How Does Claw Crane Machine Work?

Type of arcade game

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"Claw game" redirects here. Not to be confused with Claw (video game)

A claw machine is a type of arcade game. Modern claw machines are upright cabinets with glass boxes that are lit from the inside and have a joystick-controlled claw at the top, which is coin-operated and positioned over a pile of prizes, dropped into the pile, and picked up to unload the prize or lack thereof into a chute.[1][2] They typically contain stuffed toys or other cheap prizes, and sometimes contain more expensive items like electronic devices and fashion accessories.[3][4] Claw machines are also known as skill cranes, claw cranes, crane games, teddy pickers, and are known as UFO catchers in Japan due to the claws' resemblance to UFOs.[5][6][7]

The earliest claw machines are believed to have been created in the late 19th century and inspired by the machines used to build the Panama Canal, while the first patented claw machine, the Erie Digger, was inspired by the creation of the Erie Canal and invented in . It and its successor, the Miami Digger, were popular throughout the United States during the s, specifically during the Great Depression, as carnival attractions and as furniture in public places. By the s, claw machines were ubiquitous in both the United States and Japan; the success of Sega's UFO Catcher machines in the s and s inspired a claw machine craze in the latter country. Claw machines have made appearances in numerous video games, music videos, films, and television shows since at least the s.

In the late s, claw machines became immensely popular in South Korea and Taiwan as cheap entertainment due to their slowing economies at the time, with the number of claw machine arcades in both places rising into the thousands. Also in the s, claw machines that could be remotely controlled via mobile applications or websites began turning up online.

Claw machines are often rigged to modify the claw's strength on each turn, and are consequently considered gambling devices in some jurisdictions.

Early history

Claw machines are believed to have originated in the United States in the s, when they were made to resemble the machines that built the Panama Canal.[7] The first patented claw machine, the Erie Digger, was a glass box containing candy and other small objects, a chute, and a coin-operated miniature steam shovel that moved in an arc, could be moved with a handle, and could be lifted and dropped into the chute using a hand crank.[8] It was invented in , manufactured by the Erie Manufacturing Company, and named after the construction of the Erie Canal. It found success at carnivals, partially because it did not require electricity like other carnival attractions. Throughout the s, it saw use as furniture in train stations, hotels, drugstores, cigar stores, and bus stations, where it was used to keep customers entertained.[2] During the Great Depression, designing intricate, Art Deco claw machines for hotels and stores became a lucrative endeavor.[9]

The Miami Digger, invented by American carnival operator William Bartlett of Miami and patented by him in , improved upon the design of the Erie Digger by using an electric motor and allowing the crane to move around the entire box.[9] It was also known as the Nickel Digger, as it contained money, such as nickels and silver dollars, as prizes; premium versions of the diggers had watches and cigarette lighters as prizes for adults. Bartlett became rich from the popularity of the machines and died in .[2]

Global popularity

In Asia

Japanese companies Sega and Taito began designing trolley-style claw machines in the s.[2] They gained popularity in Japan during the late s, with crane games ranking among Japan's top ten highest-grossing electro-mechanical (EM) arcade games of and .[10][11] Sega released their UFO Catcher claw machine in and made their first shipment of it in .[12] It had sold 10,000 cabinets by , its popularity inspiring Sega's creation of the Dream Catcher in and the New UFO Catcher in while making the UFO Catcher series responsible for 90 percent of stuffed toy claw machine sales.[13] By , its claw could be changed to fit the sizes and shapes of different prizes, and it had become a craze across Japan: arcades started dedicating entire floors to UFO Catcher cabinets&#;of which Sega had sold over 40,000, making it Sega's best-selling game at the time&#;and the term "UFO catcher" became synonymous with crane games in Japan.[14][15][16]

Sega Shinjuku Kabukicho, a two-story Sega arcade in Shinjuku, Tokyo containing 477 claw machines, received the Guinness World Record for having the most claw machines in a single venue in , a record previously held by the Taito Station in Fuchū, Tokyo for having 454 machines.[17] As of , Yuka Nakajima of Japan holds the Guinness World Record for being the most successful claw machine player due to winning more than 3,500 Rilakkuma teddy bears from claw machines.[18][19] In , claw machines accounted for more than half of the revenue at Japanese arcades, according to the Japan Amusement Industry Association.[20] Japanese claw machines can also contain cakes as prizes.[21][22]

