.:WINNING ITEMS IN A CLAW MACHINE:.

Imagine This; You are walking out of a Wal-Mart SuperCenter and you see a claw machine. Although you have 2 dollars of spare cash in your pocket, you are not the greatest of "claw machiners" in the world. You decide to have some fun and a little laugh so you walk toward the claw machine. You glance around the inside the machine to look for any tresures that may catch your eye for a friend, younger family member, or girl/boy friend. You see many items here and there and finally decide on several of them. You dig thru your pockets and find the two 1 dollar bills. You insert them into the dollar slot and then proceed to gripping the joystick of the game. You also notice the timer on the game has been disabled. So you have all the time in the world. You carefully get the hang of the controls and begin to approach your 1st item with the stainless steel 4 pronged claw...

Everyone has seen a claw machine, and has either seen one operated, or has operated one once before. Everyone has had their own share of wins on a claw machine, or have had none. This guide was written to inform the reader on how to win something in a claw machine so you can go home with not only a prize, but with a story...and some bragging rights.

Types of Claws:

1. Four Pronged Claws:

   This type of claw usually handles large stuffed animals. It is great for grabbing around the chest area of a stuffed animal. When you use this type of claw on a stuffed animal, try and maneuver the claw so that the four prongs are positioned above and below both arms and the central port of the claw close to the neck, or high chest area.

2. Three Pronged Claws:

   This type of claw usually handles small stuffed animals and small collectable basketballs. This type of claw is somewhat similar to the four pronged claw, but instead of having two of the prongs positioned above the arms, you have a choice of the prongs going around the left or right arm. Have the claw at an angle so that it covers the whole chest area of a stuffed animal; this is the best way to get things out of three pronged machines. To get a small collectible basketball, try and make sure a ball is not being surrounded by any other basketballs. For this might rotate the claw on its way down and might miss your basketball target. If this is inevitable, try and make it straight down as much as possible. For best results, aim the center of the prongs in the radius center of the basketball. This technique draws a 60 to 70 percent chance of grabbing a basketball, but it is very difficult to center the claw in the middle of the basketball.

NOTE: There is no such thing as grease on a claw to make a toy slide off a claw. This is just a myth. The claws are made of stainless steel; and there is light fixtures usually built into the machine so that the light reflects off the claw giving the impression that there is grease on the claw.

Types of Claw Machines:

1. Stuffed Toy Claw Machine

   These are the standard of most claw machines. They contain trademarked toys, and various stuffed animals. Many of these machines take .50 cents to a $1.00 to operate depending on the size and prizes inside the machine. CAUTION; Many of the managers who operate a claw machine usually pack the animals tightly such as tucking in a bear's leg under other toys thus weighing it down so that if a perfect claw drop achieves a good grip point on the bear, it will easily slide off. DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY EASY LOOKING BEARS IN A CORNER ON A MOUNTAIN OF OTHER TOYS.

2. Various Item Claw Machine

   You may see some of these machines at your local gaming area; GameWorks, Dave And Busters, or maybe Wal-Mart. There are variations of pocket watches, digital watches and many more assorted items other than stuffed animals. Consider it a "break" from stuffed toys.

Styles:

There are 2 styles to winning a toy or an item from the claw machines. One is 2 man, and one is solo.

1. 2 Man Style

   This style is for use of two people. One man/woman uses the control to maneuver the claw while the 2nd person spots and guides the controller to the item's destination. This style is usually used as a time saver since many claw machines run on 15 to 30 second timers.

2. Solo

   This is the standard style. Many people judge the claw's position by sometimes looking at the adjacent mirror inside the claw machine when they play. The mirror serves as a second person.

Timing:

   Many people struggle to decide what they get after they put the dollar or .50 cents into the machine. It is always a good idea to search for the item you want before you put your dollar or .50 cents into the machine so that your time is not wasted on deciding. Here is a list of the times that are usually seen and what to do when you are playing:

Seconds:

15 - spend first 10 seconds maneuvering, then the last 5 checking all sides of the machine to make sure you positioned good enough for a grab. (if you are using solo style) The claw sometimes should automatically go down after time has gone up, but sometimes it goes back over the drop area, so make sure you are perfectly over the item you want and press the button to lower the claw.

30 - spend 10 seconds maneuvering, 10 seconds checking the boundaries of the claw (sometimes it wont go all the way to the corners) 5 seconds for perfecting, then the last 5 dropping the claw.

45 - spend 5 seconds deciding (if you put the .50 or dollar already) 10 seconds maneuvering, 10 seconds checking boundaries, 20 seconds perfecting, and 5 seconds to drop the claw (unless you put the .50 cents and havent decided yet) 

EDIT: Monday, August 27th 2007

Sensors:

There is rumor that there are sensors in the prize box where the prize is dispensed; The rumor is that there are senors that reset the strength at which the claw grips a prospective prize. The sensors work like this: When a prize is dispensed into the hull of the prize box, weight sensors detect a shift in the interior weight and come to the conclusion that a prize has been dispensed; thus loosening the force of the grip on the claw; making prize winning more difficult. This is only something you should watch out for if you plan on getting more than 1 prize, but here is a solution;

Soulution - When the claw is automatically going back to the start point over the prize drop-zone, quickly open the box and attempt to catch the prize before it hits the floor of the prize box.

Final Notes:

1. Make sure you dont jerk on the controller that controls the claw. It might rock the claw and make it difficult for positioning. Sometimes when you jerk on the claw, it rotates it so that it will be hard to grab an item.

2. Do not overspend. Budget Your money. It sometimes may be tempting to spend more than you want to play.

Thank You For Reading!

.:coldice101:.