amplified

Is anyone else here obsessed with the toy crane/claw machines that usually have stuffed animals in them?

Every time I go anywhere with one of these machines I spend at least 5 bucks in the machine and usually end up with 2 or 3 stuffed animals. My little one (two year old) now has a room full of stuffed animals from these machines.

My eleven year old son is now obsessed as well. Everytime we go to Red Robin, or somewhere else that we know has a machine he will start to collect all the quarters he can find to use in the machine.

I'm at the point now that I give away most of the stuffed toys to some little kid at the place we're at because my daughter just does not need another free stuffed animal in her bedroom.

I'm a very competitive person and I look at these machines as just another competition.

Am I alone in this obsession?

TomOpus

These obsessions never end well...

gilbertr76

As an adolecent these machines were a vice for me, but I would only pump coinage into those that had the black rubber thingies on the tips of the claw. Far too many of these machines have had the black thingies removed, tipping the scales in the house's favor...

amplified

I betcha I could get that kid out with the crane

antennaball

I worked at a grocery store in high school that had one of these things. We spent more money that we should have on it. To this day, I try to play whenever I pass one. The kiddos have gotten lots of stuffed toys like that.

mhg83

Thats the new Angelina Jolie crane game

Numanoid

I just go buy a stuffed animal at the dollar store, then throw another four or five bucks in the garbage on the way out. Same result.

jonnyquest

I heard a (NPR) radio story last year about a guy who was an expert on those cranes; he could get a prize practically every time. He saved up all the toys and periodically had a big givaway to some kids or charity or something. He had been banned from playing many stores' cranes. Before hearing that story, I assumed it was just a "dumb luck" kind of game. I have heard many guys "explain" the winning technique, but have never witnessed anyone win anything.

FinkPish

An obsession can sometimes come in handy:

big whoppa

I suck at those. Tried my luck a few times and gave up.

wishbone

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=5061866


The Claw!

zekeburger1979

Approves.

SPiRAL

There's a place here in Hollywood called Happy Ending Bar , they have a claw machine with live lobsters in them, you catch it, they cook it. $2 a try, I think.

E. Honda

The generic plush toys in these machines only cost the machine owner 75 cents a piece. So if each play on the machine costs that same 75 cents to play, and you win, the owner isn't out any money. But since the average is one win per 6 plays, the owner of the machine is laughing all the way to the bank. Why not deposit the money you are wasting in these machines in a high-interest savings account and start building a college fund for your kids instead? They for sure don't give a damn about the crappy plushies anyway. Give them something that will last a lifetime, not just another toy they don't need.

Gambit

I used to play these, but only when I saw that it had the correct "setup". Usually, people will pump money into these machines and get the stuffed animal hanging close to the hole. If after several tries they couldn't get it, they would give up. That would sometimes leave the plush toy partially hanging over the hole.

Instead of trying to get it to grab the toy, I would just position the crane so that when it goes down, it pushes down on the end of the toy and flips it into the hole. Had a very high success rate doing this.

Cardsfan111

There's a machine like this at a kid-friendly arcade/play area that I take my kids to... It's filled with candy and it's a 'guaranteed winner' meaning you keep trying until you get something back for each quarter or token you put in. Otherwise I stay away from these kinds of things. I got no skills!

amplified

It has nothing to do with the value of the toy. I just play them because I want to win...

Like I said, my two year old has enough stuffed animals, I usually give the toy away to someone in the store.

Liver&Onions

Dick's Last Resort in San Diego does this too.

TomOpus

Huh, never knew this. I've always eaten outside.

Minor Threat

Interesting logic....

Jason

Because a couple of bucks a month isn't going to earn jack shit?

amplified

I know..It doesn't make much sense.

It's all about the challenge for me though and has nothing to do with the "prize".

TomOpus

Have you thought about buying your own machine?

The Cow

Perhaps it is time to look for a new job:

Charlie Goose

This is at once the funniest, saddest, and most pathetic thing I've ever read.