Critter Country

 

Introduction

Critter Country is a keno-based game found on multi-game machines made by U1 Gaming. I have seen such machines at the Las Vegas Club, Rampart, and Dotty's casinos in Las Vegas. The thrust of Critter Country is the game randomly chooses an unpicked number to place an egg. If one of the randomly drawn numbers hits the egg, the player can win multipliers, extra balls or a bonus round.

Base Game Rules

Following are the rules of the Critter Country base game.

1. The player chooses 2 to 10 numbers from a range of 1 to 80.
2. The game will randomly choose one of the numbers not chosen by the player and mark it with an egg.
3. The game will draw 20 balls numbered from 1 to 80.
4. If the first number drawn from rule 3 is the same number as the egg, then the player will get an 8x multiplier and eight extra balls drawn.
5. If the 2nd-19th number drawn from rule 3 is the same number as the egg, then the player will get a 2x multiplier and two extra balls drawn.
6. If the 20th number drawn from rule 3 is the same number as the egg, then the player will get to play the Lily Pad bonus game. Any wins from the bonus game are in addition to the keno win.
7. The player is paid according to the number of his picks that match the random ball draw, any multiplier, and the following pay table.

The following pay table was seen at the Rampart casino for $2 bets.

Lily Pad Bonus Rules

Following are the rules of the Lily Pad bonus.

1. The game starts with 25 lily pads.
2. The game will randomly place behind each lily pad the following icons.
   • 10 butterflies
   • 7 dragonflies
   • 5 frogs
   • 3 turtles
3. The player will choose lily pads until he uncovers two turtles.
4. As the player picks, the game will keep track of the order of the icons uncovered.
5. The player wins, in part, according to the number of picks, as follows.
    

   Win for Number of Picks

   Number Picks	Win
   24	100
   23	25
   22	25
   21	12
   20	12
   19	8
   18	8
   17	5
   16	5
   15	5
   14	4
   13	4
   12	4
   11	4
   10	4
   9	6
   8	6
   7	6
   6	6
   5	20
   4	20
   3	3x replay
   2	3x replay

6. The player will also win according to consecutive butterfly picks, as follows.
    

   Win for Consecutive Butterflies

   Number Picks	Win
   10	4,000
   9	1,000
   8	400
   7	200
   6	100
   5	30
   4	10
   3	3

7. The player will also win according to consecutive dragonfly picks, as follows.
    

   Win for Consecutive Dragonflies

   Number Picks	Win
   7	2,000
   6	400
   5	200
   4	50
   3	7

8. The player will also win according to consecutive frog picks, as follows.

   Win for Consecutive Frogs

   Number Picks	Win
   5	1,000
   4	200
   3	20
   2	3

9. If the total number of picks is 2 or 3, then the player will replay the bonus with a 3x multiplier. The rules don't state what happens if the this occurs two or more times in a row, but for my analysis, I assume the player will keep replaying the bonus until he gets four or more picks, but the multiplier stays at 3x.

Finally, there is a bonus game that triggers randomly, outside of the outcome of the keno game. The advertised return of the game is 0.5% higher than my calculations, so I assume this bonus game adds 0.5% to the return.

Odds

The next section of this page is subdivided by the number of picks, from 2 to 10. For each number of picks, there are tables for 20, 22 and 28 total balls, as well as a summary of the return. The pay table comes from the Rampart casino for a maximum $2 bet. The overall return of each number of picks is in the lower right cell of the return table and also summarized at the bottom of the page.

