-------------------------------------------------------------
"BEATING THE HOUSE" at GAME CENTER MERCHANDISE AND REDEMPTION (v1)
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Use your browser's FIND function to skip right to the part that you want 
if you see any familiar machine names. If you want to submit information, 
see the contact info in the introduction below.

I. Cranes and UFO catchers
Ia. SUGAR LOAF / TOY SHOPPE
Ib. NAMCO / BIG CHOICE
Ic. Others
Id. Japanese UFO CATCHER machines
Ie. Other 'UFO CATCHER' machines
II. Other merchandise games
IIa. LIGHTHOUSE
IIb. SPORTS ARENA
IIc. MOVIE STOP
III. Ticket games
IIIa. SMOKIN' TOKEN
IIIb. DRILL-O-MATIC
IIIc. WONDER WHEEL
IIId. CYCLONE/STORM STOPPER, WHEEL OF FORTUNE, and OTHERS
IV. AT THE COUNTER


------------
Introduction
------------

As a gamer, you probably learned around the time you were 12 that playing 
Street Fighter was a better investment than taking home plastic spider 
rings after wasting all your tokens on that weird thing that spits out one 
to three pity tickets. However, a decade later, chances are you've honed 
your gaming abilities, not to mention your knowledge of math, electronics, 
and physics. It's time to put those skills to work and impress friends, 
family, and potential employers with a bunch of almost-free shit you got 
from the arcade. Let's go!

If you're a parent, have a look at how you can get the most from your 
visit or birthday party at a fun center (particularly read the 'AT THE 
COUNTER' section).

As a former Namco entertainment center employee with a ton of junk won 
from redemption games both on and off-duty, experience taking these things 
apart, putting them back together, and watching customers use them all 
day, as well as being a pretty hardcore gamer and nerd in general, I know 
the function of these things intimately well. If you want to submit 
additional information or info on machines not covered in this FAQ, please 
feel free to submit it.

Contact: [real name removed for fear of previous employers giving me smack 
about info in here]
AIM: paranoiasuper
Email: codeguyty@hotmail.com

--------------------------
I. Cranes and UFO catchers
--------------------------

These are in almost every arcade and in a great deal of restaurants, 
Wal*Marts, bowling alleys, etc. In Japan, there are isles and isles of the 
"UFO Catcher" variety. These vary in difficulty greatly and are often 
considered a poor investment, but only by noobs.

The one most important part of high level crane/UFOC ability is knowing 
what's a retrievable prize BEFORE you play.

The one most important part of high level crane/UFOC ability is knowing 
what's a retrievable prize BEFORE you play.

THE ONE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF HIGH LEVEL CRANE/UFOC ABILITY IS KNOWING 
WHAT'S A RETRIEVABLE PRIZE *BEFORE* YOU PLAY.

Use your eagle-eyes to spot freshly stocked machines with prizes that can 
easily be LIFTED, TILTED, or DRAGGED.

In the US, the two most common crane devices (at least in my territory) 
are the Sugar Loaf / Toy Shoppe machines and the Namco Big Choice 
machines.

GENERAL ADVICE:

DRAGGING prizes out of an overstocked machine that has free all-direction 
movement, when possible, is a great way to get prizes, sometimes more than 
one at a time if it's a real mess.

TILTING prizes into the return, by grabbing and lifting the far end of the 
prize with the crane, is also usually easier than the regular lift and 
drop. Don't just trust your own depth perception, look at the prize and 
crane alignment from different angles. If the game center uses tokens, 
look/ask for a bulk deal to lower your cost per play.

---------------------------
Ia. Super Loaf / Toy Shoppe
---------------------------

The Sugar Loaf / Toy Shoppe machines are recognizable primarily by the 
extra-large three-prong crane arm and the fact that it's probably at a 
grocery store, convenience store, etc. These are usually black-colored, 
somewhat large, and have big, fruity, garish marquees. These are stocked 
and maintained as a route by someone other than the business proprietors 
(thus nobody there has a key, probably).

These are tougher than most to win due to the weak, barely-there grip of 
the crane. It looks like more people win at these than actually do, due to 
very regular and complete re-stocking of the machines. Don't be fooled!

