Claw Machines

Lets go out on a limb here and talk about a really old form of games: Claw machines. These babies have been around in one form or another since the 40's. Nowadays they mostly populate arcades and grocery stores, trying to get parents to waste money on there kids in an attempt to win "that cute bear". I was one of those kids, but my mom was actually good at claw machines and managed to win me some good toys. She passed on her secrets to me and with my natural gamer skills, I soon became a beast at these machines, totally screwing up the whole economic model of the game ( you lose more money than the animal is worth).

wrong side, but grab some toys while you're there.

Most people consider claw machines to be really unfair and absolutely freak out when they win (as evidenced by all the really boring pictures of toys being picked up I found during image searching). While not totally wrong, these people fail to realize that claw machines are about the last skill prize game left in arcades. So I will share my families wining claw machine tactics with you readers so you to can go home with cheap stuffed animals that you then gift to your neighbors kids (normally, I don't keep my winnings, but they make great gifts). I am not including the candy machines that let you play until you win, those are really dull.

1. First, determine if the machine is winnable. This may sound like I am contradicting myself, but not all claw machines are created equal. Here's what to avoid. Giant Claw machines: the prizes are so tempting, but the claws are waaaay too weak for the big ass prizes. Claw machines with anything that isn't a stuffed animal for a prize: again, watches are tempting, but claws were really designed for wrapping around limbs, not watch loops. If a machine avoids those pitfalls, it may still be unbeatable simply because the claw is too weak or closes very late. You will have to waste a few quarters to find this out, but it usually becomes obvious that you are loosing because the machine fails, not you. If the machine is anything like the ones I mentioned above, move on and never play them again; maybe we can put the crap claw makers out of business. 
2. Once you know the machine is a "skill" claw machine, you now must familiarize yourself with the machine and its unique rules. Some machines have direction buttons instead of a joystick and you can only press each button once. Most machines have a time limit, find out what it is. Does that claw extend  until it hits something, or does it extend all the way down no matter what? How close to the walls can you get? Does the drop chute get in your way? Spend a couple quarters familiarizing yourself, you aren't going to win until you know the machines quirks. The holy grail of claw machines is one that will close the claw when you push the drop button again. It may sound annoying, but the level of control is a godsend.
3. Now that you have your skills ready, you need to pick your targets. If you are playing to win, you need to aim for the winnable prizes. Claws are good at picking up things when they manage to get there claws UNDER them, not around. Claws in general have terrible friction, so trying to grip from the sides isn't going to work usually. Want you want to do is cradle the toy, but the doesn't mean you have to cradle the whole toy. You can cradle the head and occassionaly the feet; then when the claw lifts you are cradling something and the rest of the toy just gets dragged along. Look for medium sized toys that have limbs for you to aim the claw through or round toys you can easily envelope. Narrow, tall toys are tougher. Also, the toys sitting on top without many neighbors are easier to work with. If you are shooting for a specific toy, don't let me stop, but be warned: these machines are stocked by a person who usually know how to arrange the good prizes so they look gettable, but are actually strategically surrounded so grabbing them is difficult. 

you can't tell me you aren't tempted

Well that's about it: a quick summation of everything I know about winning claw machines. Its something of an art to pick your targets, but controlling of the claw is a pretty easily developed skill. Now go out there and win my readers. Give me a buzz if any of you beat my record of 15 toys in one night (in about 40 credits). Dave and Busters was pissed.