Pick 10

Pick 9

 

Pick 8 — 20 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
8	1500	1	0.00000366	0.00548640
7	350	1	0.00013293	0.04652643
6	45	1	0.00192953	0.08682881
5	6	1	0.01468020	0.08808119
4	1	1	0.06429736	0.06429736
3	0	1	0.16660848	0.00000000
2	0	1	0.25021104	0.00000000
1	0	1	0.19966304	0.00000000
0	0	1	0.06497376	0.00000000
Total			0.76250000	0.29122019

 

Pick 10 — 22 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
8	1500	2	0.00000175	0.00526494
7	350	2	0.00005816	0.04071550
6	45	2	0.00077359	0.06962350
5	6	2	0.00541516	0.06498193
4	1	2	0.02189955	0.04379910
3	0	2	0.05255892	0.00000000
2	0	2	0.07330586	0.00000000
1	0	2	0.05445578	0.00000000
0	0	2	0.01653122	0.00000000
Total			0.22500000	0.22438497

 

Pick 8 — 28 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
8	1500	8	0.00000106	0.01276454
7	350	8	0.00002213	0.06195055
6	45	8	0.00018806	0.06770311
5	6	8	0.00085484	0.04103219
4	1	8	0.00227647	0.01821175
3	0	8	0.00364235	0.00000000
2	0	8	0.00342381	0.00000000
1	0	8	0.00173072	0.00000000
0	0	8	0.00036057	0.00000000
Total			0.01250000	0.20166213

 

Pick 8 — Summary

Win	Return
20 balls	0.291220
22 balls	0.224385
28 balls	0.201662
Bonus	0.242943
Total	0.960210

 

Pick 7

Pick 7 — 20 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
7	715	1	0.00002027	0.01449604
6	76	1	0.00059870	0.04550107
5	8	1	0.00695222	0.05561777
4	2	1	0.04132381	0.08264761
3	1	1	0.13627898	0.13627898
2	0	1	0.25013646	0.00000000
1	0	1	0.23725792	0.00000000
0	0	1	0.08993164	0.00000000
Total			0.76250000	0.33454148

 

Pick 7 — 22 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
7	715	2	0.00000903	0.01290661
6	76	2	0.00024429	0.03713253
5	8	2	0.00261088	0.04177410
4	2	2	0.01433425	0.05733700
3	1	2	0.04379910	0.08759820
2	0	2	0.07468899	0.00000000
1	0	2	0.06597527	0.00000000
0	0	2	0.02333819	0.00000000
Total			0.22500000	0.23674844

 

Pick 7 — 28 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
7	715	8	0.00000383	0.02190395
6	76	8	0.00006638	0.04035636
5	8	8	0.00046161	0.02954317
4	2	8	0.00167251	0.02676012
3	1	8	0.00341470	0.02731762
2	0	8	0.00393374	0.00000000
1	0	8	0.00237033	0.00000000
0	0	8	0.00057691	0.00000000
Total			0.01250000	0.14588123

 

Pick 7 — Summary

Win	Return
20 balls	0.334541
22 balls	0.236748
28 balls	0.145881
Bonus	0.242943
Total	0.960114

 

Pick 6

Pick 6 — 20 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
6	395	1	0.00010580	0.04179199
5	37	1	0.00249952	0.09248220
4	4	1	0.02267608	0.09070430
3	1	1	0.10148731	0.10148731
2	0	1	0.23707418	0.00000000
1	0	1	0.27483149	0.00000000
0	0	1	0.12382563	0.00000000
Total			0.76250000	0.32646580

 

Pick 6 — 22 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
6	395	2	0.00004392	0.03470043
5	37	2	0.00095536	0.07069665
4	4	2	0.00800817	0.06406532
3	1	2	0.03321906	0.06643811
2	0	2	0.07212032	0.00000000
1	0	2	0.07788994	0.00000000
0	0	2	0.03276323	0.00000000
Total			0.22500000	0.23590051

 

Pick 6 — 28 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
6	395	8	0.00001331	0.04206462
5	37	8	0.00018878	0.05587963
4	4	8	0.00104651	0.03348838
3	1	8	0.00290698	0.02325582
2	0	8	0.00427326	0.00000000
1	0	8	0.00315564	0.00000000
0	0	8	0.00091552	0.00000000
Total			0.01250000	0.15468845

 

