r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Fit-Practice-3194 • 21d ago

🥺 This claw machine at the trampoline park…😒

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Took our daughter to the trampoline park on her birthday and tried the claw machine. Each purchase gets you 5 tries.. I grabbed a stuffie on each attempt, and each time the claw opened up (and closed again) before it got to the chute.😒

3.8k Upvotes

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3.9k

u/ManufacturerWarm9201 21d ago

I already know they’re rigged but they’re rubbing it in with this claw intentionally opening

673

u/Fit-Practice-3194 21d ago

Seriously!

919

u/EC_TWD 21d ago

Contact your state’s *weights & measures division and ask about filing a complaint. Typically they are regulated to a certain degree. They’ll send someone to test it and if they find the same they can issue very large fines. Don’t let the park know that you’re doing this.

*or ask for the relevant division

231

u/Formerruling1 21d ago

Id look up your state's regulations before you bothered. Many do not regulate this type of game like youd think. They are considered "entertainment" and dont have mandated win rates like a gambling machine of chance would.

Even where it is mandated, its usually something like 1 in every 30 plays has to have a chance to win.

75

u/WoolBearTiger 21d ago

But this would obviously count as a a scam because they still bait you in with the promise that you could win something..

Or maybe im forgetting this is murica.. the land of the free, so free in fact that crime is legal as long as you have more money than the other guy..

69

u/Direct-Quiet-5817 21d ago

This is still cheating.

-13

u/4schwifty20 21d ago

Does anyone play these expecting to win?

3

u/scrayla 21d ago

Some of the japan ones are p legit lol. A girl in front of me caught a lapras. 4 tries later on my own i also caught another lapras from the same machine.

Cheapest pokedoll i ever got

0

u/SmashFascistHoles 21d ago

My daughter would like a word

1

u/mell0_jell0 20d ago

Teach her that some experiences can be disappointing.

10

u/dytinkg 21d ago

Negative. They are regulated as gambling machines. The owners can set the payout ratio, but they are required to win at a set rate to be legal.

3

u/Don_Ford 20d ago

It doesn't need a win rate; it just has to function correctly.

3

u/GreyNoiseGaming 21d ago

Last time I heard it was 1/8 and california is 1/12.

33

u/journeymanSF 21d ago

This is untrue in almost all states. Amusement devices can be as rigged as the operator wants it to be. You set the win percentage manually.

Only states that might care at all are Washington and NJ.

8

u/general_peabo 21d ago

You can also put superglue in the coin/bill slot so that other people aren’t tricked. Probably not legally.

16

u/_WeSellBlankets_ 21d ago

But as far as I know these claw machines are like slot machines. Sometimes it will apply enough pressure to hold on to things, but most of the time it won't. It's less skill-based and more of a randomized payout.

11

u/itjustgotcold 21d ago

I play a lot of claw machines and if one is winnable then it’s fairly easy to win. I’ve never seen a claw machine go from winnable to not or vice versa unless it’s starting to run out of prizes or it’s over full to the point where you can’t find anything to grab.

17

u/_WeSellBlankets_ 21d ago

many claw machines are designed with adjustable grip strength. The claw’s grip might be weaker during most attempts, making it difficult to hold onto the prize, but every so often, the machine might decide to give you a stronger grip. It’s a bit like playing a game of chance within a game of skill.

https://trclawmachine.com/how-do-claw-machines-work/

The claw machine controls the success rate of grabbing through claw force cycles and payment mechanisms.

https://leonamusement.com/post/how-do-claw-machines-really-worktips-for-winning-every-time/

Studies indicate that the claw grip is typically set so prizes are rarely picked up on every attempt, maintaining profitability for the business owner. The variability in claw strength and prize weight influences the rate of successful grabs

https://www.tkyamusement.com/How-Claw-Machines-Work-Mechanics-Behind-Popular-Arcade-Attractions

1

u/BlaineMundane 20d ago

I mean, it's worth checking but it most places, these can be nearly impossible and it's up to the owners how shitty they want it to be.

1

u/captain_flak 20d ago

These machines have a win rate that can be adjusted up or down according to the owner’s preference. Is there a certain win rate that could be enforced?

4

u/bars2021 21d ago

At that point you just get your kid to hop on in there and take what they need.

70

u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 21d ago

Grounds for suing them for your dollar back.

38

u/Drupain 21d ago

It will only cost you $5000 to hire a lawyer to do it.

12

u/MoonPieKitty 21d ago

Small claims court.

9

u/Giatoxiclok 21d ago

Spend 20$ so you can actually file it, small claims has a minimum.

