The earliest crane games were fairly honest. They preset the grab strength, and with skill you could get the claw to lock onto a prize. But then the geeks came along and started winning all the prizes, so they introduced a percentage based system.
Most modern machines let you set a threshold based on the cost of play and the value of the prize.
If someone has just won then the machine will use low grab strength, or worse - it will lower the strength after closing so the toy drops just as you thought you'd won it. Then when the machine has earned enough to cover the cost of the prizes, it will gently increase the strength so that you win a prize. But it still requires skill to get the claw in the right place to grab it at that point.
Modern machines have an interesting calibration mode, where they can "learn" the gripability of a plushie by making repeated attempts to grab it from a known position.
Some operators are more generous than others, and a particular arcade may have a more generous machine amongst the others.
Different countries have different regulations for cranes. In the UK they are governed by the UK Gambling Commission:-
[ Ссылка ]
In other countries they have different regulations and may insist on the machines being set for genuine skill, but often find ways around that by using setups where you have to gradually nudge a prize closer to the prize chute.
You can buy a full crane machine for home use if you want, but the novelty of playing it will soon wear off. Winning a prize in an arcade will mean so much more.
You can also buy kits of parts online, if you fancy building the case yourself. (But a fully built machine will be more "complete".) The kits usually come with the gantry, controls, PCBs, light curtain (to detect a win), wiring loom and power supply. You usually have to provide the case and main gantry rails yourself.
Here's the AliExpress listing (not a sponsor) that I bought this claw from:-
[ Ссылка ]
I got the medium size.
As always - shop around and use PayPal as a security layer when buying.
If you enjoy these videos you can help support the channel with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random gadgets for disassembly at:- [ Ссылка ]
This also keeps the channel independent of YouTube's algorithm quirks, allowing it to be a bit more dangerous and naughty.
#ElectronicsCreators
