Carnival games/scams

[spartacus53]

Thank you warsawdaddy

I guess as a kid the was nothing like going to a carnival; whether it was a county fair, or on the boardwalk of a beach, those games were magnets. Sometimes you would forget about that spinning teacup ride to be the proud owner of a huge stuffed animal. I thought I had all the skills of a great hunter and that prize was in the bag. Little did we know, the closest most of us came to the stuffed animal was winning a 10 cent plastic trinket.

There were a ton of skill games to chose from, simple as they looked, they were all nearly impossible to win. I guess for a boy the one that really caught our eye were the shooting games. The famous shoot out the "Red Star", had to be the biggest scam ever. Here you are holding the powerful 200 shot BB Tommy gun. This bad boy could unleash all 200 rounds in a matter of seconds, hitting everything but that star. Well, you could hit the start, but even with short bursts, those BB's were all over the map. No matter how hard you tried, there was always some remain of that star still left standing.

Go on, name your nightmare game, I left you tons to chose from.

 

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[WindHarvester]

The ring toss always drove me nuts, I know I bought their old glass milk jugs many times over. I was always good at darts and that was the first place I'd go with my laddie friends to win them a stuffed animal.

 

[spartacus53]

The ring toss always drove me nuts, I know I bought their old glass milk jugs many times over. I was always good at darts and that was the first place I'd go with my laddie friends to win them a stuffed animal.

You may have been lucky, the darts we where given were sometimes missing fletching, or the fletching was all matted down. Once thrown, those darts wobbled to the target and you'd sooner hit the broadside of a barn.

They had 2 types of ring toss, the worst was those little plastic rings that would bounce like a "jumping bean" once they tapped the glass bottleneck.

 

[Tony66]

I remember doing the dart game as a kid, never could figure out why the "sharp" dart bounced off a (underinflated) ballon. got older, relized the darts were so dull they couldn't pierce water and the balloon, well, that speaks for itself

 

[Rooter]

Gold fish bowl and ping pong ball game. If you did happen to win you had to carry around a live gold fish in a bowl for hours.

 

[ivan salis]

oh did you forget --the tips on the darts were "bent over" so they would not pierce the "under inflated" ballons but rather walk around them pushing the ballons to the side --however if one imparted a "spin" on the dart shaft by rolling the shaft as one threw it --it like a drill bit * would grab the ballon and "pop" it ---- yep, i caught on to one of their "tricks"----- and yes , the carny "dart" guys hated me

the sights were off on the guns so by the time you got "on target" half the BB's were gone and no matter how you tried the remaining ones were not enough to cut er out -- the trick was a loop around and the hit the center to cause it to tear away like a stamp's edge with holes --very very tough that one to beat.

 

[warsawdaddy]

It wasn't bb's when I was a kid.It was a 22.I forget whether we got 3 shots or four,doesn't matter some red was still going to be there.How about tossing the coin into those flat dishes?That coin would skip across half a dozen of them.

 

[spartacus53]

It wasn't bb's when I was a kid.It was a 22.I forget whether we got 3 shots or four,doesn't matter some red was still going to be there.How about tossing the coin into those flat dishes?That coin would skip across half a dozen of them.

I remember a booth that had a 22. also, but I can't remember if they had prizes Imagine them having a 22. cal game today with prizes. If the kinds lost, they would pull a 9mm and shoot up the place

The only game that was fair and didn't last too long, was throwing the football through a tire.

--however if one imparted a "spin" on the dart shaft by rolling the shaft as one threw it --it like a drill bit * would grab the ballon and "pop" it ---- yep, i caught on to one of their "tricks"----- and yes , the carny "dart" guys hated me

I'm sitting here wondering if you didn't put a little "spin" in your story too

 

[ivan salis]

hey rube --never

 

[truckinbutch]

hey rube --never

That phrase evokes memories of some pretty good brawls I was a May to September a year or two .

 

[spartacus53]

Gold fish bowl and ping pong ball game. If you did happen to win you had to carry around a live gold fish in a bowl for hours.

