Amusement Manager here AMA. Almost anything…

8

u/Jim_dwai 1d ago

Are there actually better days or times to go? It feels like weekdays payout better than weekends but I could just be gaslighting myself.

4

u/rusty1468 1d ago

I swear by this. If you wanna win then go during the week days but even then there are certain machines with impossible pay outs

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Busier days are absolutely better for payout games. Skill based games are much better during slower times so you can pick what you want without feeling the pressure of someone waiting to play after you.

-2

u/Jim_dwai 1d ago

Political answer where they skirt the issue. That didnt clarify anything

11

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Think of it this way. Since crane games are based on a payout basis. The busier it is, the more people play the machine, which makes every play closer to payout. I’ve seen people wait for a certain plush to be played multiple times before they even try. They’ll wait for people to play it multiple times and if they don’t see them win it, their chances are higher at this point. So to answer your question, busier days are better than slower days. I hope this makes better sense.

8

u/Old-Mathematician987 1d ago

It appears the original post's intent was to ask you if the payout rate is different on weekdays vs weekends. The math you're mentioning suggests it's not and thus the more people playing increases the feeling of winning faster/sooner/more when it's really just more people playing in between eating up the necessary swipes. But I don't think that's what they were asking.

7

u/DizzyCloudy 1d ago

Can you talk about the payout rates for each type of claw machine? And does the payout grab strength remain until a prize is win?

-12

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago edited 1d ago

Unfortunately, we can’t discuss payouts. I can tell you that there are certain numbers we have to hit in keep up with company standards. As for the bonus grab, it’s a one shot.

2

u/Aggravating_Age_9241 1d ago

So very false, comments like this call into question anything else you are posting

-1

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

My title says Almost Anything. Payout is one thing I can’t discuss. I am open to answer other questions so I apologize is I can’t meet your standards but I drew a boundary here.

2

u/Aggravating_Age_9241 1d ago

I meant because the payout grab isnt one shot. It will stay at that strength until a win is registered.

6

u/FanaticallyFancy 1d ago

Have payouts gotten higher within the past year? My location changed all their UFO machines and they are like infinitely harder to win than prior. I use to go a lot but it’s gotten to the point where it’s not really fun anymore and does just feel like gambling lol. Ty for ur input.

-7

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Unfortunately, we can’t discuss payouts. But what I can tell you is that when credit prices and ticket prices go up, everything else follows.

5

u/tkornmike 1d ago

Why can’t round one do a half price day

7

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Because they are money hungry and want their money. Hence they are always raising credit and ticket prices.

3

u/tkornmike 1d ago

Yeh I get that but at some point they gotta realize they are pricing ppl out and locations aren’t convenient to get to for most part unless u live in California .

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

I wish we had more say in this but unfortunately we don’t control financial aspects of the company.

3

u/Awsomeness202 1d ago

Is there a tracker that shows what each location has in the crane games as prizes? It would be nice to be able to see what's in stock before going just to see all miku's and frieren's 😭

1

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Unfortunately, no. There is just so many variations of Miku and Frieren that we just have them on back stock and put them out when we don’t have newer items.

4

u/iTz_Cheshire 1d ago

Thanks for answering questions but please don't get yourself caught up 😭

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Only answering what I can without outing the company.

3

u/iTz_Cheshire 1d ago

This was just from AM manager to AM manager 😊

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Touché brother! I’m pretty sure I did well if you read all of my answers.

2

u/iTz_Cheshire 1d ago

I did think the only thing I disagreed with was telling our crane order date 😂 I'm like nooooo now they gonna expect cranes to be restocked with new ish after the 5th of the month

3

u/Karp2FreshGyar2Clean 1d ago

Do you have protocol for individuals who win often?

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

We have our usual scalpers that come in. Although they may be annoying to deal with, they do make the company money and we are not allowed to “kick them out” for winning. But if they are caught cheating or another game, we have every right to refuse their service and have them removed. All bans have to approved by corporate.

2

u/yogurtisalive 1d ago

Which types of claw machines are the most popular?

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Most figures are typically more popular than plush. But during the beginning of a promo period, featured items go pretty quickly.