To win anything out of this, the player needs to look for light-weight or 
non-grip (tiltable, draggable) prizes. Ball caps/trucker hats are easy 
pickin's. Plushes, however, are unlikely, even small ones, unless you can 
tilt/knock them over into the return without actually gripping them.

For Toy Shoppe, sometimes it's easier to try to maneuver the hook into a 
loop for merchandise meant to be hung on racks or plushes with loops on 
them. This is possible sometimes, because the arm doesn't tend to 
tilt/rotate that much, and sometimes peculiar inventory can get into them 
(like tiny tool kits at my local convenience store).

SUMMARY: This is one of the tougher machines. Don't play it except for the 
easy, obvious wins or very lightweight prizes. The first step to becoming 
a disciplined master in the art of prize-getting is to pretty much avoid 
these machines. Come back when you can spot easy wins.

--------------------
Ib. Namco Big Choice
--------------------

Big Choice machines often have no name on the marquee, but are usually 
recognizable by the red cabinet, usually with a black control stick with 
red button. The crane has three arms, like Toy Shoppe, but much smaller 
sized. I've seen these in single and triple varieties, and they work just 
the same.

Big Choice machines are great for mastering. The grip strength can be 
changed by the operator, but the margin of difference is pretty 
insignificant. The arm comes down on a line, which may spin pretty 
randomly or get caught sideways on uneven prizes.

To master this, become familiar with what the crane can grip; round items 
are extremely easy and almost guaranteed first-try prizes. Humanoid-shaped 
plushes are very easy if they are lying flat, as the crane can reach 
between its limbs and lift it directly up.

Things to avoid are upright humanoid shapes and oversized items that can't 
be 'tilted' in. Namco arcades in the US often get prize packages that are 
way too large each than are appropriate for these things. Also common are 
elongated plastic capsules or sponges with other prizes inside (like 
YuGiOh cards). These aren't too bad if they are evenly grabbed at the 
center of mass, but are also slippery and may slide out of the crane arm 
if not balanced.

SPOTTING WINNABLES:

Typical Namco arcades restock their machines weekly, usually on 
Wednesday/Thursday as that's the start of their business week. Prizes are 
not placed to be hard to get, just to look nicely arranged (if anything).

Immediately after a machine is restocked, there are many loose, 
easy-to-get prizes (like round and humanoid prizes). Most employees place 
a couple easy to get ones on purpose. It's also very common to overstock 
these, so prizes are easily tilted in. If the pile of prizes is high 
enough, the crane can be moved behind prizes to just push them around 
without even pushing the button! (This happened semi-frequently at my 
place)

All Namco employees are insane, so the stock may be ready to be tilted or 
dragged by the armful, especially after a restock. Heck, even my boss got 
some flak for the DM for not moving prizes FAST ENOUGH, leading to some 
horrific overstocking (free prizes and heavy discounts at the counter). If 
a prize gets stuck in the chute or even snagged on the edge, most of 
employees will be happy to open it up and give it to you (it takes like 3 
seconds).

Sometimes, on the triple-sized machines, it's possible to tilt a prize 
into the return of the next machine. Not something that happens often, but 
it can be an easy win when it does happen.

Because the crane is on a loose cable, you can swing it back and forth and 
knock stuff around and even smack it on the glass. Try this with the extra 
seconds on the clock. I've gotten a couple prizes this way. Not smacking 
the glass, I mean, knocking prizes around with a swinging crane.

Easy prizes are often picked clean after a weekend in a game center, so 
it's better to have a look around Wednesday to Friday. If you can be the 
first person to play it after a restock, you'll probably get a bunch of 
one-try prizes.

SUMMARY: This has a fairly strong grip (as far as crane games go) so it's 
actually a pretty fair game for even non-elite-grabbers. Be familiar with 
the loose-hanging swing. Go for the round and lying-flat humanoid prizes 
and tilt-able prizes. Drag stuff out when it's overstocked. Be the first 
to play after a machine restocking. Skip it if the easy stuff has been 
picked clean after a weekend.

It's not even too hard to get over 50% success rate on this one. Pay 
attention to what the crane arm can do to get the most out of it.