I never understood wanting to even try and win that. You would end up babysitting the fish all day, by the time you got home they were floating on their backs

 

[cheese]

The bb guns they used around here had bores that were too big for the bbs, so they just flew out the barrel in random directions...impossible to aim or figure out a "trick" for. Crappy scams they are... grown men taking little kids' money.

 

[spartacus53]

The bb guns they used around here had bores that were too big for the bbs, so they just flew out the barrel in random directions...impossible to aim or figure out a "trick" for. Crappy scams they are... grown men taking little kids' money.

Yup, 95% of the games were rigged in some fashion.. The basketballs were overinflated, rims were small and bent out of shape. Meadowlark Lemon would even have problems making a bucket. You also have to remember the horse races with the water guns. Although people did win, it would take a day to win something worthwhile. The biggest scam was also trading up your prizes, they would try and keep you at the booth until you were flat broke

 

[lonesomebob]

I ran a perfectly honest ,.22 cal shooting range . The guns were sighted honestly, the moving targets were ducks in a row , a wheel of revolving clay pipes, and a center hole in a round target that was.25 in diameter. The trick ,if it was was , we paid extra to have a completely surrounded by steel,50 foot range. We charged fifty cents for five shots and paid off on five ducks knocked down in a row, or five pipes shot off clean from the stem, or five bells in the round target, the prizes were paid in range of difficulty. Five ducks got a small bear, five pipes got your fifty cents back and five bells got you a buck. Consistent winners on the bell were teased or mentally hasseled to shake their confidence. I was a hell of a shot in those days, good eyes great reflexes and youth and time to practice. great bell shots were challenged to ring more bells than I could. We made money when it became known that the game was honest, and most people cant shoot for sour apples., that was our edge. Ammo was cheap and the rubes were happy. I did however have a .38 in my left , back pocket, just in case. Bob

 

[spartacus53]

I ran a perfectly honest ,.22 cal shooting range . The guns were sighted honestly, the moving targets were ducks in a row , a wheel of revolving clay pipes, and a center hole in a round target that was.25 in diameter.

Bob, this one one of the few honest ones. It sounds exactly like the one I used to visit at Coney Island when I was a kid. I just can't remember if there were prizes, probably were though I think we just shot for the thrill and pride of being the "top shot". My father started me off at the age of 6 with a 22. cal Marlin, that I still have today

 

[Mark S.]

One of the local firemens carnivals came up with a new way of "carrying" the goldfish. They put them in water bottles.

There is a arge amusement park near my home. Was a Six Flags for a long time and they sold it to another company a couple years back. Its a big summer employer. Also has a lot of those carnival games. A friend had worked there for over 10 years in the games department. Worked his way up and ended up in a supervisory position over the whole department.

One day while he was working one of the games we watched someone dump over $100 in the one game to win some stuffed animals. The guy kept trading to get a bigger one. After he left the friend told us that most of the items in the booth, excepting the large ones cost less then $1. And the large ones were less about $5. Considering that it was $2 a pop (now three) they make lots of money. He ws working comission at the time supervising 6 games. He made over 10 grand just for his part that summer!

The games however are not rigged. There are tricks to many and some are a winner most every time. Of course you pay $3 for a 50 cent prize. My son is working in the games this summer taking stupid peoples money.

 

[EDDE]

 

[spartacus53]

OK, here is one that took a great deal of skill and perhaps knowing the trick. The old metal milk bottles that you had to topple with a softball.

Then you had tossing the softball into an apple basket. Not rigged, but virtually impossible to accomplish from the angle and the distance you are working with.

You also had the old stand a bottle up using a long rod, with string and a plastic ring. This can be done with some practice and knowing the trick in keeping the line tight and the motion constant once you start.

Although the above are not rigged, the odds of winning are slim to none.

 

[Tubecity]

I used to beat that 'softball & apple basket' game by just putting a little reverse spin on the ball.
Like using low english on a cue ball. If you could land the ball just inside the rim with the back spin,
it would usually just lay down & stay in the basket.

 

[TreasurdiggrNY]

http://www.blifaloo.com/info/beat-carnival-games.php