Pick 6 — Summary

Win	Return
20 balls	0.326466
22 balls	0.235901
28 balls	0.154688
Bonus	0.242943
Total	0.959998

 

Pick 5

Pick 5 — 20 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
5	119.5	1	0.00052239	0.06242549
4	15	1	0.00964162	0.14462436
3	2	1	0.06586104	0.13172208
2	0	1	0.20879311	0.00000000
1	0	1	0.30805097	0.00000000
0	0	1	0.16963088	0.00000000
Total			0.76250000	0.33877192

 

Pick 5 — 22 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
5	119.5	2	0.00020315	0.04855316
4	15	2	0.00346552	0.10396565
3	2	2	0.02194830	0.08779322
2	0	2	0.06468974	0.00000000
1	0	2	0.08894839	0.00000000
0	0	2	0.04574489	0.00000000
Total			0.22500000	0.24031203

 

Pick 5 — 28 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
5	119.5	8	0.00004478	0.04280523
4	15	8	0.00050616	0.06073873
3	2	8	0.00215116	0.03441861
2	0	8	0.00430233	0.00000000
1	0	8	0.00405412	0.00000000
0	0	8	0.00144146	0.00000000
Total			0.01250000	0.13796257

 

Pick 5 — Summary

Win	Return
20 balls	0.338772
22 balls	0.240312
28 balls	0.137963
Bonus	0.242943
Total	0.959989

 

Pick 4

Pick 4 — 20 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
4	52.25	1	0.00245071	0.12804980
3	2	1	0.03405771	0.06811543
2	1	1	0.16479249	0.16479249
1	0	1	0.32995802	0.00000000
0	0	1	0.23124107	0.00000000
Total			0.76250000	0.36095771

 

Pick 4 — 22 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
4	52.25	2	0.00089626	0.09365871
3	2	2	0.01155174	0.04620696
2	1	2	0.05198283	0.10396565
1	0	2	0.09703461	0.00000000
0	0	2	0.06353457	0.00000000
Total			0.22500000	0.24383133

 

Pick 4 — 28 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
4	52.25	8	0.00014601	0.06103074
3	2	8	0.00126539	0.02024624
2	1	8	0.00387209	0.03097675
1	0	8	0.00496422	0.00000000
0	0	8	0.00225229	0.00000000
Total			0.01250000	0.11225374

 

Pick 4 — Summary

Win	Return
20 balls	0.360958
22 balls	0.243831
28 balls	0.112254
Bonus	0.242943
Total	0.959986

 

Pick 3

Pick 3 — 20 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
3	23.25	1	0.01096514	0.25493956
2	1	1	0.10793953	0.10793953
1	0	1	0.32986476	0.00000000
0	0	1	0.31373057	0.00000000
Total			0.76250000	0.36287909

 

Pick 3 — 22 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
3	23.25	2	0.00378419	0.17596486
2	1	2	0.03465522	0.06931044
1	0	2	0.09876737	0.00000000
0	0	2	0.08779322	0.00000000
Total			0.22500000	0.24527529

 

Pick 3 — 28 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
3	23.25	8	0.00046235	0.08599786
2	1	8	0.00288509	0.02308072
1	0	8	0.00565921	0.00000000
0	0	8	0.00349334	0.00000000
Total			0.01250000	0.10907858

 

Pick 3 — Summary

Win	Return
20 balls	0.362879
22 balls	0.245275
28 balls	0.109079
Bonus	0.242943
Total	0.960176

 

Pick 2

Pick 2 — 20 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
2	8.05	1	0.04694499	0.37790713
1	0	1	0.29186952	0.00000000
0	0	1	0.42368549	0.00000000
Total			0.76250000	0.37790713

 

Pick 2 — 22 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
2	8.05	2	0.01533593	0.24690847
1	0	2	0.08894839	0.00000000
0	0	2	0.12071568	0.00000000
Total			0.22500000	0.24690847

 

Pick 2 — 28 Balls

Catch	Pays	Multiplier	Probability	Return
2	8.05	8	0.00142405	0.09170886
1	0	8	0.00569620	0.00000000
0	0	8	0.00537975	0.00000000
Total			0.01250000	0.09170886

 

Pick 2 — Summary

Win	Return
20 balls	0.377907
22 balls	0.246908
28 balls	0.091709
Bonus	0.242943
Total	0.959467

 

Bonus

The following table shows the probability for each number of picks, including the second frog, and the expected number of consecutive butterflies, dragonflies and frogs in the bonus round, before considering the replay rule for two or three picks.