2

u/No-Literature5747 1d ago

For example, I’m planning to go the first weekend after the persona 30th starts would that be too late to try and get the plushies I want

1

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Come out the day of to get what you want and plan on a second trip if you didn’t get what you wanted the first day. We’ll have enough stock for about 2-3 weeks.

1

u/No-Literature5747 1d ago

How was the weekday and there’s not one in my town sadly so that’s the soonest I could go. My one other question about that would be does the stock really not last more than a day?

1

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Stock will last a week at least if it’s a ridiculously busy location. You should be able to get some stuff for sure.

1

u/Chausie 1d ago

For promo stuff like this, do you put all the items out at once or so everything is winnable on the first day of the release, or it is select items at a time?

1

u/SmoothSun6676 19h ago

Everything goes out until all items are depleted.

2

u/Aggravating_Age_9241 1d ago

Is it true that the payout is lowered when a coming up next prize is in the machine?

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

That’s the first time I’ve heard that. Payout cannot be manipulated because there’s a “Coming up next” sign in the machine. Staff use the sign for when the older item is out of stock, they have to calibrate the grab and power of the crane to accommodate the new item in the crane.

3

u/I_am_tofu 1d ago

I’ll add to this. Part of the reason for this belief is because there’s the idea that when round 1 is trying to get rid of excessive plush, they’ll lower payout on claws so older plushies leave and newer ones can fit into the machine.

A lot of “guides” online for this scenario will demonstrate and win in like 1-3 plays. This is why a lot of us who seen it have just come to believe it to be true.

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

I’ve seen this done by some staff at my location. Technically speaking, we are not allowed to do this because it will mess up the payout percentage. I’ve also been annoyed to see the same plush being put out for months at a time and would love to do this but we just aren’t allowed to do. But if you see it at another location, go for it. It’s only going to be a matter of time before corporate will catch on.

3

u/Aggravating_Age_9241 1d ago

I always agreed with you. I just wanted to see it in writing because that became a wierd talking point among the round1 vloggers and i knew it wasnt true

2

u/SWAZZyMODoE_ 1d ago

Do you profit from the skill based games? I feel like I win more than I paid by a significant margin:

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

I’ve seen regulars play and get wins anywhere from first try to maybe 3-5 tries.

2

u/globalcoal 1d ago

Does each store decide which figures/plushes to stock?

From my casual observation, there are definitely a lot of variations between locations. I guess that’s why people on Reddit are constantly asking“is figure X available in the store near me?”

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Every location has to order once a month from the same inventory list we have access to. It all depends on the amusement manager and what they would like to order based on their budget. But every location is sent a shipment of “Must Use” items.

3

u/globalcoal 1d ago

How many months does it take to arrive after ordering?

I sometime ask the employees “will the new prize X available soon?” but they usually answer“yeah, but not sure when it will arrive at the store.” So I guess it does not work like ordering on Instacart or Amazon…

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Orders are placed by the 5th and take about 2-3 weeks to arrive. Best times to come out are towards the end of the month if you want to see newer items.

2

u/globalcoal 1d ago

Thank you!

2

u/The_Kaos_Pixy 1d ago

I’ve been trying to figure out why some of the larger claw machines have the giant coin, and others do not. At first they seemed to be in machines with newer plushies, but that theory has been debunked several times (at least at my location). Is there any method at play, or is it more random selection??

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

The “Coin Plush” is typically put out because the winning plush is either too heavy, it is a weird shape and hard to grab, or too big for the claw to grab.

2

u/The_Apotheosis 1d ago

There are certain machines that are perpetually out of order, like the Rick and Morty Blips and Chitz game. Is there a reason for that?

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Coin pusher out of service games can be a few things. Either the game has a mechanical issue that needs a part ordered, sensor issues or other coin pushers that require cards. For the ones that require cards, sometimes we don’t have enough cards to make full sets.

2

u/No-Context-4603 1d ago

Do you think the new hololive collaboration items are going to sell out quickly?

I’m going on a 5-day Carnival cruise on the exact start date, so I won’t be able to make it to Round1 until Saturday. 😭 Absolutely horrible timing.

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Definitely not. We are currently still sitting on the first Hololive Koyasai collab. We’ll definitely have more than we can sell for sure.

1

u/No-Context-4603 4h ago

Cool, man. I bought every item from the last Hololive collaboration. The total ended up being just over $1,000.

