Shark on Mega888: an Animal Betting Round With Birds, Beasts and Sharks

Shark in the Mega888 lobby is not a slot and not a fish shooting game. It is a timed betting round, like the app's Monkey Story and Racing Car: you place chips on what you think the result will be, the round plays out, and the matching bets are paid.

The room header you see before joining says a lot. It shows the room name, Online Shark, a round countdown dial, and a strip of the last twelve results. Those results are not sharks at all. In order: a monkey, two pandas, a swallow, a green fan-tailed bird, a pigeon, an eagle, another swallow, two more fan-tails, a pigeon and a rabbit.

The "birds and beasts" format

That mix of land animals and birds is the signature of a well-known Chinese arcade game, 飞禽走兽 ("birds and beasts"). In the usual version:

• The board rings a set of animals: four beasts (such as lion, panda, monkey and rabbit) and four birds (such as eagle, peacock, pigeon and swallow).
• You can bet on a single animal, or on Beasts or Birds as a group for a lower payout.
• A silver shark and a gold shark sit on the ring as rare results with the highest payouts. They are where the game gets its name.

The Mega888 version appears to follow this pattern, with the green fan-tail standing in for the peacock. Treat the payout figures as unknown until you have read the in-game table, since they differ between versions.

How to play it carefully

Rounds run on a timer, so it is easy to bet more often than you meant to. Group bets on Birds or Beasts win more often and pay less; single animals pay more and hit less; the sharks are long shots. Pick one approach, use the smallest chip and set a stop.

For a closer look at how Mega888's timed betting games handle chips and confirmation, see Racing Car. The sea-creature game on Playboy Casino is Crazy Shark, and 3Win8's Big Shark turns out to be video poker. The Mega888 guide covers the app, and you can get a Mega888 game ID there.