Bonus Frequencies

Number	Total Picks	Butterflies	Dragonflies	Frogs
1	0.000000	2.000000	1.995000	1.750000
2	0.010000	0.782609	0.520435	0.304348
3	0.019130	0.284585	0.118281	0.041502
4	0.027391	0.094862	0.022530	0.003953
5	0.034783	0.028459	0.003379	0.000198
6	0.041304	0.007489	0.000356	0.000000
7	0.046957	0.001664	0.000020	0.000000
8	0.051739	0.000294	0.000000	0.000000
9	0.055652	0.000037	0.000000	0.000000
10	0.058696	0.000002	0.000000	0.000000
11	0.060870	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
12	0.062174	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
13	0.062609	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
14	0.062174	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
15	0.060870	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
16	0.058696	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
17	0.055652	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
18	0.051739	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
19	0.046957	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
20	0.041304	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
21	0.034783	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
22	0.027391	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
23	0.019130	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
24	0.010000	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
25	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000	0.000000
Total	1.000000	3.200000	2.660001	2.100000

 

The next table shows the probability and contribution to the return according to the number of consecutive butterflies, contingent on at least four picks, and before considering the possible multiplier.

Consecutive Butterflies

Number	Pays	Conditional Probability	Return
10	4,000	0.000003	0.010083
9	1,000	0.000038	0.037813
8	400	0.000303	0.121000
7	200	0.001714	0.342835
6	100	0.007714	0.771379
5	30	0.029312	0.879371
4	10	0.097708	0.977080
3	3	0.293124	0.879371
Total		0.429915	4.018933

 

The next table shows the probability and contribution to the return according to the number of consecutive dragonflies, contingent on at least four picks, and before considering the possible multiplier.

Consecutive Dragonflies

Number	Pays	Conditional Probability	Return
7	2,000	0.000020	0.040712
6	400	0.000366	0.146562
5	200	0.003481	0.696170
4	50	0.023206	1.160279
3	7	0.121830	0.852810
Total		0.148903	2.896532

 

The next table shows the probability and contribution to the return according to the number of consecutive frogs, contingent on at least four picks, and before considering the possible multiplier.

Consecutive Frogs

Number	Pays	Conditional Probability	Return
5	1,000	0.000204	0.203558
4	200	0.004071	0.814233
3	20	0.042747	0.854945
2	3	0.313480	0.940439
Total		0.360502	2.813175

 

The final bonus table shows the expected win for each part of the bonus. The second column shows the average win before considering the multiplier. The final column shows the expected win after multiplying by the average multiplier of 1.058261. The lower right cell shows an average bonus win of 19.435434.

Bonus Summary

Category	Before Multiplier	After Multiplier
Total picks	8.636809	9.139997
Butterflies	4.018933	4.253079
Dragonflies	2.896532	3.065286
Frogs	2.813175	2.977073
Total	18.365449	19.435434

 

Summary

The final table (at last) shows the total return for each number of picks.

Critter Country Summary

Picks	Return
2	95.95%
3	96.02%
4	96.00%
5	96.00%
6	96.00%
7	96.01%
8	96.02%
9	95.99%
10	96.02%

 

Note that the game will quote returns 0.5% higher than these. This extra 0.5% comes in the form of random bonuses, which this analysis does not address.

For more information about returns for bet amounts other than exactly $2, please visit my page on U1 Gaming theoretical returns.

Written by: Michael Shackleford