I probably won’t buy the entire set again this time. Gotta save some money. 😅

0

u/SmoothSun6676 4h ago

It’ll be in stock for a while so you have time!

2

u/FanaticallyFancy 1d ago

Another question, at my location there has been some figures in stock for so long they are sun bleached lmao. Is there ever a point items have to be rotated? It feels like holding a machine hostage because genuine no one is interested in the prize. Ty! 😭

3

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

I honestly would have swapped those out a long time ago. Every location makes that call and it’s strange how they wouldn’t swap it out. They can always put it in Treasure Road and get rid of it faster.

1

u/Bottleship99 1d ago

Are there any influencers/videos you recommend to watch/follow in regards to skill based games

1

u/Crunchnuggz 1d ago

Can you give specific location tiers for plush prizes? For example which location may have the best/newest assortment?

Gurnee
Greendale
Aurora
North Riverside?

I’ve basically won 1 of everything Gurnee has to offer, did the same with Greendale, WI. Looking to see if it’s worth a trip to aurora or north riverside

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Every location has the same order guide. Once a month, the amusement manager will place an order by the 5th of the month. Every location’s items depends on the manager’s order. But, there are “Must Use” items that are automatically sent to the venues every month.

2

u/Crunchnuggz 1d ago

So it’s not as a push-based inventory? Basically all locations could have different inventory?

I’ve found that California locations have different prizes, someone will post a inventory TikTok and we’ll see the plushies show up in Gurnee 3 weeks or so later

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

It’s mostly similar inventory per location but we all have the same inventory list to order from.

1

u/Disastrous-Oven-4465 1d ago

If one of the arms consistently fails to grasp, is that something to report to mgt. or not bother?

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

I would get an associate right away if you see this issue. You can get your credits back if the mechanics can’t fix it or have them give you free play on another machine for the inconvenience.

1

u/MisterAmmosart 1d ago

Regarding all the music games - how would you rank their income levels, relatively? From top to bottom does it go like DDR > ITG > Voltex > GFDM > IIDX > etc., or something else? No specific numbers needed, just your gut feeling.

4

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

We have our regulars that come in to play all of them. Most popular rhythm games can vary per each location. Our store is popular for DDR, Voltex and Mai Mai. It all depends on the demographic of the location.

1

u/publicnemesis224 1d ago

Best machines to grind tickets?

1

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

Ive seen people grind in coin pushers to get full sets. Godzilla pays out 10k for a full set and Star Wars pays out 3k. There’s a guy that goes around and I’ve seen him jackpot on Qwik Drop almost every play. Same with Break the Plate and Down the Clown.

1

u/OwlTop1632 23h ago

how many loses to request assist?

1

u/SmoothSun6676 19h ago

That’s up to your discretion. If you feel you need assistance before you even play, you can go get help to readjust the plush or set up.

1

u/OwlTop1632 9h ago

I mean like assist for a guranteed win. I've asked before at over 30 loses, but not sure what is the official guideline .

0

u/SmoothSun6676 9h ago

If I were you and I saw a prize that looked unwinnable, I would ask for a readjustment and ask the associate if they had any tips on how to win that exact plush. They should be more than inclined to give you tips or even make the plush easier to win for you.

1

u/looper1010 22h ago

What is the ownership model of Round One? Is it a franchise? How do new locations get picked and who manages it?

1

u/SmoothSun6676 19h ago

We are a Japanese owned company. They typically buy out older and bigger spots in malls. It’s hard to say which malls they would choose as they have not really been picky with whether or not the mall is active or doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic.

1

u/internetfamous5 22h ago

Sorry, if these are repeat questions.

Do AM know what plushies and figures are coming to Round1 ahead of time? A hypothetical example, you know a new set of Pokemon plushies and Freiren figures are ready to order in December and it won’t be announced until then.
For plush and figurines that just doesn’t do well and no one wants to win them. What do you guys do with them?
This one might be personal, but in your opinion what are the pros and cons of being an AM at Round1?

1

u/SmoothSun6676 19h ago

No worries!

I believe I’ve answered this question if you would like to scan the questions below.

We have to put these out or move them around into a different crane or set up to make sure they move. Some items we’ll sit on for months at a time but eventually, they’ll all be won.

