Comments on: How to Beat Popular Carnival Games

By: Mo

Mo — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:45:27 +0000

Hey does anyone know the actual name of that game .. where you have try to get metal ring around a bent, rotating, metal rod without it touching…?

Like what would I put in google in order to find this game?

By: bill

bill — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:29:52 +0000

as the former operator of a hy-stryker game (swing the hammer, ring the bell on the pole) i can tell you that i can make it as easy or as hard as i want for you to win. we gave all children a prize, one costing from 16-38 cents. we tried to adjust the adult game so 1 in 3 won a prize costing from 40-65 cents. so, we won every time, even if you rang the bell. try not to pay over $2 to play. still a lot of fun, especially if you can get some girls to play with you.

By: Revrj

Revrj — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:06:59 +0000

The person who is buying the stuffed animals must be an idiot they only cost a few bucks wholesale. When I worked the shows they were only $10.00 for the huge ones.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:47:32 +0000

That was a fun read! I’ve heard a couple of the ways to win but not all of them. I’ll still stay away from carnival games, though.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:34:43 +0000

Great post. It’s so hard to win those games at the carnivals. What makes it worse is that usually your date is the one that puts pressure on your to win the games along with most guys being ultra-competitive.

By: MLDina

MLDina — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:19:22 +0000

Thanks for the fun post! I’m from Long Island, and definitely remember the carnivals.

Most of the time I’m just going to the carnival for fun, the prizes really aren’t too exciting once you’re over the age of 10, but it’s still fun to win. I’ll have to try your tips.

By: Adam (golferadam)

Adam (golferadam) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:39:31 +0000

I was just thinking about this the other day…how to get the best of it on the carny games. Unbelievable that this became a post. Very informative.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:47:16 +0000

I play sometimes for fun, just like how I eat funnel cake even though I know it’s horrible for me… a little in moderation is OK. Life is about living, not about picking the mathematically favorable games to play.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:00:02 +0000

LOL. This is hilarious yet interesting. I stay away from the games since I know we’re the ones at a disadvantage. Fun tips anyways.

By: John

John — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:53:00 +0000

Haha, nice post. I strangely found it very informative and useful…

By: nickel

nickel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:56:36 +0000

Hah. That’s awesome.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:17:18 +0000

Hahaha he’s turned the scam around on the scammers! He’s now the metal ring around the bent, rotating, metal rod expert.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:03:21 +0000

It’s almost spring, gotta prep for the carnival season! (plus, my alma mater’s Spring Carnival is less than a month away, which is what keyed me onto this idea)

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:32:12 +0000

I knew all of the games were rigged, and even if you won, the crappy prize you got wasn’t worth the entry fee…

I have a friend who used to work at an amusement park in their “carnival games” area and all the games were basically the same thing that you’d see at a real carnival, so you really couldn’t win.

He used to work at the game where you had to move a metal ring around a bent, rotating, metal rod without it touching (or a buzzer would go off). The game is virtually impossible but the prize was one of those giant 5 foot stuffed animals. After he quit, he actually found one of the machines on ebay and bought it, and practiced the game all the time. He now goes to the amusement park every few weeks and wins a giant stuffed animal, then sells it on E-bay for $50-100. He has a room in his house stuffed full of them!

By: The Personal Finance Playbook

The Personal Finance Playbook — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:55:53 +0000

I love games. I’ve probably wasted quite a bit of money playing them, but I’ve come out ahead on some of the hardest games. My favorite game is the pool (as in billiards) game. It’s hard even when fair. You have to make all 4 balls in 4 shots, not counting the break. Practice on someone’s home table, it’s not picnic. You have to call every shot.

Their con is the fact that the pockets are smaller, the table may not be level, the rails don’t bounce truly and the equipment is bad. That being said, you can beat if you have a decent pool shot. Don’t attempt any bank shots. The key is not to leave any balls on the rail when you break. The only way to do this is with a very soft break. Try to leave all the balls on one side of the table and set yourself up for a series of short shots. Good luck.