Are you planning to go to a funfair soon? Beware of these game stands that lure you with tempting prizes…
Fun fairs and fairs are a paradise for many children, but also adults who like to take on challenges to win a stuffed toy or gifts worth tens or even hundreds of euros. In these places, where everything is done to tempt us, some visitors sometimes spend lavishly. This is the case in games of chance and skill stands. Most people bet a few coins, while others may bet very large amounts without really realizing it. The fault is undoubtedly the greed, but also the machines.
One game in particular is very often criticized by players and denounced through certain journalistic investigations: these are clip machines. It is the flagship attraction of the fairgrounds, which brings in a lot of money for their operator. In these stands, you have to use a joystick to direct the gripper and catch a prize. In general, the coveted item systematically falls from the claws of the pliers, despite all attempts made.
In this scenario, bad luck would not be a factor: certain operators would not hesitate to rig the games. Indeed, some of these machines would be programmed in advance so that there would not be too many winners. . “Only 4% of people will walk away winning”we learn from the show “Capital” of M6, dedicated to the subject “Carners, Travelers: Revelations on a Secret Economy”, which aired on October 9, 2022.
In this report, a supplier specializing in fairground games explained the little scheme, usually put in place: “By working on the settings, I can tell the machine: ‘there you go, you win all the time’. On the other hand, I can tell it: ‘you win 1 out of 1, 1 out of 2, 1 out of 3 or at 1 in 25’ (…) So you can technically almost never win (…) The electronics will give all the power to the motor so that the grip is good. , the clamp will release during travel.” Of course, we cannot say that this type of adjustment is systematically carried out on all clip-on machines, because sometimes players also win games and leave with nice gifts and big stuffed animals. So, as with games of chance, it all depends on your desire to play and try your luck.