------
OTHERS
------
----------------
Ic. Candy-Man crane:
----------------

This is essentially a crane game for ESPECIALLY little/gullible kids. It 
also sings are terrible song. Chances are no candy in there is worth one 
or two of your tokens tokens, except sometimes a delicious box of Nerds or 
a Chico-stik. Sometimes other stuff gets in there (we put left-overs from 
the redemption counter in it, earning it the nickname 'Garbage Crane.' 
Also, when it arrived at our store, it had a bullet hole through it). If 
there's anything worth getting in there, though, it's pretty much yours 
for the taking, as (all of?) these machines let the player play 
indefinitely until they get at least one prize.

Little kids often give up after one try or leave loose candy in there, so 
hell, reach in there and half the time there's free candy in it.

(Info on other crane game models? Please submit!)

---------------------
Id. JAPANESE UFO CATCHERS
---------------------

I don't know how many of these are in America, but in Japan, game centers 
and isles and isles of them. Initially they may look too hard because they 
only have TWO arms on the crane, but they actually have decent grip and 
less room vertically for the prize to slide out, and it seems to be a 
common trend to have tiltable prizes. Japanese game centers seem to do 
more business than American ones, so they are well staffed and continually 
restock (some places are even open 24 hours). This is good for 
prize-grabbers! If you're visiting Japan, keep in mind that most machines 
take 100-yen pieces. That's almost a dollar. On the other hand, the prizes 
are much cooler and make great souvenirs for all your friends back home.

UFO Catchers generally also have two different sizes of arms. Tiny ones 
for standard size UFO dollars, and bigger ones for oversize dolls, boxes, 
and other stuff. Some of the smaller ones only have ONE arm, even, for 
bumping round prizes off of a pile into the return.

The easiest prizes are plush dolls with big heads in the small-arm size 
machines, which of course are quite common. These are easily tilted 
upright and slid into the return if the stack is high enough, and 
sometimes lifted straight up. (A Pikachu with big ears can be grabbed 
around the face, tilt forward, and be kept in place by its ears.) To grab 
one outright, look for that hourglass/giant-head shape and grab around the 
neck.

Square boxes, as often seen in these machines, are a bad bet. You can't 
even tilt them in!

The arms do not tilt, swing, rotate, and have a fair amount of gripping 
strength. That means less luck involved, leaving it up to skill.

The larger-armed ones are not as easy, but the same rules apply. Gripping 
strength is weaker, so don't count on it. Focus on tilting larger dolls 
into the return. Some of these cost 200 yen, so take note before you put 
the first coin in.

SUMMARY: UFO catchers, despite having two arms, generally have more 
gripping and lifting strength, and are especially great for tilting.

--------------------
Ie. 'OTHER' UFO CATCHERS
--------------------

Besides the standard UFO catchers, there's a variety of other machines 
with unique gimmicks. Japanese places always keep pretty up-to-date 
machines.

---
TWO SETS OF ARMS and ROTATION!
---

This is a risky proposition, but it can be done, and the prizes (like a 
gigantic plush horned beetle) are usually cool enough to be worth it.

Notice that there's probably a third button for moving the arms together, 
and a fourth for rotating the whole mechanism. With these, leverage and 
tilting can be employed to their fullest! On a long, rectangular prize, 
instead of grabbing it by supporting it's weight evenly:

| crane
| ==/|===========|\==
|  |||           |||
|   \|           |/
|
|
| WRONG!
|
|
| |-----------------|
| |----prize--------|
| return  |________________
XX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Move the arms together, lift the far end of the prize, and tilt & push it 
into the return.


| crane
| ========/|====|\==
|        |||    |||
|         \|    |/
|
|
| RIGHT!
|
|
| |-----------------|
| |----prize--------|
| return |__________________
XX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It's the old tilt-in trick again!


------
MANUAL ARM ALIGNMENT MACHINES
------

I haven't seen a lot of these, but I found one and have a huge wall clock 
to show for it.

This isn't completely intuitive, so like a lot of machines, it's a good 
idea to watch someone else play it first.

On this machine, there's a crane the width of the entire game! You must 
move it forward, move the left arm in, then move the right arm in. Then 
the crane drops, moves both arms in about an inch or so, and lifts and 
moves forward towards the return. Don't try this if there isn't anything 
BUT a long, rectangular, tilt-able prize (which, fortunately, is usually 
what's in there). Often, they're raised up a little on a bar so you can 
get under them more easily.

