Claw Machine Tips
What is a Game Center?
In Japan, amusement arcades are called Game Center.
A game center is a place where you can play various games using large housing.
Prize game（arcade game where one can win a prize）
It is a mainstream genre in arcades these days.
This is because everyone is playing, regardless of age or sex.
There are a variety of prizes at stores, including dolls, figurines, candy, and character goods.
In Japan, they are called UFO catchers.
The playing fee ranges from 100 yen to 500 yen.
If you can’t get it after trying, you can ask the store staff for advice (depending on the store’s system).
Will I always win prizes?
The answer is no.
Today, many foreigners come to Japan and a lot of money is spent.
Legally, there is no problem if they do not get the prizes, so in some stores we spend a lot of money to get the prizes.
Basic Knowledge of Claw Machine
There are two types of machines
There are two arms and three arms.
This is easily discernible.
Some have two arms and some have three. Note that these are not only different in appearance, but also in their internal settings.
Those with two arms can set arm power and other settings internally.
There are a variety of prizes. They include dolls, candy, figurines, etc. They also vary in weight and size. Therefore, the clerk can set them up. If a prize does not move after one play, there are two answers.
Either the settings are wrong or they are intentionally making it hard to get (making the sales amount higher).
Therefore, people who know these things well have information about where it is easy to get, where it costs money, candy, easy to get, figures are easy to get, etc.
The range of arm movement can also be changed.
Arms often have a set range of motion.
Depending on the case, they are prevented from being acquired by pushing refillable prizes behind them.
The arm descends, and the range of this descent can also be set.
As will be described later, this seems to play a role in preventing the pushing of prizes.
The fewer these restrictions are, the easier it is to win a prize.
If there are three arms, there is an amount counter.
These three arms come in a variety of sizes, from large to small. Many small plush and cute ones would be very attractive.
However, these three arms are the most difficult to capture.
Because this type almost certainly has an amount counter.
The amount counter means that when you put money in, the counter increases by one.
This is just a feeling, but basic stores have about 30 counters to keep the power to hold prizes going. In other words, they carry the prize to the extraction slot. In downtown Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc.), it is likely that the setting can be set to 10 or more and the limit to none, as there are some cases where a counter can be turned over 90 or more and still not acquire the prize.
The arm is equipped with a sensor.
There are many ways to acquire prizes as cheaply as possible.
At times, pushing the prize down with an arm or other device can be a shortcut.
However, to prevent them from doing so, the sensor can be made sensitive so that it does not push the prize.
These are often not obvious without trying, but may be found by referring to other people’s play.
In order to spend as little money as possible, it is important to get a lot of information from other people’s play, so if you see someone taking a lot of prizes, it is helpful to see how they take them.
Tips on how to get it.
Tip #1. Which arcade to choose?
The most important factor is the choice of location.
Each store has its own characteristics, such as stores where it is easy to get sweets, stores where it is easy to get figures, etc.
(The author is often in Akihabara, so I’ll include an evaluation in Akihabara. February 2025)
GIGO
GIGO is probably the largest arcade in Japan.
You can find them in Shibuya, Shinjuku, etc., so you will see them most often.
The power seems to be weak overall, and the style is so unique that it is called the “GIGO style.
I have the impression that it is especially difficult to win cube-shaped prizes.
There are also a lot of limited prizes, so in that case, I sometimes play after visiting several GIGO stores.
There are also several stores in Akihabara.
Each store has different settings, so I often play after looking around.
The unit price of one prize is around 2000 yen.
It is sometimes difficult to pinpoint the prize because you have to aim for the right prize.
TAITO
The settings are often different from store to store.
Each store has its own unique setting?
The setting of “the last spread” is generally the most common at most stores.
If you learn how to get it, it is easy to get it, so please study it.
Taito in Akihabara is recommended for beginners.
The unit price ranges from 1,000 yen to 2,500 yen?
Large prizes are not compatible with the endless style and may cost a lot of money.
For tourists, the price is 200 yen per session, but the setting is very good.
If you are not familiar with it, I recommend doing it here.
Namco
Located in front of Akihabara station.
Basically, the setting is more often severe.
The unit price often exceeds 3,000 yen.
However, there is an outlet unit. It has multiple prizes and each play is over 300 yen.
These are so-called old products that they want to get rid of out of stock as soon as possible, so they are often not popular. But if there is something you want, those are the opportunities.
Incidentally, those with multiple figures and other items at 100 yen per play are in the difficult category.
I don’t know how to get them either, so I can’t advise you.
Conditions that the writer considers easy to acquire.
Popularity of prizes
Popular prizes are basically hard to get. This is because, as a matter of course, everyone spends money. Naruto and Dragon Ball
Jutsu Kaisen are recently popular.
As you can see when you walk around Akihabara, there are many figure stores. However, most of them are giveaways. If you can’t get them, it is sometimes cheaper to buy them. Especially recently, the unit price of figures tends to go down. Around April 2024, it was cheaper to get them, because the high price was about 9000JPY.
There is a famous place in the Arcade where it is easy to get it.
Relatively easy to acquire because a lot of people spend money in so-called rural areas where stores are set up largely in rural areas.
The tendency is that it is relatively easy to acquire. Therefore, it is easier to acquire customers outside of Tokyo and other cities.
The author also goes to large stores in Saitama and Kanagawa when he wants to earn a large amount of money. Some places are as big as malls. The cost of land is low, so even if the unit price is low, sales are likely to be generated.
There are many ways to play, but bridging is the easiest.
In many cases, the easiest way to get a figure is in a setting where two or more bars, called bridges, are set up and the figure is placed on top of them.
There is also a pattern in which a sticker-like object is placed on the prize and an arm is inserted into a hole in the sticker to move it, but that costs a lot of money. Basically, there is a descent limit for these, which I mentioned before, and if it is too close to the descent limit, it often does not move at all.
You should be prepared to spend more than $3,000 unless there is a mistake in the setup.
Watch a commentary video of someone who is good at it.
I began studying these in the spring of 2024. Of course, I had a very hard time acquiring them, although I often went there when I was a tour guide, mainly for anime and video games.
So I spent about 3 million yen and did thorough research to obtain the know-how. Please watch the video below.
I am Japanese, so my English grammar and words may be a little strange, but it will be of help to you.
Currently looking for people
who want to become familiar with crane games.
I am currently looking for native English speakers who would like to learn more about Claw Machine.
Our goal is to further improve the accuracy of this article.
Details of the position
1、Native English speaker
2、After playing together, you will give us your impressions and advice on how to correct this article.
3、The author is also a Youtube filmmaker, so people who have no problem filming
4, Multiple people are possible.
5, People who have no problem as there may be a car for transportation (the car is a 5-seater, so up to 4 people are allowed).
The prize is basically coaching, but it will be free of charge since it is currently being tested.
・The prizes won belong to the person who won them.
・Their play will be their own money.
If interested, please contact me via email or instagram.
