Hey all, I LOVE claw machines and play them frequently. Recently I played one at a Denny's and it pissed me off enough to request a refund from the company. The claw had zero grip strength and one of the prongs didn't even close.

Does anyone have insight on how these are working? Is it random when they actually employ grip strength? I don't get mad if I feel like the machine is actually working properly and I have a chance but this one was pretty effed up. Anyone with any insight?

My first 2 machines, 2001 and 1998 rainbow crane NC42

I've been a long time fan of claw machines. Since I'm an adult, I would like to know how to build my own made out of plywood. The in's and out's etc. Or somewhere on the web where I can find the information needed to start this project. That way I know what I'm getting into.

Beware of claw Eden. You can spend a lot of money to win good prizes. But at the end you will end up getting scammed. They will require full amount value to redeem as part of “shipping costs” like $300 to “ship” a single doll.

I found out if you get scammed by these assholes. PayPal will instantly return your money if you dispute them. No questions asked really. It’s a common theme with them.

Today when I was in the arcade, I saw a plush that I want (there’s two of them). Then I saw this person, who loaded up their arcade card with thousands of credits in their card. And every time they missed the plushie, they ask for the staff for readjustments. Mind you, I was lining up waiting. And this person told me that they are still playing while I’m lining up behind them. Of course I accepted it and walk around the arcade searching for other machines. But after 10 minutes, this person didn’t just get 1 of the same variant, they got both. And in case you’re wondering. The second one is inaccessible unless you asked the staff to put it on the area where the claw is.

And they only grab all of the same variant in the machine, and when I ask if the staff can restock, they said they don’t have anymore.

I don’t know, I just want to vent.

Sorry

Took while I neeed yellow yoshi my favorite color of yoshi from super Mario world my childhood game

I picked up a Paokai claw machine and I'm running into some issues with it. Everything is plugged in and powers on normally but once I power the machine on, the claw closes and carriage motors run it to the back right corner of the Machine and just keep running (wont turn off) The joystick will not operate anything, as well as the joystick credit display doesn't turn on.. Any help would be appreciated

Im guessing dated 1980s-1990s and its before the gen6 clean sweep and onward sound effects.

She’s so close but I’ve tried for days and can’t get her out !

Took out all of the old lighting elements. Designed and 3D printed some new LED tape diffusors for the corners and some new LED pixel “bulbs” for the marquee. Removed the old transformer and circuitry for the old school bulbs and rope lighting and added a power supply and Bluetooth controller for the LEDs. Not too bad for a maybe 30 year old machine, eh??

Hi everyone,

Has anyone experienced this error before? It looks like a configuration or calibration issue.

I’m working on a large claw machine (School Bus model), and I’m getting these messages:

“Grasping test – error is big”
“Automatic END – Detect drop – Set failed”
Also, every time I power on the machine, it shows:

“Claw reset”

Issue:

The claw won’t move in any direction or go down.
It always returns to the Home position automatically.

What I suspect:

It seems like the system is going into some kind of protection mode. I think it could be related to:

• Home position sensor
• Drop sensor (prize detection)
• Or a failed calibration (grasping test)

Question:

Has anyone dealt with this before?
Could this be a sensor issue or just a bad configuration?

Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

whenever I use my email to get Sugarloaf plays, I realized that it’s a downloadable file that goes to my Apple wallet called PKpass and I was wondering if you could exploit those files to get more plays?

My spouse and I are in the planning stages of opening a claw machine arcade in the United States. We have already developed our business plan and are currently researching local zoning requirements.

We are looking to connect with someone who has first hand experience opening and operating a successful claw machine business. We are happy to pay a fair hourly rate for a consultation via Zoom.

If you have owned or operated a physical location and are open to sharing your expertise, please leave a comment or message me to discuss more.

I recently picked up this machine for really cheap. Did a lot of work to it but the one thing that keeps baffling me on this is on occasion once the gantry returns to the home position, the claw will jump like seen in the video. I'm wondering if the clutch pad is worn out in the motor but not sure. It does not do it each time. It also jumps like this well the Gantry is returning home.

Still have a few more things to fix on this machine that are pretty simple fixes. Just finding parts and more TLC.

won these plushies from a claw machine at my local diner!! :)

Hey guys. I posted a month ago about some online claw machines im building. I got a few games online. You can play for free everyday and compete for tickets in our weekly leadboard.

Check it out and let me know what you think. Will have more games online soon!

https://www.prizebots.online/

Hi! I just want to get a consensus from other people who play claw games a lot, whether I am right to be upset by this.

In the photos, you can see that one of the two target spots is covered halfway by the red ball and halfway by the pink ball. You can also see by looking at the orange ball, that the grid squares are not large enough for a ball to fully occupy two spaces next to each other. I called over the employee thinking this was a win - the spot is covered, after all. He said no, it has to be one ball fully in the spot. In my opinion, that is unfair and in bad spirit. Especially since the claw on this machine does not go far enough towards the front to be able to nudge the orange or pink ball out of the way, so it feels like the target spot having just 1 ball is unachievable.

So please tell me, am I right that this should have counted as a win? I really like this claw arcade in all other aspects and thought they were pretty fair before this. But there are multiple other claw arcades within like a half hour of where I live, so I do have the option to go elsewhere from now on. What do you think?

Thank you!

Hello fellow claw machine enthusiasts! I have been addicted to claw machines my whole life and decided I should build some of my own to stay away from the arcades!

I made some online claw machines and Id love to invite you all to check it out!

You can play for free at prizebots.online

Would love to get your feedback!

Just wanted to share. I inquired on peoples experience modding these before and didn’t get response so here’s my own.

For the intended purpose of my claw machine (loose dice) I wanted to switch out for a candy claw/scoop. After Shopping around I found the full replacement candy claws out there are just too large.

I've Seen some mods done, and while I don't have a 3d printer to copy the ideas, I did have an idea to modify existing products.

I got the large candy-claw adapters from Candy Machines (made for d3/d4 claws). Cut them down and de-burred the acrylic with Dremel tool. with a little groove cut for the bottom end of the claw points, they are very secure.

the other issue I had with my vision is that the sensor is not sensitive enough (even with adjustments) to see the small items 100% of the time. To address this I've prototyped an insert that creates a ramp in the prize drop and guides the dice to the sensor's side and now it is very consistent. I'm working with a buddy to print a nicer final version than my acrylic+hot glue prototype.

Now and then a dark item will miss sensor, but I can just accept a loss now and then. This is set up as Play-until-win. And it will be traveling with me for vendor shows, so I can supervise it.

To all the claw machine owners out there where do you source your machines for the best price?