We’ve all been left frustrated by those pesky claw machines that come oh so close to delivering a prize… before letting it slip right at the last minute.
Every. Single. Time.
Well, this young boy decided to take the fickle grabber out of the equation and use his own claws to nab himself a soft toy.
The youngster stumbled across the arcade game at the Mason Community Center in Mason, Ohio.
(Picture: Google/Joseph Danzer (StreetView Photographer))
Extraordinary CCTV footage shows him wriggling his way in through the prize flap.
One man watches amazed as he stands up and peruses the toys of offer.
The wonder quickly wears off however when it becomes apparent that – like the toys – they can’t get him out.
The claw machine is eventually pushed into a nearby shop, where emergency services rescued the boy and remove him.
Despite the claustrophobic ordeal, the boy was not harmed. No one knows if he managed to keep any of the toys.
How to win the claw machine game – so you don’t have to climb inside
Claw machines may sometimes seem like arcade tricks designed only to give you false hope.
But there are ways to increase your chances of taking home a prize.
- Choose a machine that isn’t too empty of toys, and isn’t too tightly packed either.
- Watch and learn from other players first so you can learn about the claw and what strategy to use.
- Have a partner stand to the side of the machine and help you position the claw from a different angle.
- Double tap the claw when it is right about the prize – this is a trick which arcade experts claim works with some machines.
- Claw machines often vary the claw’s grip strength from go to go – so if the claw drops your prize the first or second time around, it may tighten up on the next turn.
No charges were filed and there was no damage to the machine.
Unbelievably, its not the first time that a claw machine has caught a kid desperate for a toy.
In February 2024 a toddler hunting for a Hello Kitty toy in Brisbane, Australia managed to get the better of a claw machine and climb inside.
Officers soon had to smash the glass of the arcade machine to free three-year-old Ethan.
A police report from the Mason Police Department, obtained by ABC News, states, ‘Mason Police and Fire responded to the Mason Community Center for the report of a child trapped in a stuffed animal claw machine.
‘On arrival, the child was assisted out of the claw machine by Mason EMS and no injuries were sustained.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
