How Can We Be a Better Claw Machine Owner?
Everyone knows how to play the claw machine. Everyone arguably knows which setup is more fun to play than the other. However, not everyone knows how to make a fun claw machine setup. If you’re interested to be a claw machine owner, you’re in luck! There are 2 important barriers you’ll need to cross. (1) Attracting the player to put their first coin to play your setup and (2) Keeping the player to continue putting in more coins to play your setup. Here are 5 things to help in breaking the aforementioned barriers:
1. Put (Instrumentally) Valuable Items In Your Machine
Whatever we like to catch as a claw machine player is vastly different from other claw machine players. Some of us prefer to play easy setups whereby you get to win a fake soft toy within 1–5 tries. Some of us prefer to play setups whereby there is no fake soft toys at all. Some of us prefer to play setups that has figurine boxes, doesn’t matter whether it is fake or not. Some of us prefer to play setups that has more than 7 authentic figurine boxes in the machine with the intent to stack them on top of another. Unless you’re keen to test different category of items every fortnight, it is wise to stick to the classic ever-changing One Piece / Dragon Ball authentic figurine boxes in your setup. It is one of the highest tier items you can put in a claw machine setup. For more valuable items, you can consider authentic Kuji figurines, handphones or household products such as a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
2. Claw Size and Claw Glove
There are different claw sizes fit for different setups. If you’re intending to put small soft toys, you may consider a small or medium claw. If you’re intending to put big soft toys, kindly refrain from choosing a small claw. A small claw would either make the game unplayable, because you can’t even catch the item, or worse, the big toy gets stuck onto the small claw within 1 try and gets transported to the chute immediately. The same goes for figurine boxes. Small claw for small boxes, big claw for big boxes. If you were to use small claw for big boxes, you risk players trying to get your big figurine boxes stuck onto the claw awaiting to be transported to the chute. Also, small claw typically has lesser strength as compared to a big claw. Hence, it is important to consider the weight of the items you’re putting in your setup.
When it comes to claw gloves, there is no need for them if you’re simply putting soft toys in your setup. However, if you’re putting figurine boxes in your setup, it is beneficial to understand the difference between white (plastic) gloves and black (rubber) gloves. White gloves do a good job in gripping the item when it comes to figurine boxes between 180–280g, however the figurine boxes start to go through obvious slips when it is over 300g. This is especially important if you’re putting in different boxes in your setup. If you’re interested to cover more range, black gloves do a good job in gripping the item when it comes to figurine boxes between 250–400g. The disadvantage of black gloves is that due to its ability to hold the item more firmly, it can easily suck the corners of a light box (E.g. 180g — 220g) out and into the chute without even firmly gripping it. Once again, do consider the weight of your figurine boxes before finalizing what gloves you intend to use.
3. Chute Level and Claw Strength
The higher your chute, the lesser players you’ll attract to play your setup. Think about it, when you’re playing claw machine as a player, do you prefer to play a setup with higher chute or lower chute? The answer is apparent. In a scenario where you get to see other players play a setup, would you play that same setup when you witness that the claw has little to no strength? Once again, the answer is obvious. As a claw machine owner, you’ll want to come up with a setup that has the lowest possible chute (or even chuteless) and good claw strength (minimally being able to lift the item to the height of the chute) on every single play. It is not impossible to come up of such setups, we simply need to research the latest trends of Taiwan and Japan.
4. Swingability and Control of Claw
If you’re intending to be a claw machine owner, I take it that you’re familiar with the anti-swing plate. The function of the anti-swing plate is not to prevent players from swinging, more of leveraging on the player’s swing to throw the item back into the play area rather than into the chute. The more you bend the anti-swing plate, the more room there is for players to swing the claw. However, it will reach a point where players simply catch the item once, and the item gets thrown too far off from the chute. Players are immediately discouraged from trying to claw it back near to the chute again. If you were to bend the anti-swing plate too little, there is little room for players to swing the claw. Some players will give up on the machine after a few tries from trying to control an unswingable claw. The sweet spot would be bending the anti-swing plate to an extent where it throws the item away from the chute creating difficulty, but not too far away, and also having enough room for players to swing the claw comfortably in all 4 directions. This setting is difficult, and it should take you anywhere between 5–8 hours to have a good estimate. Be honest to yourself, if you don’t like your own setting, chances are people wouldn’t too.
5. Optimal Position
In mandarin, it is often termed as 槍位. As a player, you only play the claw machine when the item is in an optimal position, not placed ridiculously far from the chute. Hence, it is important to create a setup whereby your item is always situated around the optimal position, despite the (mini) throw of the anti-swing plate. If a player thinks that he is able to catch your toy nearer to the chute within 2–3 tries as compared to a setup that requires 4–6 tries, he is more likely to play your setup. In order to prevent your item from being thrown too far away, you may want to consider reducing or limiting your play area. As a claw machine owner, you shouldn’t be afraid that players are able to catch your item out. In fact, it is a good thing that they are able to catch your item out. It indicates that they had fun and there is a higher possibility that they will return to play again as compared to walking out of the shop empty-handed. The aim is to let them win at a rate where you are earning (albeit less) and they’re also having fun. A player wouldn’t normally spend more than $100 in 1 session to play claw machine, hence it is imperative to gain profit from many different players as compared to 1 player splurging on your machine.
To sum it up, create a setup that you would continue paying to play as a player. Chances are, the setup has a low chute, comfortable swing, incredible claw strength and makes you go “OMG SO CLOSE!” multiple times. It is essential to include these traits in your setup. Remember, you can always tweak other things. There are many nuances that will change the outcome of a gameplay. You can play around with settings such as how knitted closed the claw closes when it close, various directional speeds, its spin, ending claw position, etc. Much like the piano, the possibility of producing something magical is endless. Don’t be that chef who doesn’t like his own food, I know we’re better than that.