The number of claw machine arcades and the popularity of claw machines both experienced a sharp increase in South Korea in and , specifically in Seoul neighborhoods with universities like Hongdae and Sinchon. From to , the number of South Korean claw arcades increased from 20 to 1,900, while mentions of claw machines on Korean social networks also increased during that time. Korea JoongAng Daily and The Korea Herald attributed the increased interest to South Korea's harsh economy at the time leading to a desire for cheap entertainment, while U.S. News & World Report associated it with the country's increasing youth unemployment.[23][7][24]

In Taiwan, where claw machine arcades are usually open all day and owners sublet their machines to different operators, claw machines became especially popular as inexpensive entertainment starting in , due to their costing NT$10 to use. The number of claw machine arcades in Taiwan increased from 920 in to 3,353 in and, as of , there are more than 10,000.[25] A survey of children aged seven to 18 reported 32.7 percent of them using claw machines one to three days a week and over four percent using them every day.[26] The Central Bank of the Republic of China increased their budget in to produce more NT$10 coins to accommodate the increasing popularity of claw machines in Taiwan. By , the average monthly revenue for operating a claw machine was around NT$5,000.[4]

The largest claw machine arcade in China, LJJ Station in Beijing, has more than 60 machines with stuffed toy versions of characters from WeChat animations.[27] Before , claw machines were popular in Thai shopping malls; a survey conducted by the advocacy group No Gambling Youth Club stated that 75 of the 92 shopping malls surveyed contained 1,300 claw machines collectively.[28][29]

United States

In the United States, claw machines became ubiquitous in the s.[2] They are common at carnivals, grocery stores, shopping malls, arcades, amusement parks, and bowling alleys.[30][31] The world's largest claw machine, according to Guinness World Records, is a 17 by 8 by 12 feet machine designed by the Dayton, Ohio-based creative agency Real Art and opened in .[32]

There were many instances of children getting stuck inside of claw machines in the United States throughout the s, including in Tennessee, New York, Kentucky, Nebraska, Pennsylvania,[32] North Carolina,[33] and Texas.[34]

Online and in popular culture

Online claw machines are claw machines controlled remotely online, with prizes that get shipped to users' homes upon being won.[35] Since the s, mobile apps, such as Clawee in Israel and Sega Catcher Online in Japan, and websites, such as Netch in Japan and the Santa Claw in the United States, have allowed users to remotely use claw machines stored in warehouses in their respective countries.[36][37][6][38]

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game Kirby's Adventure includes a minigame based on the UFO Catcher, while the PlayStation game Bomberman World has a UFO catcher-themed battle stage.[15][39] Sega's video game Yakuza and its sequels Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami also feature UFO Catcher machines.[40][41][42] The video game Link's Awakening includes a claw machine as a side activity.[43] In the film Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody climb into a claw vending machine filled with claw-worshipping aliens.[44] In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Skill Crane" from its fourth season, Squidward becomes addicted to trying to win a prize from a claw machine.[45] Claw machines have also been featured in the music videos for Delta Heavy's song "Take Me Home", Corpsegrinder's song "Bottom Dweller", and the City Girls' song "Good Love".[46][47][48]

Legality

North America

The passing of the Johnson Act by Congress in , which prohibited the transfer of electronic gambling devices across state lines, led to Miami Diggers at carnivals being destroyed by operators or seized by government officials. Carnival owner Lee Moss organized other carnival owners together to protest against the classification of the diggers as gambling machines. Because of this, a compromise was soon reached that allowed carnival owners to keep the diggers but required them to be manually operated with no coin slot and prizes that were not money and worth one dollar or less, while the government would tax each machine US$10. Regulations loosened in due to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) abandoning the Johnson Act.[2] As of , state regulations generally require that claw machines contain less valuable prizes.[31] Most states exempt claw machines from their gambling laws.[49]

In California, claw machines are considered slot machines and their ownership and operation are prohibited by Penal Code Section 330b.