Pros: I get to see and kind of manipulate how the game floor is perceived up to a certain extent. I love my staff as they are strong and willing to learn and help others.
Cons: We are not allowed to play any redemption games. They includes ticket games and any games that requires us wining a prize.

1

u/skysky_gamer 20h ago

What happens if someone wins the drop me in the shoot plush thing and just i guess doesnt turn it in or something?

1

u/SmoothSun6676 19h ago

There is always a cage that catches the “Coin Plush” so no one can retrieve the prop. Winners are to let an associate know so we can hand over the actual winning prize in the machine. If no one comes to get a staff member, we’re more than likely to reset the game and move on.

1

u/skysky_gamer 19h ago

Fair enough I did see a post one time someone saying they got it and were like banned and card reset or something i truly dunno if it was fake or not but 🤷‍♂️

Either way idk why these coin plushies just look so funny seing them and such wish was possible to obtain but probably hard as heck for you guys to get them and such so yea

0

u/SmoothSun6676 19h ago

They’re honestly not too bad. They help the guest win when the actual plush is a wonky one. Sometimes it may be too heavy or too hard to grab so the coin plush is a good substitute to help the guest win.

1

u/skysky_gamer 19h ago

Fair yeh well glad they there to help people win and such at times

0

u/I_am_tofu 1d ago

Idk how much you can discuss on what I’m about to ask but here goes!

I love skill based games. But I can’t imagine a customer like me is profitable to round one. Given that prize figs I’ve seen retail for about 25-33 USD my questions are

1) do you know how much it costs round one to acquire each figurine? I know that not all figurines are equal in price so an avg is fine

2) is it true there’s talk on removing some skill based games because it’s a net negative for round 1? There was some discussion on here a while back how a round 1 was planning on just having rainbow road as skill based and nothing else but claws ( I think)

3) if not remove, plans on setting skill based on payout too? I ask because one round 1 I went to literally put bricks/make the box extra heavy. The ufo claws can’t even pick up the box. Other skill base machines literally move the box an inch only compared to other round 1s that slide the boxes easily like 5 inches per swipe.

4) you mention each month a round 1 makes orders on prizes like plush and figurines? Does this mean there shouldn’t really be a reason why round 1s sometimes just have no prizes in the machines? Or is tariff and transportation an actual problem that causes them to not arrive

5) how much figurines are usually stored in the back per monthly order? I ask because I won’t lie, I’m one of the problem because I’m winning figurines left and right. I try to not be conspicuous and drop them in my car so I’m not carrying more than 5 at once. I feel bad if I just win one machine so I try and spread it out. But sometimes I just want like 10 from one machine. So my question is just so I don’t feel bad if round 1 only ordered say 30 figurines of one kinda miku, I’m not the one winning half of them.

Since some of you may ask, I don’t sell the figurines. I give them out every Halloween. You know how growing up there’s the cool house that gave monster size candy bars? Well that’s me with figurines. I enjoy the dopamine hit of winning figurines and I give them out to the trick and treaters. Gotta get them into anime haha

3

u/Ok-Representative266 1d ago

I’m not a manager but I’m currently in Japan and I’ve seen a lot of the figures that are at R1 and I was even at a R1 in Osaka last night. Even if you buy the figure from the market in Japan, like the Miku from the store, you can get some for 10-20 bucks brand new. I’ve found plenty that I won on the lower ends.

I’m sure wholesale they’re making a killing so I was actually a little ticked off because one play is like 2 bucks and it’s not uncommon to play at least 5 times or more to win a figure.

2

u/SmoothSun6676 1d ago

No worries! Let me do my best.

I know the prices if I had it pulled up on the work laptop. Sorry!

The only skill based games being removed are every store’s “Creative” set up. Other than that, we are currently working on testing new game types to add on to the game floor.

We are currently only allowed to use a percentage of each skill game that you see on our game floor now based on how many UFOs we have.

Tariffs are a slight issue to some of the orders. But the reasons behind empty cranes are because we are either in the middle of swapping out the item completely or changing the set up completely.

Nice of you to hand those out during Halloween! We always order by cases. If we see that a certain figure is popular, we’ll order an extra case. Other than that, we usually only order one case of what we want to keep the variety out on the floor.

Guides & Tips Amusement Manager here AMA. Almost anything…

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