They certainly made a splash when they first hit casino floors – those claw machines that you could wager on the outcome of picking up an object certainly offered a different way to play. But how do they work?
How do the claw slot machines work? I assume they aren’t actually skill based, but I don’t understand the logistics. Thanks!
Allison
At its core, it’s still the same general idea as a slot machine – at the time you make your wager, the Random Number Generator is called, and the number that is selected matches to either a winning or losing wager.
The game shows what prize is eligible (also part of the randomization) and then you attempt to pick up a ball. But if it’s a losing combination, the ball will fall out based on the way the game’s designed, whereas if it’s a winning combination, the ball will successfully make it to the drop point. Sometimes.
The game is designed to give you another chance sometimes. This is built in to give the machine some drama, but also to give the physics some leeway – if the ball is supposed to make it to the drop point and award a win, but it falls out due to the claw just not getting ahold of one, that builds in some room to allow another try.
And the game also has the ability to just outright award the prize after three failed attempts. That further solidifies that if you’re going to win the prize, it has a mechanism to just hand it to you either intentionally, or if the machine just don’t accomplish what it needs to for that particular wager.
So it’s a very elaborate variation on a slot machine, but ultimately it’s still a slot machine, and that means It’s All About Timing!
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