HowTo: Hack Arcade Machines
Posted in Howto by Dan at 10:32 am
Gaming arcades (with or without prizes) are a complete scam. You pay $5 to $20 for tokens and win like a piece of gum or some stupid keychain. (or both if you’re lucky)Anyway, the other day I had a brilliant idea… an idea shared by many. WHAT IF you bought your arcade tokens online, snuck them into the arcade in your pockets, and saved yourself a TON of cash?! Well, it’d be cool as long as you don’t get caught.
Arcade Prices:
1 Token = 25 CentseBay Prices:
200 Tokens = Around $15… averages a little less than 10 cents a token!You’d be saving some big bank, but is it worth it? Why not just buy the tickets instead? That’s a little trickier, since they tend to be less generic and some places have moved to a proprietary system with barcodes and all that. So, before they replace the tokens with magnetic-striped cards or all that… you’d better cash out!
Great story thanks
good info, but definitely NOT a hack
So who actually plays old arcade games? I think I’ve been to one arcade in the last 3 years but that place required that we use debit-like cards for loading credits into the games.
This post reminds me of how much I want an old pinball machine in my living room.
now how do i defeat all those carnival competitions, like Whack-a-Mole or the milkcan softball drop?? if only i could walk out of Hershey park with a 5 foot stuffed bear…. =p btw, buying tokens online is crap. first, ‘cuz u’re ripping off the arcade. second, ‘cuz you’re using your money to rip off an arcade!! if you’re gonna rip someone off the point is to do it in a way that’s cost free to you. hmmm… duh!!??! were you even alive during the 80s??? do you know what arcades are about?? do you know anything?
didnt mean to sound angry or mean. so sorry.. its just monday.. i hate mondays. my point is this, buyin tokens is cheating. figure out some way to freeze cardon dioxide to be the exact size and weight of a token for example and use those. at least its scientific and pays homage to the 80s movie Real Genius.
Is it me or does this ‘hack’ come down to:
“‘Hack’ an arcade by buying cheaper tokens.”
Show me the hack part?
This is no hack. This is just plain stupid. You could at least show yourself making a fishing line or something!
I happen to manage an arcade and let me tell you something. We really don’t like this sort of thing. The point of tokens is you buy them HERE and spend them HERE. it’s a lock-in comittment of your $1. We don’t exchange them for cash. The bonus? If you spend more, you get free tokens.
But when we catch people using illicit tokens it’s ban-city. It’s not even that hard, look for somebody who walks in, then starts playing out of their pockets. Usually they have leftover tokens from a previous visit, but sometimes they brought tokens from the local Chuck-e-Cheese or somewhere else.
And furthermore, just bringing in your own tickets won’t work either. Not only are they barcoded, but it’s also really obvious. The games dispense them by ‘biting’ them with a spoked wheel, leaving a track of perforations along the tickets. They’re customized to our location too, and finally. If I see anybody walking in with a perfect, mint stack of tickets; ban city. People fold them, bunch them, mess them up and tear them when they carry them around the arcade.
Any arcade operator that pays attention can see these sort of cheap tricks, and at any rate, what’s in it for you? Some sort of sleazy satisfaction that you’re screwing the arcade? It’s not easy to run an arcade, you know. We’re not here so much for the games as for the people. I put a lot of effort into maintaining my employee’s customer service and helping people have the best time they can have. Arcades are about people and socializing. Friendly competition. If you don’t like it, then go home and play X-Box.
nice idea.
reminds me of the guy who made his own Atlantic City $10 Slot tokens and made millions
Hey, I thought you might be interested. These video files show you how to cheat machines without spending so much as a dime :)
http://www.torrentbox.com/account-details.php?id=150091
cool lol
yo
how about this:
most places that use tickets either have machines that “eat” them and count them.
or they may also have a counter where they weigh the tickets.
both can be hacked.
First, for the weigh, you can make the tickets heavier by dipping them in salt water. let dry, and scrape obvious residue off.
Second, for the muncher, simply drill a hole in the center of a folded (VVVVVV) string of tickets. The counter for the muncher simply counts the holes it sees. when you double the holes, you double the output. Authentic tickets are also unnessisary.
A lot of people still play arcade machines, for whoever asked…
As for the person posting this article…. You’re aware that many places – our shop included – ARRESTS people who do that…
People trying to STEAL from arcades is why there are so few arcades left… If you don’t mind being the kind of person who puts people out of business, making them unable to feed their families, then go right ahead. Remember, when you have no arcades left in your area, that you’re a reason why..
(And by the way, maintenance costs on arcade machines is quite high, just so you know)
I agree with Chameleon.
I used to work at a family entertainment center that had a large redemption operation, and I was always amazed by the number of people who would complain about the cash value of the prizes they could take home by redeeming their tickets. Parents would call it a rip-off, arguing that they could go to Wal-Mart and buy the same prize for 10% of what they paid for the tokens. So quickly do they forget about the 2 hours they just spent running around with their kids having an excellent time playing dozens of arcade games (that cost tens of thousands annually to operate and maintain)