Claw Games

Earlier in the thread I said that without telling a story, I figured out from experience that it was probably cheaper to buy a Nintendo DS than it was to win one. I was talking about the Stacker game.

I gave that stupid game a lot of money over the months trying to win the DS. I came to the conclusion that it is rigged. My skills at that game were great, but it cheated me out of a prize every time. I tromped right over to EB and bought me the damn DS. lol.

Whats with everyone on here calling Stacker games stupid? It's such a poisonous idea taking hold in our society. A lot of people insist that all games except for a select few are "stupid". Why do we have to discredit gamekind? It is causing us to move backward instead of forward.

I respectfully understand why some of you believe this, but please give the gaming race a little credit. What we collectively believe to be true eventually becomes true.

End of stupid rant...lol.

Moosh:

Stacker games, in general, are stupid. That doesn't mean every one. That doesn't always mean the same ones. That doesn't mean all of the time.

It means that in any given situation you can count on a majority of Stacker games to behave stupidly.

But if you are saying that Stacker games (other than your Stacker game, of course) lack intelligence, I have no idea where you are coming from. Lack intelligence compared to what? Other games? ...And if that's what you are saying, then are all games lacking intelligence except for the one owned by the person who notices that all games lack intelligence? It just sound so arrogant, and you know that arrogance kills me.

:)

Agreed :)

---

YoshiFan said:
Stacker machines are set by the operator to have a win for the large prize after a set # of plays, I believe it can be set to 1 in 250 up to 1 in 800. People have won, someone on Great Adventure Source won twice last year. I also have seen a few videos on YouTube of people winning at various places.

I occasionaly try them but have yet to win of course *** Edited 8/20/2008 4:11:03 PM UTC by YoshiFan***

---

Thanks for renewing my faith that a Stacker can actually pay out. So it is a slot machine and should be treated as such. You can't "earn" the prize through skill but rather by luck. So putting a dollar or two in the STUPID game in hopes of being entertained and possibly getting the Nintendo DS works. Feeding the machine tons of money to "earn" the $100something DS could cost as much as $800 and you'd look like a jackass and be hearing "almost there!" and "yow!" in your sleep.

It would be the same as trying to win back losses in a casino. If you ever go into a casino with any other intention than to be entertained you're screwed from the start. At some point it will go south, you'l bet emotionally out of frustration and end up betting recklessly.

---

Cropsey said:

You can't "earn" the prize through skill but rather by luck.

---

You still have to have the skill to get to the top row. Is the 1 in 250 or whatever setting set up then for 1 in 250 times that someone gets to the top? I would presume so.

Very interesting stuff.

- Jeff

I used to service claw machines at my old job...

I can speak for the smaller machines that you win stuffed toys in (not the huge jumbo machines).

We usually adjusted the claw "grab" based on numbers for the past week. We aimed for a certain percentage to toy ratio. Depending on adjustments it can be very easy to very hard to get anything. You can usually tell the first time you play it.

The claw machines had no "smart" computers to control who wins and when it will win based on money, just pure skill.

But again, I am strictly talking about old style crane machines, not these new HUGE machines. I can tell you for a fact though, most arcade games ARE programmed to get a certain amount of money before awarding certain prizes or large amounts of tickets or whatever.

:)

My "stupid" rant that Moosh and Gonch so eloquently parodied was very serious and something that I really believe in.

But since I hold unpopular beliefs, I have to accept that jokes will come at my expense.

Good one guys...hahaha.

---

Richie Reflux said:
Wow! I actually started an interesting thread (for once)!

Getting back to the topic...do you folks have strategies for winning? have you ever won any major prise of significance (not just a stuffed animal) but an I-Pod or DS?

Are there ways to cheat? (Perhaps using a Super magnet??? - Though it would be hard to sneak one past security.)

How much have you plunked down to try to win something? (We gave my son 1 card swipe and that was it).

---

I have two strategies for you. Number 1 is to find a broken machine in which the claw closes to much. I won 2 stuffed animals that way. Number 2 is to not look at the prizes, and avoid these amusement park, or arcade games in which you win stuff. If you want a stuffed animal, just go to the store and buy one. If you want a basketball, go to Target, or Kmart. If you want anything you see at an amusement park, just buy it at some store.

The reason why people play the prize games is because they are more worried about the prizes than the actual game, and they feel like it's worth the money to get that prize. It's just like the casino. You show so much money, and it's worth it even if you are losing 20 times because you still could get that amount. I spent $2.00 on the basketball game. Well, I didn't get it in. So, I try again, and I still miss it which is now $4.00. Well, I feel that I could get it in because it's only 2 more dollars for a basketball. I wasted this much money, and for only 2 more dollars, I will surely get it in. That's only a $6.00 basketball. So, you miss again, and now it's an $8.00 basketball, and so on.

So, the strategy for all those games you "win" stuff, just don't do them, and don't look at the prizes. The prizes are what make you play the game to begin with.

If I tell you some strategies for the amusement park games (Skip the claw games now.), that doesn't mean anything. Just because you know them, doesn't automatically mean you will win. The biggest one though I will say that I wish I could tell everyone about is that hammer game. Everyone puts their hands together on the hammer.

You have the hammer, and you are supposed to hit a circular thing, and than it rings the bell. You are supposed to put your hands far apart from each other, as a carnival person secretly told me awhile back. One hand should be at the end of the hammer, and one towards the middle. Why did she tell us that (My friend, and I)? The reason is because he was playing a hammer game, and it was like play until you win the game, and he was having trouble. He finally got it when he changed his hand position.

Just don't look at the prizes, and you won't want anything. If you look at the ads in the paper, and you really don't want anything to begin with, you might actually go to a store, and buy something. Now, if you really need a dvd player, look at the ads, and get it. Otherwise, what's the point of getting more useless junk you don't need?

HAHAHAHAHA, mfivsdarienlake, that site you linked to is called "stoopid games"! HAHAHAHAHA

...And what's REALLY stupid is that you have to log in to play the games.

This kid found a way to win:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh1FUeIsQrQ

^^^Look a whole website of Stoooopid games and Stacker is on the front page!!

^^^ That's hysterical. I love how mom doesn't really believe what the brother's telling her until the girl's head pops up inside the glass.
Then the kid working the place just nonchalantly cleans the glass. *** Edited 8/21/2008 10:49:06 PM UTC by RatherGoodBear***