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Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: fixedpigs on January 30, 2007, 11:29:05 am

Title: beat the crane game...!
Post by: fixedpigs on January 30, 2007, 11:29:05 am
here's a video of what has been discussed on byoac before...

http://ebaumsworld.com/2007/01/win-the-crane-game.html

it's neat to see the box inside...
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Fozzy The Bear on January 30, 2007, 06:43:54 pm
They're actually not all like that one.......

The three cranes we have are computer controlled..... So much so that you can tell them:
1) what the average cost of the toys is.
2) how much you want to get for them.

The crane itself then works out how hard to grab and when to slacken the grab strength and counts the payouts to ensure that it is only paying out the number of toys you want it to. It also includes randomizers so that the method of counting the number of times between payouts doesn't work. In fact they can payout three toys in a row then nothing for ages then another one toy then a smaller gap then two toys...etc etc... You get the idea.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Chris on January 30, 2007, 09:35:43 pm
I always knew those things had to be cheating!
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: sphetr2 on January 30, 2007, 09:37:10 pm
RUN! It's Ebaum's!
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: StephenH on January 31, 2007, 03:03:58 am
So these things are more like slot machines that pay animals than true skill?
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Glaine on January 31, 2007, 01:35:18 pm
Unless you were to tweak the machine to play right, in which case it is your machine and you have nothign really to win from it.

You could put your shirts and ties in there, would make an interesting story for why you were late to work. At least the first time it happens.


And to quote a song by Lemon Demon:
"From SomethingAwful on to Fark, with his trusty Watermark, he stole it all and stuck it on EBaum's World.com"
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Fozzy The Bear on January 31, 2007, 01:51:39 pm
So these things are more like slot machines that pay animals than true skill?

As W.C.Fields said:  "Never give a sucker and even break"

Of course they're like a slot machine..... LOL What did you think, maybe that arcade operators were going to give the toys away?? LOL  :cheers: You don't get nothing for nothing in this world.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: needlesmcgirk on January 31, 2007, 01:55:43 pm
Man, I can't believe that!  I just always thought you had to have some skill to win those things.  I'm so naive...
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: DarkBubble on January 31, 2007, 02:11:36 pm
That explains why I managed to snag three in a row one day and never again.  After a handful of losses, I know when to quit a machine.  That's why one trip to the slots was enough for me.

On another note, among all the cutesy toys in a crane machine outside Wal-Mart, I once saw a Chucky doll.  I wish I'd had a digital camera back then.
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Glaine on February 01, 2007, 02:10:30 am
Man, I can't believe that!  I just always thought you had to have some skill to win those things.  I'm so naive...

I've thought they might be just a little rigged, but I felt the same way.
I kept waiting for the model where the claw tips invert the oposite direction once you get the toy in the air to really push you over the edge.
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: _) (V) (-) on February 01, 2007, 08:42:42 am
I notice they didn't show the thumbtacks holding the toys to the bottom of the cage.  >:D
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: shardian on February 01, 2007, 09:18:56 am
When I worked at Krogers in college, the vendor who filled that machine put rubber bands on the claws to help people win. I went home everyday with one or two animals for the misses. It was one of the older machines that only took one quarter, had an up button and a side button - no timer. I don't play the fancy schmancy ones with big claws, joysticks, and timers because they are definitely rigged. That is neat to see how rigged they are though.
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: sphetr2 on February 01, 2007, 04:28:36 pm
How to beat the system (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/how-to-dominate-the-arcade-claw-game-225809.php)
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: BobA on February 01, 2007, 04:33:25 pm
 :blah:

Same video as first message in thread (different location thats all)
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: sphetr2 on February 01, 2007, 04:42:33 pm
:blah:

Same video as first message in thread (different location thats all)

Exactly. Anything but ebaum's.
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Glaine on February 02, 2007, 10:00:12 am
:blah:

Same video as first message in thread (different location thats all)

Exactly. Anything but ebaum's.

And someone in the reply thread of that one posted this article about a kid crawling into a claw game:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12057691/
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Kaytrim on February 02, 2007, 10:05:14 am
:blah:

Same video as first message in thread (different location thats all)

Exactly. Anything but ebaum's.

Call me naive but what is the deal with ebaum's website? ??? ???
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Glaine on February 02, 2007, 10:26:41 am
Everyone gets in a huff about him because he has been notorious for taking stuff off of other popular pages, watermarking the material as his own, and posting it all on his page - along with ads cuz he thinks he deserves revenue for stealing others work. Or thats the rumor.  ;D
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Hockeyboy on February 04, 2007, 05:10:20 am
I always knew there were some shenanigans going on with these types of machines, but geez...  :badmood: :banghead:

...I need to find that video again and show it to my kids so they'll stop bugging me about trying to win.
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: patrickl on February 04, 2007, 05:39:51 am
...I need to find that video again and show it to my kids so they'll stop bugging me about trying to win.
But then they will want you to stick around counting when the machine will start to give away a toy. That will take much longer ...
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Fozzy The Bear on February 04, 2007, 07:22:08 am
...I need to find that video again and show it to my kids so they'll stop bugging me about trying to win.
But then they will want you to stick around counting when the machine will start to give away a toy. That will take much longer ...

and if it's a newer crane (less than 10 years old) counting won't work anyway.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Hockeyboy on February 04, 2007, 08:35:27 am
^^^

Why is that, Fozzy? New electronics built in designed to stump the would-be sucker, err, I mean, player?
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Fozzy The Bear on February 04, 2007, 09:59:44 am
Why is that, Fozzy? New electronics built in designed to stump the would-be sucker, err, I mean, player?

See my post earlier in this thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62661.msg623130#msg623130 (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=62661.msg623130#msg623130)

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: TheGreg on February 05, 2007, 06:38:41 pm
Remember the "Play til you win" candy crane games?  They were awesome, I'd put my foot in the door where the candy gets dropped, so the sensor wouldn't go off, then just keep getting more and more candy.  I guess that's why they don't have them anymore.
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: ahofle on February 05, 2007, 06:45:42 pm
So basically these are gambling machines, nothing more.  Granted the payouts are 3 year old stuffed toys that smell like cabbage, but still.  Why should I have to fly to Vegas or New Jersey to legally gamble when any kid can do it at the local Chuck E Cheese's!  :laugh2:
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Fozzy The Bear on February 05, 2007, 07:20:07 pm
So basically these are gambling machines, nothing more.  Granted the payouts are 3 year old stuffed toys that smell like cabbage, but still.  Why should I have to fly to Vegas or New Jersey to legally gamble when any kid can do it at the local Chuck E Cheese's!  :laugh2:

ROFLMAO..... :laugh2: :laugh2:  Well yes and no.... They are effectively a gambling machine. That said in the arcade I work in we fill the cranes up twice a day in the summer. So depending on the operator they can be a very reasonable and fair payout.

The thing is that with a fair minded operator, you'll be paying roughly the same as you'd pay for the toy if you went into a shop and bought it. However, there are as you noted a few scumbags out there that just want to cheat you out of your money!  NOT where I work.

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)
Title: Re: beat the crane game...!
Post by: Glaine on February 13, 2007, 10:11:18 am
The only thing I wanted to add is a new EBaums bashing game for those who were wondering why people don't like him. Gotta love the instructions page "...its another day to add some fresh, new content. Problem is, you don't use fresh, new content. Don't worry! Other sites do."

The objective is to use a basket to catch other sites content for your site.

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/thiefbaums