The important thing is that lighter prizes will slide forward far more 
easily, which is actually bad usually, as it will slide forward off the 
crane too quickly and off the bar if it was on it, while not making it 
anywhere near the return. It's probably better to go for the heavier 
prize, as long as it's not a rack of bowling balls or something. Tilting 
skills and weight judgement will win many prizes on this.

---------------------------
II. OTHER MERCHANDISE GAMES
---------------------------

Game centers are filled with other games that usually involve stopping a 
light or spinner at the right time to win a prize. MOVIE STOP, SPORTS 
ARENA, and LIGHTHOUSE are common examples in the U.S.

These are, without exception, rigged to give out prizes only when the 
machine feels like it. The settings at most places are roughly to give out 
a prize after FIVE TIMES the value of the prize has been played through 
the machine. So you should just give up on getting these, right?

WRONG! If you're a regular visitor to the game center (or god forbid, you 
work there), you can watch and note the sometimes shocking consistency of 
the pace that prizes are dispensed. Sometimes there's random variation on 
some machines, or they just don't work right (Movie Stop), but a majority 
of them can be calculated so so that you can throw a few bucks worth of 
tokens/quarters and get a new walkman, PS2 game, etc.

---------------
IIa. LIGHTHOUSE
---------------

LIGHTHOUSE, on the most commonly used settings, gives out a prize roughly 
$50 in value every $250 worth of credits. At my Namco arcade, this was 
almost EXACTLY every 11th day, counting Friday and Saturday (busy days) as 
two days. As such, with careful observation, I was able to snag $150 worth 
of prizes for less than $20 worth of tokens.

LIGHTHOUSE is pretty easy to spot, with it's spinner, lights, and noise. 
It also lets you choose which of six prizes you want. Typically, you get 
three spins to try to get above 5 points, but it doesn't really matter 
what you hit, as the machine decides when it will give out a prize (I won 
without even watching the spinner and just randomly hitting the button 
with a bunch of credits in). This is for the classier, more valuable 
prizes, usually.

One more note about Lighthouse: a factory defect, unless fixed, often 
causes prizes to not register properly with the prize sensor, sometimes 
giving out CONSECUTIVE prizes. Always try a few games immediately after 
you or someone else wins. Sometimes the machine freezes up when this 
happens and will give out a prize after reboot. Also, if a prize gets 
JAMMED in the return (and Namco arcades love to put in overly-large 
prizes), it will not properly register with the prize sensor, and may give 
out additional prizes, provided they will not jam, too. (Example: jam it 
with a big box containing a telephone or something, then drop some PS2 
games past it)

-----------------
IIb. SPORTS ARENA
-----------------

SPORTS ARENA (also seen under many other names, but always has the 
manufacturer's (SAMMY) logo on it). It's not particularly large, has a 
grey finish and black and mirrored interior and a whole bunch of flashing 
lights. The object is to stop the light at one of the red ones, and you 
get the next prize on that rack (there are six racks). This operates under 
the same rules as LIGHTHOUSE, only with even worse odds typically, and 
less often any prizes worth it. Sometimes places like Namco stock them 
with valuable goodies like new GBA games, but usually not. This is also a 
popular route game (my K*Mart has one). It doesn't get a lot of business 
though, so it's not easy or worth it to track most of the time.

If you want to cross the line between being really clever into outright 
breaking-the-rules thuggery, this machine is easy to shake the crap out of 
and get lots of prizes from, provided that nobody is watching, you 
unplugged the machine so the tilt alarm doesn't go off (which isn't that 
loud actually compared to the rest of the game center), and you don't tilt 
the machine over on yourself (duh). The reasons you should NOT do this are 
listed in the "AT THE COUNTER" section, and should probably be intuitive 
anyway. Don't get kicked out of the arcade, and don't be an asshole, 
unless you really, really need that Spongebob keychain.

For arcade operators reading this, I recommend keeping this machine within 
full view of the counter because it's easy to shake down.

---------------
IIc. MOVIE STOP
---------------

Before you play MOVIE STOP, look carefully at the the point where you're 
supposed to stop the light. Hit the button at the arrow next to the big 
'STOP' button, and it coasts to a stop at the row of green lights.

