We reveal why it’s so hard to pick up a toy from the claw machine

Who has never been frustrated when trying to pick up any item in a claw machine? The dynamics of the famous equipment, common in malls and amusement parks, is tempting: for a small price, the player has the chance to catch an assorted animal by operating an iron device that seems to perfectly fit the prize. Until, eventually, he sneaks back into the plush pool and that disappointment comes.

But don’t worry, it’s not your fault. Today the awesome.club will reveal how these devices are manipulated to make it difficult and, in some cases, impossible to capture a toy. Follow along and find out if you too have been deceived all your life!

When we see the claw in action, it seems foolproof: just position it correctly in the direction of the toy and press the button and it will descend to it, grab it and take it to the exit compartment. But why, even when the little iron legs fit exactly the desired item, is it so difficult to win something in these gadgets? There is an explanation — and it has nothing to do with the position of the pets.

Claw machines are rigged! If the owner of an establishment wants to, he can, when purchasing a model, configure the exact period in which the device will operate with sufficient force to capture the plush. This means that during the rest of the time the tool will not work at its full power. It is for this reason that we often think that the mechanism has “weakened” when raising the prize.

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In addition, the machine owner is also able to program the number of times the claw will drop a prize on purpose. Everything will depend on the percentage of profit he wants to have with the equipment. The owner can determine in advance, for example, that the mechanism works correctly only once in twenty attempts. It doesn’t seem fair to the client, as manipulation ends up turning a motor skill game into a mere game of luck.

One Reddit user, however, who runs an arcade, decided to defend himself against the fraud accusations. See what he says about the influence on the functioning of machines:

We fill our machines weekly, and if a machine is giving out more prizes than we’d like, we’ll make it a little harder to win. The same goes for a machine that isn’t doling out many toys, as we’ve made it a little easier to beat. In no way do we want to be labeled as thieves and I get annoyed when I hear someone say that it is a fraud or that no one will ever gain anything from it because I know for a fact that it is not fraud and that a lot of people win all the time. Just because you can’t win every time doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

This other internet user, who also works with grip machines, explains that the fact that the equipment is pre-programmed is essential to avoid damage to establishments:

For example, if a machine holds 60 toys, and I come back a week later and see that there are 20 toys left, but only $100 in the machine, something is wrong. We adjust the voltage based on the retail value of the prizes. Our goal is to hit only the retail price for each award won. So if a toy costs $9.50, that’s the ultimate goal in a perfect world. I usually put the highest potency, because I want people to actually win things. However, there are machines with super high value items (like Nintendos, iPads, Kindles etc) that are set up to be nearly impossible to win. Stay away from them.

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But the most amusing reaction was that of this father, who tried to teach his son a lesson when the little one asked to try his luck with the contraption:

My son always asked for $1 to play on one of these machines. Until one day, I finally gave him the money to prove it would be a waste. Isn’t the little brat actually managed to catch a stuffed Hulk? He learned absolutely nothing from it.

And you, have you managed to win anything playing on these machines? Do you think it’s fair that store owners manipulate the operation to contain losses? Comment!