In New Jersey, claw machines are regulated by the Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission. In , New Jersey Senator Nicholas Scutari proposed legislation that would add specifications to prevent claw machines from being unwinnable.[49] In response to a spate of lawsuits against California claw game operators, attorney Bob Snyder advised claw machine owners to avoid using the word "skill" in the game description decal present on most machines.[50]

In other jurisdictions, such as Alberta, Canada, skill cranes are illegal unless the player is allowed to make repeated attempts (on a single credit) until he or she wins a prize.[51] Skill cranes in single-play mode (where the player has only one chance per credit to try for a prize) were found by the Ontario Court of Appeal to be essentially games of chance, and therefore prohibited except at fairs or exhibitions, where they are covered by an exemption.[52]

Asia

Claw machines were outlawed in Thailand after being classified as gambling devices by the Supreme Court of Thailand in , though, until , laws prohibiting their use were rarely enforced.[28] In , the Ministry of Interior in Thailand ordered a nationwide ban on claw machines after activists protested against their widespread availability.[29] However, the public prosecutor of Chiang Mai ruled in that claw machines were vending machines rather than gambling machines and were therefore legal.[53] South Korean law dictates that claw machines cannot carry prizes worth over &#;5,000 to prevent addiction. An investigation by South Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee in found that the majority of claw machines they randomly inspected broke Korean law.[24] The Consumer Protection Committee of the Executive Yuan stated in that their investigation of claw machines in Taoyuan, New Taipei City, Kaohsiung, Taipei City, Tainan, and Taichung found that 70 percent of them contained illegal adult products such as vibrators and e-cigarettes.[54] In , the Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore proposed capping the value of prizes in claw machines at S$100 in order to, according to them, "address the inducement effect of high-value prizes, without increasing the regulatory burden on operators".[55] In March , Brunei has banned claw machines as they have been deemed haram due to its gambling elements.[56]

Chances of winning

Since the s, advertising for claw machines has suggested that they are able to be won completely through strategy and skill. Claw machines can be set to give players a chance of winning during every paid turn if they use a "Play Till Win" setting.[3] Settings like claw strength&#;which is controlled by the amount of voltage sent to a claw&#;and "dropping skill"&#;the ability of a claw to drop a prize back into the machine after picking it up&#;are frequently modified by arcade owners to control the odds of a player winning and are often based on how much money the machine has earned.[31] Claw machine strength-control has been reported in the United States, South Africa, South Korea, and Singapore.[30][3][24][57]

On social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, videos of people using claw machines and offering modifications for how to get prizes from them were popular in the s and s.[58][3] A report by Vox's Phil Edwards describing how claw machines were often rigged went viral online and became controversial among claw machine enthusiasts.[59] A report by Jeff Rossen for the American TV program Today showing the same thing prompted the American Amusement Machine Association, which represents arcade game manufacturers across the United States, to make their members sign a "Fair Play Pledge" in that required their machines to be winnable through skill alone.[60] The book How to Beat the Claw Machine: Tips and Tricks to Help You Win Big, written by American arcade owner Brian McKanna, offers tips on how to win prizes at claw machines, which he described as "absolutely rigged".[61]

According to a report by News24, most claw machines in South Africa can be set to only allow players to win if the machine has earned a certain amount of money.[62] A manual for the Intelligrab operating system, made by Belgian manufacturer Elaut, encourages claw machine owners to create the illusion that the player almost won the prize, and owners can adjust machines' claw strength per turn.[3]

References

Have you ever found yourself standing in front of a claw machine, eyes locked on that perfect plush toy, only to watch the claw frustratingly drop it just before reaching the prize chute? You&#;re not alone! Claw machines, also known as crane games, are designed to be as captivating as they are challenging. But how do claw machines work? Let&#;s break it down step by step and explore the intricate claw machine mechanism that leaves us all hooked.

How Do Claw Machines Work in 4 Steps?

The operation of a claw machine typically follows these steps:

1. Insert Coins: Insert coins until the screen shows that the game credits are greater than one, indicating that the game is ready to start.
2. Move the Joystick: The game begins, and you can control the movement of the crane by using the joystick. Move the crane directly above the prize you want to grab.
3. Press the Button: Press the control button, and the crane will lower the claw. Once the claw touches the prize or the bottom, it will close, lift the prize, and raise to the highest point. The crane will then return to the prize chute. Once it reaches the chute, the claw will open, allowing the prize to drop into the prize slot.
4. Crane Resets: The crane returns to its starting position, completing the whole game process.

In the following paragraphs, we&#;ll break down each step to help you fully grasp the claw machine and its claw mechanism.

The Start of the Game: Player Interaction

So, you&#;re ready to give it a go. You drop your coin or swipe your card, and just like that, the machine comes to life. The screen lights up, music plays, and you&#;re in control. This is where the fun begins.

