STACKER!

[t3hfr3ak]

So, I don't know how often some of you guys go to Arcade's or even see game machines however has anyone seen one of these:



My local mall has one in it and also a Boston Pizza in the falls has a couple. The object of the game is to stack the bricks to the very top. There are 2 prize brackets:

Minor Prize: This is located at the 5th highest spot and gives you a choice of the 'prizes' hanging at the bottom.
Major Prize: This is the highest line of the game and you have to stop 1 block exactly on another block. To add to the discomfort, its going REALLY fast.

Well, as I said, there a few of these machines located near me and I have played it multiple times... and won a few major prizes. I never stop on minor prizes as you pay a buck to play the game and minor prizes are just like key chain hangers or thos little toys on a string that attach to a cellphone. Now the one in Boston Pizza has a few good prizes, and I actually won a DS in that won. I also won a digital Camera, a PSP and a few $60+ PC Games through this thing.

Does anyone else have an experience they would like to share using this machine?

P.S. Would this be considered a NON-Video arcade game even though you are stacking pixels?

[sirpaul484]

There's a restaurant here that has one of these, as well as another machine that has a pair of scissors that moves left and right, allowing you to cut out the string holding the prizes.  I never won on either of them...

The minor prize area contains usually small trinkets, doo-dads, things like that.  It's the big prize area that has the good stuff (naturally): X-Box 360 games, larger toys, and, the best prize of them all... CASH!

[t3hfr3ak]

Wow!

I never personally saw one that had cash as a prize but I would be sure to continually play it

Yea the ones here have pretty much the same thing. A lot of people who saw me win get excited aswell and confess that they always thought that the game is rigged... even if it is rigged, I guess I am usually at the right spot at the right time

[orsty3001]

In our local mall there's an arcade called Tilt. I went there about 2 years ago and saw a young girl win a Wii out of one. I did some research and learned that some of these machines have a setting inside to let the owner set the "pay out" rate. After so much money has gone into the machine it will dump a prize. So you do have a chance of winning, you'd just have to be there at the right time.

On another note, the same arcade in our local mall did away with all human employees. There's an outline in the carpet where the glass counter used to be. Now it's just a machine with a bunch of prizes in it. You insert your tickets and push the corresponding button for the prize you want. I selected the oversized brown novelty pencil for which I used to write my disappointment on the wall of the prize selection they had.

[t3hfr3ak]

Yea I thought so much as there being SOMETHING in there that affects the odds of winning. But then again, that last block moves REALLY fast and can be a hassle to lock on. And The one time I had a streak of 3 big wins!

I would love to purchase one of these machines, or even build it myself (can't be TOOO hard lol)

[orsty3001]

It probably wouldn't be that bad to build. Get some clothing racks from a department store and a long corkscrew. haha



I got obsessed with this for a little while there. It's at Mr. Gattis or whatever the call it now. It just spits out tickets which I'm still in the process of earning enough tickets for the dewalt drill they have in the show case.

This wheel is great on multiple levels. Not only is it the closest thing to spinning the big wheel on the price is right but it really eggs you on while you do it. It has some of the best voice work ever done on a machine. Somehow some an ex or maybe current drug addict was able to connect spinning a big wheel with numbers on it and fishing. Not just any fishing but bass fishing. The voice of the guy sounds like he walked out of Fargo. Being from the south, that's a real treat for me. It's got the handle on the front that you push down like an old man powered trolley cart.  You can push it as had as you like and that's great in this modern ever more irritating time we live in.

The numbers are based on the number of tickets it will spit out.

That and the bowling game they have that has a real holess bowling ball as the controller is a real great way to spend a day off from work.

Another great thing is the balsa wood rubber band powered planes you can trade your tickets for. I just got an idea to pull the vibrator motor out of one of my old cellphones. That and a button cell battery would be great to see if it would take off and fly forever. 

[t3hfr3ak]

lol, That actually doesnt sound like a bad idea at all. I have a few busted PS1 controllers with the vibration function that are no longer working, I wonder if you could make something out of these... hmmm... thanks for getting me started

[RedWolf]

I've seen that Stacker machine in the local bowling alley.  It had iPod Nanos and Shuffles in it and some other flashy-looking prizes.  I didn't play it because I both didn't understand it and I think it cost a lot.  It also seemed like it might be a rip-off like those mechanical arm things.

Great thread, by the way.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes carnival type arcade games.  I kick ass at Whack-a-Mole and I also love Skee-Ball.  I go to the bowling alley just to play Skee-Ball most of the time.

[orsty3001]

Skee-ball is great. I've thought about getting one of those for the house for years now.

When I was a kid we had a local arcade in a mall that's no longer there called Flickers. From time to time when I dump my change out of my change jar into the Coin-star machine it gives me back the Flickers tokens that have been in that jar for a little over 20 years now.

Like most arcades they had Skee-ball and I learned that if you could get at the mechanism that released the balls. Being a broke kid this was great. Only problem was it wouldn't spit out tickets afterward.



t3hfr3ak, if you build that plane remember to put some weight in the back to counter balance the motor and battery weight.