Probably since it’s one of the happy childhood memories I have. I remember dad bringing me to places like Payanig sa Pasig and Star City to exclusively play games like these. I would end up bringing home a bag of stuffed toys that my folks would give out to other people.
I also love that crane thingie machine. Those who have been with me at Gurnee and Kenosha (namely Ria, Che, Lianne, Rico and Allan) would know. That one started with my fascination with the “UFO Catcher” game which is commonly found in arcades here in Manila. The US version uses the 3 fingered claw which took me a while to get the hang of.
I love these games and I wouldn’t mind spending on them. Honestly I hate it when I couldn’t win a game I know I can win (and have won before). Take those basketball free throws at 6 flags. Back home, my free throw % stat (before I got hurt) was 92%. I know hey, even after 6 months of rust I still could make one right? wrong. I couldn’t get one there. Rats! Same story at Universal studios which is now a mid range jumper… not really my specialty but hey, they ran that play for me when I moved to shooting guard.
The most important carnival game in my life? It was in this fair in Pomona, California. The game was simple enough. Throw a wiffle ball off a board and into a basket. I tried that in 6 flags and it was impossible… well… until I studied it in Pomona. The trick was simple. Throw it with reverse spin, at the right target with the right speed and it falls all the time (as in all the time) into the basket.
How much was the game? 2 bucks for a ball. 5 bucks for three. Get one into the basket and get the big prize. Get two and get the bigger prize. Sounds easy?
I got one with the first five balls I threw. Too easy. But I’m greedy… I wanted the bigger prize. I dunno… for some reason I choked as I was missing badly. It was until I reached my spending threshold when I had to give it up.
After getting the 1st ball in, I spent 40 bucks getting the 2nd one and failed. Damn ball.
I ended up with the big prize which was…
I gave it to my cousin. No way I was going home with it (since it was as big as my suitcase!). I still wanted to get the bigger prize, maybe in the future… maybe if it comes up again. I really wouldn’t mind spending 40 bucks more for getting just one of 24 balls into a basketball in a game I know how to win in.
This game set my records for “most money spent in”, “biggest prize”, “biggest crowd drawn”, “biggest cheering squad”, and ironically, “worst choke performances all time”.
The bigger prize?
An Xbox.
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