Arcade Cranes Blatantly Cheat

[Darth Sensei]

I knew these things didn't grip hard enough to lift stuff but I didn't realize that these things are actually programmed to cheat. Take a look.

http://funhouse.bubble.ro/320/How_to_beat_the_Crane_Game/

[dcescott]

I'll do that!
Creepy though....
I'm gonna hang out at Chuck E Cheese for my daughter's B day coming up ,watch children drain their tokens and force my way in and win WIN WIN.

[Mattiekrome]

LOL

How cool is that, I always thought they cheated but never wanted to believe it. Now I have no choice. That guy at the end of the vid gets real excited about his bulldog that he wins

[FooFighter]

I know a lot of it has to do with the way they pack the goods in there making them hard to get.

[boatofcar]

Warning: If you live in the US, do not try this as it will not actually work. In the United States, any machine that has a "payout adjustment" is highly illegal outside of a casion. When you take it away from a game of skill and make it a game of chance, it becomes a lottery/gambling machine. Pinball machines were illegal in lots of states (New York comes to mind as the big one) until the 1980s because the amusement industry couldn't prove it was a game of skill and not chance. Finally, they had a skilled player play for a group of congressman/senators/state officials (one or more of those, I can't remember) for hours. After that, they made them legal as long as they weren't played for money or prizes.

[SegaAges]

LOL Well, not all of them have a giant box inside with dials like that, and some don't have a payoff adjustment at all, so that strategy won't work with everything out there.

But then Brainiac is far from real science :p

Not to go too far OT, there's also videos on how to cheat vending machines:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/307820/cheating_snacks_vending_machines/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJn9HLPM_0Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIUSonlasl8

Don't know how well they work, but it's worth trying :)

Ah yes, the B1G1F technique for coke machines. I used to do that when I worked for a call center.

That reminds me of the websites that say how to get into the debug menus of coke and pepsi machines (just google search for it if you are curious, the sites are everywhere).