Flack's Daily Smack

I was a carnie a couple of summers for the Calgary Stampede running a skeeball booth (good except for people who would managed to jam the coinslots or people who used the wrong lane) and a knock the bottles over with a baseball. For the latter I always felt guilty pulling out the tiny & cheap stuffed animal which was the prize for knocking over the bottles. (If you kept playing, you could eventually trade up to something larger. But by that time you'd paid 10x what the stuffed animal was worth.)

 

I've tried to explain to my son that these games, while not rigged per-se, are designed to make money for the owner. Thus, challenges which are much harder than they appear and prizes which cost less than what it costs to play.

I have the same conversation with my son every time we pass one of those electronic crane machines.

Regarding crane machines.

 

I was giving my boy the whole "designed to make money for the owner and that claw is way too loose to pick up anything" speil while he swiped his game card, hovered the crane over a TY Parrot plushie, picked it up and dropped it in the delivery slot. I finished my little speech just as he pulled out his prize and held up the parrot with a huge grin on his face. He then did a pirate parrot voice saying "Arrgh, Daddy isn't always right, me matey!" I had to be supportive just then. Grrr.