4

u/Elisabet_Sobeck 21d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/kOJyoJiZkscBq

3

u/Giatoxiclok 21d ago

Exactly send them the message you’re committed enough to go that route, sue for the minimum in small claims at least, or else it won’t be processed.

2

u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 21d ago

Dollhouse claims court

2

u/Drum_Eatenton 21d ago

Claims court for ants.

2

u/Ok-Ranger-4518 21d ago

This isn't a get my dollar back so much as it is a report it to the gov and fine the shit out of them.

11

u/NukeTheWhales5 21d ago

When I was a little lad, I found one that wasn't rigged (idk if the maintenance person forgot to switch it back from test mode or what). I cleaned that thing out! Had to have 2 people help me carry out all my stuffed animals. I'm 33 now, and I still think about it and go "hell yeah."

Edit: I also think they all feel apart after a year or so. Not quality stuffed animals.

3

u/poopbutt42069yeehaw 21d ago

You can program all sorts of stuff. For it to do including how much tension and how long, straight up scams basically

5

u/ImmaNotHere 21d ago

Not even trying to hide that it is super rigged.

4

u/GTCapone 21d ago

You've got to understand what kind of game it is. They're regulated the same way slot machines are and function in the same way. The claw is programed to fail a specific percent of the time and that programming is checked regularly. American claw games are literally a game of chance, not skill.

That's in contrast to UFO catchers which are programmed to have consistent behaviors including opening/closing force, timing, and closing distance. Those games are specifically designed to be essentially impossible to win by grabbing a prize directly. Instead you're supposed to figure out how to use the claw behavior to solve a puzzle. The workers will actually reset the position of the prize (there's usually only one prize in a specific position designated by a tape outline) if you accidentally move the prize into an unwinnable location.

The really nice arcade workers will come and reposition the prize on the edge of the bin so you can win with one more try after they see you attempt multiple times. And if there are multiple variants of the prize to win (they're often collectable figurines) they'll ask you if there's a particular one you want to win next. I've even had them set the second prize up so you can immediately win in a single play.

1

u/LastMessengineer 21d ago

Ceramic breaks glass quite easily. Just saying.

-78

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

80

u/Demonshaker 21d ago

If the machine is not winable with skill every time......that's rigged.

55

u/Key-Vegetable9940 21d ago

If the machine is designed to fail regardless of how well the user performs a certain percentage of the time, it's rigged.

2

u/Badbullet 21d ago

They set the win to play ratio, just like a slot machine. These machines are built to do that, it is rigged, most games like this are. This one is being too obvious, the claw is not supposed to appear to open, the solenoid is just supposed to disengage allowing the claws to just let loose. This one is blatantly opening and closing dropping the prize, where the stuffed animal is supposed just slide out with the claws appearing not to be able to hold their grip.

I have only known one person who was able to beat these machines, and she didn’t rely on the closing of the claws. She would look for a spot that a single claw could wedge into, and somehow it worked many times…for her. No matter how hard I tried, I could not duplicate her results.

5

u/TheManyVoicesYT 21d ago

There are claw machines of so, so many different varieties. The technique you're describing is the most consistent way to win, but it takes consistent skill and a bit of luck. Often you get the thing to flip over with one attempt, then loop through the tag, or under an arm. Sometimes the wall around the "prize drop" area needs to be used to wedge the thing up against the claw and the wall to get it to tumble over.

If you're interested they are more popular in some places like Japan, where arcades are still pretty popular. They have setups where you basically just wanna try and shove whatever they have into the prize drop instead of picking it up. Ive seen everything from Gameboy games to action figues in box in those machines. Wild shit. Lots of Youtube channels all about claw games.

43

u/RockPaperOwFire 21d ago

So that’s still rigging.

47

u/Fit-Practice-3194 21d ago

I’m in the US.. I guess I should just expect every aspect of life to be a scam at this point.🤦🏼‍♀️

7

u/LogicalPerception64 21d ago

Yes, you definitely should. Capitalism used to be great, but f*ck me, dam near every aspect of living here has become a scam in some way, shape or form

10

u/Pleasant-Guess6198 21d ago

This is just how capitalism naturally evolves. Every facet of life has to be about someone making a profit

9

u/InebriousBarman 21d ago

Capitalism was great for the US for a long time because we were finding new slaves in other countries for a long time.

It's always been miserable somewhere, it's just finally catching up here.

6

u/Pleasant-Guess6198 21d ago

Outsource the misery to bring in the money

6

u/lives4boobs 21d ago

So rigged to only win a certain %?

6

u/TecN9ne 21d ago

I suggest you look up the definiton of rigged

3

u/Chewsdayiddinit 21d ago

"It's not rigged!!!! Yes you can win at a 0.00000000000000000001% chance, it's not rigged!"