I’m sure we’ve all wasted a dollar or two on those arcade claw machines in hopes of getting some janky stuffed animal, or plushie Super Mario that seemed like the world’s greatest treasure at the time.
We kick the machine and try one more time, but to no avail, and walk away with the distinct feeling that the whole thing is rigged!
Well as it turns out, we were right!
@clarkatie, who posts renovation content on TikTok, confirmed all of our long held suspicions when she bought a claw machine for her basement.
While doing maintenance on her newly acquired game, she found something tucked away inside the back of the claw machine.
Using what she calls “the Australian essentials” (a pair of kitchen tongs!), she found and removed an operation manual for the claw machine that revealed something shocking about the way these nostalgic machines work.
The manual revealed that the owner of the machine could actually control the rate of success, explaining why so many items would drop from the claw at the last minute.
Even if the player had picked up the prize perfectly, this fixed success rate would cause the prize to drop regardless!
Next she showed the varying win rates the machine can be set to, ranging from the claw functioning perfectly to only one out of every fifty players winning!
Who knew these things were so advanced?
See the scamming for yourself in her original video.
@clarkatie Exposing the claw machine industry !
But her Claw Industry Exposé didn’t stop there!
Here’s an update where she goes on to reveal that the strength of the claw itself can be controlled with a washer that increases/decreases grip strength!
@clarkatie Replying to @Ailsa | MOUNTAIN LIFE 💕⛰ Claw also confirmed rigged🥲 #clawmachine
Some people still had faith in the claw machine, and didn’t believe her discovery!
Some people were more concerned with what the creator was going to put in her Claw Machine.
And this woman said she and her kids had recently been victims of the Claw Machine scam!
Hopefully this information saves you some time at your next trip to the arcade, or bowling alley, or wherever you’re dying to waste a dollar!
Just remember it could be a 1 in 50 chance that your claw works the way it should, but who knows, you might just be that 1 in 50!!