What is a Claw Machine, and How Does it Work? (2024)

A claw vending machine, may also be referred to as a crane machine, is a redemption prize machine where the claw is controlled using a joystick. The user inserts a credit in the form of cash, credit card, tokens, or game card to allow for the gameplay. The joystick allows the claw to be moved in four directions (left, right, front, back) to move the gantry/claw to the desired position or directly over a prize. Once the claw is in place, the user simply pushes the down button and the claw will go down and attempt to grab the prize below. If successful, the claw will move back to the prize drop area and release the prize into the prize box. Each machine is equipped with drop sensors, so it knows once a prize has been dropped. Please note: the win ratio of the machine is typically set by the owner/operator of the machine. Most claw machines that leave our factory are set to about a 1–8 ratio, meaning that it is likely that someone will win a prize 1 item out of every 8 gameplay based on the claw strength. However, this is just a factory setting, and it’s up to the operator to set their desired win ratio and test accordingly.

Claw machine, also known as selected goods sales machine, is commonly known as Jia-Wawa-Machine in Taiwan, Jia Gongzai Machine in Hong Kong, and Zhua-Wawa-Machine in mainland China. It is a kind of electronic game originated from Japan. The original Japanese name is UFO CATCHER. Claw machine is a gift vending machine, which is quite a simple one among large game machines.

There are Japanese-style with 2 paws and Korean-style with 3 paws. The gameplay is displays the items in a transparent box, and insert coins/token to start the game and grad the items by controlling the claw. Because at the earliest, most of the items put inside are plush dolls, so they were called “Doll Claw Machine”. Because the plush dolls are very popular with children and youth, even though some merchants also put other items such as watches, key rings and even seafood inside, many people still call it “Doll Claw Machine”.

Exchange game token at the counter, and insert tokens into the coin slot to start the game;

Operate the joystick to control the front, back, left, and right directions of the claw, and move the claw to the top of your favorite doll;

Press the confirm button on the console, the claw will be vertically lowered, and then the claw will be closed to grab the doll; If the doll is grabbed successfully, it will fall into the collection window below, and take the doll there. The fun of the game is the unknown and anticipation, excitement and satisfaction after each capture. So if you fail for the first time, don’t be discouraged and keep going.

Firstly grab some dolls near the hole: You can grab some dolls to fill the area near the hole, then roll it or use the last method, it will be easier to success. As the old saying goes, you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. Make some preparations first is better than keep trying again and again to grab the dolls.

Rotating the claw: The claw is usually composed of 3 pieces of clips. When grabbing a doll, the angle of the claw usually does not match the expectations. When the claw is dropped, one of the clips may fall on the doll or deviate from the grasping point. So it is very important to rotate the claw. It’s very simple to rotate the claw, that is, quickly turn the joystick 360 degrees, the clips rotates and swings, and the angle changes. When the claw stops shaking, it’s the time to grab the doll, but pay attention to the time.

Fling the clamp: Flick the claw left and right, let the claw swing sharply left and right, find a good time to press the drop button, wait for the claw to catch the doll, and then it will throw the doll toward the exit.

The difference between skill play and win-every-time can be set in the game settings and changed by the owner/operator of the machines. All of our claw machines can be set to either gameplay mode within the settings of the game and changed at any time. The biggest difference from an operator’s perspective is the value of the prizes, and whether they can be set to a win-every-time and still be profitable. Generally, a win-every-time machine will have cheaper items or candy and skill play machines will have premium plush as the prizes. The most common setting for standard plush prizes is skill play with a preset win ratio. However, there are certain Please note: All of our claw machines have drop sensors that interact with the gameplay settings, so it’s known once a prize has been won.

We have a full line of prizes and plush here at unique-animation.com that are designed for claw machines — Make sure you purchase the appropriate size of plush for the claw installed on the machine.

Yes! All of our claw machines can be set to free play or tokens if you’re configuring for a rewards’ system. The free play options vary by model, but it will either be a setting that is changed in the gameplay settings, or we can install a free play button on the machine. Free play buttons are great for home use and game room. If you’re setting the claw machine up as a rewards’ system for your kids, a token is a great way to go because the game play can be controlled.

At Unique Animation, we are your factory-direct source for all our claw machines, and every machine shipped is brand new. Every machine we ship passes mandatory QC testing and come with a full factory warranty. Please see individual product pages or contact us with item-specific warranty information.