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The crane machine—also known as claw machines, crane games and, in Japan, as “UFO catchers” due to their proclivity for aerial abductions—first gripped the public imagination in the early 1900s. Even now, it’s not hard to see their appeal. Crane machines offer what seems like an outsize reward for a small cash outlay; they give the illusion of being a skill game, even though you could do the exact same thing twice and get different results; and they compel you to spend until you got what you want. Vegas knows machines like that. We have buildings full of them.
I gave up on crane machines a long time ago. Most frustrating game in the arcade, next to Tempest. But that was before the Japanese took this American invention, dipped it in kawaii, and returned it to America as entire arcades of crane machines full of stuffed toys, figurines, snacks and key rings. Japan-inspired crane machine arcades are popping in Vegas like so many uncaptured Pokemon. There are nearly 20 of them now spread across the Valley, from Pick Me Claw Arcade in North Las Vegas to Wolf Claw Arcade on the edge of Seven Hills. And Vegas isn’t alone in this UFO catcher invasion: Last January, a TimeOut New York article described arcades as “NYC’s hottest spot[s] right now,” which seems unlikely, but it’s a nice thing to say regardless.
As near as I can tell, all these arcades operate similarly. You pay for a plastic tray of tokens, play the cranes and try, try, try to get the goodies. That’s about all I knew about claw arcades before a friend and I visited The Claw (theclawus.com) at Flamingo and Decatur. (The Toy Story-reminiscent name intrigued me: “The claaaaaaw!”) We walked into the place with confidence and swagger, determined to take down a childhood nemesis. We would best the crane. Those off-brand Pokemon and Stitch toys (Pokemoon? Starch?) would be ours.
What I wasn’t prepared for was how truly nice the experience was. My friend and I began with 23 tokens for $20; we would refill our token tray two more times. We didn’t even mess with the key rings. We picked our toys—a Pikachu, lots of adorable animals inexplicably wearing suits resembling other animals, and a furry, anthropomorphic slice of bread with the word “bread” helpfully embroidered on its torso—and commenced to craning.
While the crane machine hasn’t changed too much from its time in Japan—it now boasts better lighting and plays an upbeat tune, though the claw still doesn’t grab all that tightly—the experience surrounding these machines, at least at The Claw, is much improved. Helpful employees wearing anime pins hover unobtrusively nearby as you play, and the second they hear or see you getting frustrated, they pop the door open and rearrange the toys to make for an easier grab. Sometimes, all you need to do is just tip them into the chute. You collect so many toys that the staff provides you with a big bag to stuff them in—and you can even trade up for larger toys stacked behind the counter. Crane arcades, unlike casinos, want you to win, or at least appear to.
The crane machine arcade experience is hugely popular with kids and families, but there’s something weirdly cosmopolitan about going there after dark, when teens and a smattering of unashamed adults hold court. TimeOut New York may have slightly overstated the adult popularity of these arcades, but they didn’t understate it, either. America, and Las Vegas, is grabbed and down the chute.
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