You&#;ll notice the joystick and a couple of buttons. The joystick lets you maneuver the claw horizontally (left, right) and vertically (forward, backward). The button? That&#;s your magic touch &#; press it to lower the claw. But before you get too excited, timing and precision are key here.

Claw Movement: The Mechanics Behind It

As you move the joystick, the claw responds with a gentle whirring sound. What&#;s happening under the hood? The claw is gliding along the X and Y axes, driven by motors that receive signals from the control panel. This is the part where your skill (or maybe a little luck) comes into play. You&#;ve got to align the claw just right over the prize you want, but here&#;s the catch &#; most machines have a time limit for this part, adding a layer of pressure.

The Moment of Truth: Claw Descent

You&#;ve lined up the claw, and now it&#;s time to go for it. A quick press of the button sends the claw descending towards your chosen prize. This downward movement is controlled by a separate motor operating along the Z axis (that&#;s the up and down direction). The claw opens up as it lowers, ready to grasp whatever lies beneath it.

Grabbing the Prize: The Claw&#;s Grip

Now, here&#;s where things get interesting &#; and sometimes, a little frustrating. When the claw reaches the lowest point, it closes around the prize. But the strength of that grip? That&#;s where the machine&#;s programming comes into play.

You might notice that sometimes the claw feels strong and firm, while other times it&#;s a bit on the weak side. This isn&#;t just in your head; 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.

The Claw&#;s Return: Will It Hold?

Once the claw has (hopefully) grabbed the prize, it begins its journey back to the starting position, moving upwards and then horizontally over to the prize chute. This is where your heart might start racing &#; will the prize stay in the claw&#;s grip, or will it slip out at the last second?

If the claw does hold on, it will drop the prize into the chute, and voila! You&#;re a winner. But if not, it&#;s back to square one.

The Game Resets

Whether you&#;ve won or lost, the claw returns to its original position, ready for the next time or next player. The machine resets itself, ensuring that everything is in order for the next round of play. Some machines might even enter a sort of &#;attract mode,&#; with flashing lights and catchy tunes to draw in the next hopeful player.

The Technology Behind the Claw Machines

Now, let&#;s talk about the brains behind the operation.

Control System

Inside every claw machine is a control system, often a microcontroller, that processes all the inputs from the joystick and buttons, controls the motors, and even determines the claw&#;s grip strength. Some machines are programmed with a payout rate, meaning they&#;re designed to allow a win only after a certain number of plays. This ensures the claw machine store stays profitable while still offering players a fair shot at winning.

Attract Mode

When idle, many machines enter &#;attract mode,&#; where lights flash, music plays, and sometimes the claw even moves on its own to grab the attention of potential players.

Maintenance and Management

Claw machine manufacturers allow operators can use the machine&#;s control interface to adjust settings like claw strength, game duration, and payout rates. They also manage prize inventory and ensure the machine runs smoothly.

Conclusion

Claw machines aren&#;t just about luck; they&#;re a fascinating blend of claw machine mechanism, electronics, and a dash of psychology. They&#;re designed to be challenging but not impossible, keeping players coming back for that elusive win. The next time you find yourself in front of a claw machine, you&#;ll know exactly what&#;s happening behind the scenes &#; and maybe, just maybe, that knowledge will give you the edge you need to finally snag that prize.

FAQs on Claw Machines Mechanism

1. Why do claw machines seem to drop prizes on purpose?

Many claw machines are programmed with adjustable grip strength, making it harder to win on every attempt. This feature ensures the machine remains profitable while still providing players a chance to win.

2. How often do claw machines allow players to win?

The frequency of wins can vary based on the machine&#;s settings. Some machines have a payout rate that controls how often the claw&#;s grip is strong enough to secure a prize.

3. Can the skill of the player influence the outcome?

Yes, player skill can influence the outcome, especially in positioning the claw correctly over the prize. However, the claw&#;s grip strength and timing are also crucial factors.

4. What happens if a machine malfunctions during gameplay?

If a claw machine malfunctions, it&#;s usually equipped with a reset function. Players might need to contact the arcade staff for assistance, and in some cases, they may be compensated for their lost game.

5. Are there any strategies to increase the chances of winning?

While there&#;s no surefire way to win, some players find success by observing the machine&#;s payout pattern, focusing on lighter or easier-to-grab prizes, and practicing precision with the joystick controls.

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