MOVIE STOP usually has decent odds and a good pace of prize-giving, but 
there's a huge quirk/pitfall with it. If it's set to the hardest 
difficulty (1 on a variable from 1-256), it will not operate correctly and 
often will go up to a couple months without giving out a prize. Sometimes 
it will do random, insane shit like give out three movies in a day on this 
setting. If it's on a CORRECT setting (2 or greater), it will give out 
movies at a decent pace. If this is at a Namco arcade, they have been 
instructed to use the hardest setting, but some managers know better. 
Also, unlike with other redemption games, managers buy the inventory 
directly (within a budget), so there can be some rather choice inventory 
sometimes. Watch the inventory of movie stop, and if it moves at all 
(roughly one or two prizes a week at fair business), hit that for it's 
games and anime by playing at the right times, just like LIGHTHOUSE.


-------------------------------------------
III. beating the house at TICKET REDEMPTION
-------------------------------------------

There's a lot of stuff not realized about TICKET REDEMPTION that becomes 
clear and shocking from the other side of the counter. And I will bestow 
upon you these secrets!

Almost all arcades, from Namco to Tilt to independent fun centers, use the 
same ticket redemption system. The ticket cost of their merchandise is 
equal to the cost of the prize to the company, IN CENTS, plus a 10% to 25% 
margin, whatever rounds to nice even number.

ONE TICKET = ONE CENT
ONE TICKET = ONE CENT
ONE TICKET = ONE CENT

Most arcades hit a balance of around 4-7 tickets per token spent. So when 
getting 8 tickets out of a machine for one token seems like big payout, 
well, game centers have a pretty good racket going there, don't they? 
Well, at least it's easy to calculate when you're coming out ahead. But 
hell, if MIT card counters can make hundreds of thousands at Vegas 
casinos, you can be damn sure you can do the same thing at arcades, and 
with a lot less difficulty and back-alley beatings. Also be advised that 
bulk token deals can knock down the cost per token from 25 cents down to 
20 cents, 17.5 cents, or even the much-sought-after 12.5 cents.

The big trick here is that there are at least about a half-dozen machines 
with big weaknesses that will cause them to give out absurd amount of 
tickets with the right knowledge. Aho, and there they are:

--------------------
IIIa. SMOKIN' TOKEN:
--------------------

This has disappeared from many arcades JUST BECAUSE it's so easy to 
hustle. It's played by using timing to flip a token into a doodad, 
apparently. I haven't personally played this machine, but according to 
everyone, ever, it's a simple matter to mark the glass or something and 
get nearly 100% success rate and a big payout of tickets. Watch for this 
one!

--------------------
IIIb. DRILL-O-MATIC:
--------------------

This big machine is operated by positioning a lining up a drill to a hole 
and pushing the prize out (or pushing in a free game or ticket button). 
The prizes aren't really worth going for at most places unless you really 
want a DALE EARNHARDT wristwatch, but the 500 ticket and 5 free games 
buttons are gravy. The challenge is two-fold; the drill will 'coast' a bit 
after the joystick is released, and there's a tough but fair time limit.

The machine has adjustable difficulty (how far/long the drill will 
'coast') and most managers leave it at an easy setting until some wiseguy 
wins two full ticket bundles in a couple hours. The only trick to this is 
practice and raw skill. It's not even THAT hard, but it takes a bit of 
dedication (my arcade had one or two 12-year-olds that could empty the 
machine for a few thousand tickets on one dollar or so). It's probably not 
worth it if it's on the hardest setting, but go for it if it's at a fair 
setting and there are upper-tier ticket prizes available, like video game 
consoles and stuff. Or, shit, fill your garage with bouncy balls. This is 
where the big tickets are if you (or your 12-year-old son) can pull it 
off.

Be warned, though, the ticket/free game buttons are easily removable, and 
managers will do it if they're taking a bit hit from it.

-------------------
IIIc. WONDER WHEEL:
-------------------

This is my favorite because of the pure hustling math and skill, and the 
fact that next to nobody, including arcade managers, knows about this. 
Wonder Wheel is easily spotted as a combination of conveyor-chute and big, 
vertical wheel that looks like the one Bob Barker invites people to spin. 
It also yells "IT'S THE NEW, BIGGER, BETTER, W-W-WONDER WHEEL" about a 
thousand times per hour.

