Anyone who has played a claw machine can relate to the experience of having the claw perfectly positioned only to see it weakly graze the prize before pulling back up.
有玩過夾娃娃機的人一定都能對這個經驗感同身受：夾爪放在完美的位置，但你只看到它輕輕擦過獎品邊邊，就收回去了。
No, man!
不!
It may seem like the machine isn't even trying. And well—it is not your imagination. Those claw machines are rigged.
看起來可能像是這台機器根本不想好好抓。嗯，這個呢－－這不是你想太多。那些機器都被動過手腳了。
There are a couple of beloved stuffed animals that I have that are from a claw machine: a koala and a bear.
我手上有很多我超愛的動物玩偶都是從夾娃娃機裡夾來的：一隻無尾熊跟一隻小熊。
That is Vox.com writer Phil Edwards.
那是 Vox.com 的作家 Phil Edwards。
I looked at the instruction guides for a few of the biggest claw games out there. Take, for example, the manual for Black Tie Toys' Advanced Crane Machine. If you look at page eight, section subheading Claw Strength, you will see a horrifying piece of information.
我看了外面幾台最大的夾娃娃機的使用說明書。例如 Black Tie Toys 的進階夾娃娃機。如果你翻到第八頁，看到副標題「爪夾抓力」的區塊，你會看到嚇人的訊息。
"Managing profit is made easy. Simply input the coin value, the average value of the merchandise, and the profit level. The machine will automatically calculate when to send full strength to the claw." All right. So if it costs 50 cents to play the game, and the prize inside costs seven dollars, to make a profit of 50 percent, full power will be sent to the claw only about once every 21 games or so. That sucks. They also randomize that winning game within a range so that players can't predict exactly when it'll happen.
「想維持利潤很簡單。你只需要輸入硬幣價值、商品平均價值還有利潤水準。機器會自動計算何時讓夾爪出全力。」好的。所以如果玩一次要花 50 分美元，裡面的獎品價值 7 美元，想賺百分之五十的利潤的話，夾爪只會大約每 21 次才會出一次全力。真的太爛了。他們還會在一個範圍內隨機改變會讓你贏得獎品的時機，讓玩家沒辦法精確預測什麼時候會夾到。
And you might notice a subheading that says "dropping skill." They can program the machine to make you think you almost won. They taunt you with it. You see the stuffed animal flying in the air, and then it drops it. And that just ruins everything. So, most of the time, claw machines are actually more like slot machines than like Skee-Ball or whack-a-mole.
你可能也會注意到有個副標題寫著「落下技巧」。他們可以設計機器，讓你以為你要夾到了。他們用這種方法嘲笑你。你看見娃娃飛到空中了，然後下一秒就被甩掉了。簡直毀了所有努力。所以說，在大部分的情況下，夾娃娃機比較不像滾球遊戲或打地鼠，還比較像拉霸。
Who's in charge here?
你們這裡老大是誰？
The claw!
夾爪!
The question of whether claw machines are games of skill or chance goes back decades. The earlier versions back in the 1930s had very little element of skill and were marketed as being highly profitable for their owners. This was the Depression era, and people were desperate for ways to get money moving. During a crackdown on organized crime in the 1950s, federal law classified claw machines as gambling devices and prohibited the transportation of them across state lines.
夾娃娃機到底是一種技巧性遊戲，還是只能靠運氣，這得追溯到幾十年前。較早期 1930 年代版本的夾娃娃機幾乎用不到技巧，並主打能為機主帶來高獲利。當時正處經濟大恐慌，大家極度渴望能有錢滾錢的方法。1950 年代打擊組織犯罪的時期，聯邦法將夾娃娃機歸類為賭博設備，並禁止跨州運送。
After those laws were relaxed in the 1970s, newer claw machines from Europe and Asia spread throughout the United States. They actually started calling them "skill cranes" because the joystick gave the players more precise control. But owners had increasing control over profits as well. And they've been met with a patchwork of state and local laws and regulations.
1970 年代那類法規放寬後，較新型的夾娃娃機便從歐亞傳遍美國。他們其實開始稱這些機器為「技巧性夾娃娃機」，因為有操縱桿的機器讓玩家能更精確控制。但機台主人對於獲利當然也有更高的掌控權。此外，他們還有州法與地方法律規範混雜的限制。
If machine operators want to make that claw really, really unfair against the players, there's not a lot stopping them. Most of the regulations focus on the prize size, not the strength of the claw. That's a reason that you might see fewer of the "win a free iPad" claw machines or "free iPhone" claw machines around and more of just old-fashioned stuffed animals.
如果夾娃娃機營運商想要讓夾爪非常非常不利於玩家，也沒什麼方法能阻止他們。大部分的規範主要都是針對獎品大小的限制，而不是夾爪的爪力。那就是為什麼你可能在附近比較少看到「贏得免費 iPad」的夾娃娃機或「免費 iPhone」夾娃娃機，而大部分都是一些過時的玩偶。
It's great if players know what they are up against, especially since sites like YouTube have enabled claw-machine enthusiasts to broadcast their victories...like this guy.
知道自己會面臨什麼情況對玩家來說是好的，特別是因為有像 YouTube 這類的網站，能讓夾娃娃狂熱者廣佈自己的勝利...像這個人。
I'm Matt Magnone. Join me as I venture out and win as much crap as I can from claw machines.
我是 Matt Magnone。何不加入我，看我大膽玩，狂贏夾娃娃機裡面的垃圾。
My best outcome of this is not that all the claw machines go away. Since I first wrote this article, I've spent a dollar, I think, on claw machines. And I've lost. All I want for people to know is that they are not the problem. The claw machine is the problem.
我認為這件事最好的結果並不是讓夾娃娃機都消失。因為我第一次寫這篇文章的時候，我記得我花了一美元夾娃娃。結果輸了。我只希望大家知道這不是他們的問題。這是夾娃娃機的問題。
Ah, you piece of crap!
啊，你這個垃圾!
- 「對...感同身受」- Relate To
Anyone who has played a claw machine can relate to the experience of having the claw perfectly positioned only to see it weakly graze the prize before pulling back up.
有玩過夾娃娃機的人一定都能對這個經驗感同身受：夾爪放在完美的位置，但你只看到它輕輕擦過獎品邊邊，就收回去了。 - 「面臨」- Up Against
It's great if players know what they are up against, especially since sites like YouTube have enabled claw-machine enthusiasts to broadcast their victories...like this guy.
知道自己會面臨什麼情況對玩家來說是好的，特別是因為有像 YouTube 這類的網站，能讓夾娃娃狂熱者廣佈自己的勝利...像這個人。
