Hi my name is Felix and I'm a claw machine addict. (I'm by no mean a claw expert but I just want to share what I know to everyone who wants to know a little more about claw machines)
Jess and I just got back from LA, it was so fun, I had the pleasure of meeting many of her friends and they are all so pleasantly pleasant and we had a great time. We also ate a lot of FOOOD, omg LA food is so awesome!!! I can still smell Boiling Crab thru my finger tips lol well not anymore now cause I just cut my nails.
LA got something that NYC lacks - CLAW MACHINES!!! (for those who don't know what a claw machine is, think Toy Story and those little 3 eyed aliens). I'm always on a look out for claw machines and I have been searching on Yelp and Google to find different claw machine locations but could never find much in NYC. So once I got to LA, I was on a Claw machine rampage.
Jess and I went to 3 different major arcades in LA and we both agreed that Round 1 was our favorite by far. Round 1 is the first Japanese style arcade in the States, there is only one Round 1 and LA got it. All Round 1 claw machines are UFO machines, these machines have two claws instead of three, that doesn't mean its a lot harder but just means the approach and strategies have to be different (more to discuss on this topic later). Anyway, a lot of arcade claw machines have ugly stuffed animals but NOT Round 1, they got an awesome selection of authentic brand name stuffed animals (Hello Kitty, Angry Birds, Domo, Riku bear, etc), but with awesome prizes also means an awesome price tag. On average, the cost per claw game at Round 1 is about 8-15 credits (depending on the size of the stuffed animals), its 5 dollars for 20 credits but the more money you spend, the more credits you get (ex: 100dollar = 520 cred)... so be prepare to shout out some money.
This place is also not newbie friendly, although they have videos that show you strategies on how to pick up different stuff animals, they rarely works due to the weak claw strength. What you see a lot of times are stuffed animals sitting on the edge and about to fall into the hole but once u carefully examine it, you'll notice that one part of the stuffed animal is stuck. The coolest thing about Round 1 is the staffs are willing to help you after youu spend some money trying of course. You can always ask a staff to re-adjust a stuffed animal so you might have a better chance of winning, so that's always a plus. I enjoyed my experience at Round 1, even though its a little costly but you get what you pay for (sometimes) and the prices are winnable as long as you do your homework. Speaking of HW, one advice I would suggest is that you do your homework before you dive into Round 1, there are many Youtube videos that have demos on UFO claw machines and strategies for it, so make sure to study up and HAPPY WINNING!
