How to Beat the Arcade Crane Game

Arcades are a thing of the past, but one thing you still often see in stores is one of those crane machines with prizes in them. There is a way to win at this game.

Instructions

1. Decide which machine to use. Some machines will only allow you to move the claw, then, when the timer runs out, the claw will drop by itself. Using this machine will not let you to choose where to drop the claw. The type of crane game you want to play is where you get to press a button to make the crane drop.

2. Decide which toy you want to try to win. If any part of the toy--an arm, leg, tail or anything else--is trapped under another toy, then don't bother with it. A claw can lift a toy but not pull it out from under another one.

3. There are mirrors inside a crane game to try to fool your depth perception. When you move the claw left and right, look through the front of the machine. When you are moving the claw forward and backward, line up the claw with your toy by looking through the side window of the machine.

4. Press the button to drop the claw. Some of these games are rigged. If a claw does not grip onto the toy, then don't bother playing again. If the claw grips onto the toy but drops it, try again. Some claws will twist when they come down. Take that into consideration when trying a second time. You'll probably almost never get a toy on the first try so be sure to bring enough quarters for multiple attempts.

5. Keep in mind some of the games are complete luck. Some crane games have a setting the operator can use to decide how often the claw grips tight enough to lift a toy.