The trick: the gaps on the wheel payout roughly 3-12 tickets, usually, and 
there's a small one that usually pays around 30 tickets. The big trick, 
though, is that after landing a token, ESPECIALLY in the 30, follow-up 
tokens get a multiplier for the next few seconds (the countdown is shown 
on one of the game's counters). With good timing and landing tokens in the 
30, the ticket payout increases EXPONENTIALLY, and the entire bundle 
(3000-5000 tickets) can be cleared out for a couple bucks. If you're a 
veteran game player that probably goes to the arcade constantly for bemani 
and fighting games, chances are the timing skills needed will be cake for 
you.

---------------------------------------------------------
IIId. CYCLONE/STORM STOPPER, WHEEL OF FORTUNE, and OTHERS
---------------------------------------------------------

Cyclone and Wheel of Fortune are subject to the same "when the machine 
feels like it" rule regarding jackpots, as are the many other very similar 
machines (jackpots on Sega's Titanic pretty much never happen, though). At 
probably 25 cents a pop, it's probably not worth it to try to track Wheel 
of Fortune's schedule of jackpots when the average is only about 250 
tickets. Cyclone, however, while having a fairly random variance of 
jackpot payouts, has an increasing jackpot that's plainly displayed. And 
the higher it is, the more likely it is to pay out. Cyclone ALSO requires 
good timing to hit the jackpot light when it's "ready" to give out a 
jackpot. The exact timing is less than 10 milliseconds, I think (the exact 
timing and pretty much complete mechanics of the game were dissected on 
aaroninjapan.com's forums, once - if I find the specifics, I'll get 'em in 
here).

While Cyclone isn't exactly the most reliable (it also gives two or three 
nearly consecutive jackpots on occasion), it's possible to play the odds 
on it.

-------------------
IV. AT THE COUNTER:
-------------------

It's often fun and easy to make well with the customer service guys and 
work it to your advantage. Namco arcades don't count tickets incoming to 
the counter (only outgoing on meters on the ticket mechs on the machines), 
and I doubt other game centers do either, so employees have a LOT of 
leeway to give discounts, be haggled with, or even give freebies out to 
please costumers or to get them to go away. Part of this also depends on 
management, which can lean either way on "make customers happy" or "don't 
give shit away or you're getting written up."

I think advice here is best suited to bulleted points:

- Employees will round up your tickets to make you happy. They will round 
up more if it gets you to decide faster. If you say "oh, shoot, I only 
have 9000 tickets and I want that thing for 10000," they will probably 
round up THAT much. Employees are usually told to try to move the older, 
higher-priced merchandise. Haggling is A-OK!

- Do one tiny nice favor for an employee and they'll give you the world. 
Bring them leftover pizza, cake, soda, etc, from the birthday party your 
kids just had or the fries you're not going to eat from McD's, and they'll 
probably give you a couple bucks in tokens. They're probably not supposed 
to, but it's their people's currency and they have lots for those who do 
even the tiniest of favors.

- Arcades usually have small staff out of massive amounts of applications 
of people with only soft skills. Only two kinds of people work get hired: 
cool people and friends of the manager. Keep in mind that arcade employees 
are generally cool people.

- However, if you steal, tamper with games (LOL SPORTS ARENA), harass 
anyone in the arcade, leave a mess, etc., the employees will hate you 
forever and watch your every move until they find a reason to ban you from 
the arcade forever (one of my favorite hobbies - oh, and there's plenty of 
word of mouth between employees about regular customers, good and bad 
both).

- Kids who beg for tokens get none, ever, but normal arcade-goers who 
mention they are one token short for a game while usually get it topped 
off by a friendly employee.

- If you are a mall security guard, you can probably get free games and 
goodies. Employees like having them around if they're cool, and managers 
LOVE having them around so nobody breaks anything or starts shit.

- If you work in a mall food place, start a black market; food and drink 
for tokens and candy. This is extremely lucrative for both parties. If you 
work at GameStop or some place where arcade nerds like to go, offer up use 
of your employee discount for tokens.

-----------
CONCLUSION:
-----------

Getting the GOODS at arcades is really best done at the cranes and UFO 
catchers, but can be done through ticket redemption as well, and is only 
aided, and not hindered, by employees.

CONTRIBUTORS:
The author
The SA forums
That guy that likes Bridget a bit much
