train 3
These two sit two years apart and play like different stages of the same idea. Money Train 2 keeps the wild-west cast with a steampunk finish; its Money Cart grows outward — a filled reel opens another, up to two extras, and a full 7×4 board adds 500x. Money Train 3 trades the steampunk for a darker look, doubles the ceiling to 100,000x, and swaps the single 100x buy-in for four prices (20x/50x/100x/500x). It also adds Absorber, two Tommy Gun variants and a Persistent Shapeshifter — and picked up several Slot of the Year awards in 2022.
Money Train 3 vs Money Train 4
Money Train 4 is the sharper break. Money Train 3 keeps the format every earlier entry used — 5×4, 40 lines, a wild — while Money Train 4 drops paylines entirely, pays on 6×6 scatter combinations with no wild, and posts the series’ highest hit frequency, 20.14% against 19.35%. The ceiling climbs to a series-record 150,000x, and the special-symbol cast grows to 23 names against Money Train 3’s tighter set. What Money Train 3 keeps that Money Train 4 gives up is choice at the till: four bonus-buy prices against two.
Money Train Origins Dream Drop vs the 2019 original
Origins is framed as a return to the first game’s setting, after steampunk (Money Train 2) and cyberpunk (Money Train 3) detours. The maths isn’t a straight remake: the original’s flat 96.20% RTP and 20,000x ceiling become a choice — the Dream Drop version at 94.00% RTP, where 12% feeds a jackpot pool, or the 96.11% version, the only one with the 80x bonus buy. Origins’ own cap is lower on paper — 10,000x against 20,000x — but that sits underneath the jackpots, and it adds two symbols the original never had, Banker and Healer, neither with a public description.
Money Train 5 vs Money Train 4
Money Train 5 arrives as what Relax called a “surprise fifth instalment” after Money Train 4 had been billed as the finale, and it reverses more than it builds on. The 6×6, no-paylines, no-wild format returns to a 5×4, 40-line grid with a wild restored — Nuclear Wild, turning targeted reels fully wild in a winning combination. The flat 150,000x ceiling becomes two-speed: 50,000x Standard, 100,000x Ultra Mode, which also lowers the max bet to 10. The row-by-row Money Cart becomes a station-based journey to stop 20, and the two-price buy menu grows to six Super Charge tiers plus Enhanced Spins — read from the pre-release build, which Relax can still adjust.
Pick by what you want, not by which is “better”
- Fewest numbers to track: Money Train (2019) — the lowest ceiling of the numbered games (20,000x) and the shortest symbol set.
- Highest ceiling: Money Train 4, at 150,000x.
- Real jackpots: Money Train Origins Dream Drop, the only entry with a genuine progressive network.
- The format in its purest form: Money Train (2019) again — no scatter pays, no station journey, no jackpots.
The Money Cart glossary has the full A–Z on these symbols, and the hub links every review and demo.
Elliot’s ranking
Ranking six versions of the same idea comes down to taste; this is mine, weighted toward mechanics over which session went well.
- Money Train 4 — the deepest redesign, with the highest ceiling and the largest special-symbol set.
- Money Train 3 — the best balance: a 100,000x cap, a Shapeshifter that keeps every round different, four bonus-buy prices.
- Money Train 2 — where the idea first grew teeth: reels that expand outward and the format’s first bonus buy.
- Money Train 5 — genuinely new ideas in Nuclear Wild and the station-based free spins, even if its Standard ceiling trails Money Train 4’s record.
- Money Train Origins Dream Drop — worth it for the jackpot network; as a pure Money Cart game, its own cap is the lowest in the series.
- Money Train (2019) — the template everything else builds on, which is why it now reads as the simplest option, not the most rewarding one.
FAQ
Which Money Train slot has the highest max win?
Money Train 4, at 150,000x. Money Train 5’s Ultra Mode reaches 100,000x pre-release, and Money Train 3 also caps at 100,000x.
Is Money Train 2 or Money Train 3 better?
Money Train 2 has the lower ceiling (50,000x) and a single buy at 100x; Money Train 3 doubles the cap to 100,000x with four buy-in prices instead.
Which Money Train game has real jackpots?
Only Money Train Origins Dream Drop, which runs the Dream Drop network — five seeded tiers — alongside its own 10,000x Money Cart cap.
Should I start with Money Train 5 or an earlier game?
Money Train 5 releases on 24 September 2026, so anything said about it now is from the pre-release build. The demo hub links to all six free-play versions.
Which Money Train slot is simplest to learn?
Money Train (2019). Its symbol set — Payer, Collector and Widener, plus persistent Payer and Collector — is the shortest in the series and the clearest look at the original Money Cart bonus. See where to play for what to check before you deposit.
Where to play Money Train slots — the series is listed at 1win and VAVADA. Try the demo first. Availability of Relax Gaming titles depends on your country and the casino’s licence.
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