- 5 weeks ago
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00:00This is me entering an arcade wearing just your normal everyday backpack, only
00:04technically it's not your normal everyday backpack because when I set it
00:08here and then nonchalantly load a few balls into the water bottle then it
00:11plays the game like a good robot should and I win all the tickets. And that's
00:15pretty cool but what if I told you I made similar backpacks not just for
00:19skeeball but for this game and this one basically coming up with contraptions to
00:24absolutely dominate five of the most common arcade games including some hacks
00:28that cost less than a dollar and actually work to set world record ticket
00:33payouts. But we also secretly recorded data from a bunch of different arcades so
00:37I'll teach you the strategies to beat the games that give out the most tickets
00:40along with showing you the five games we discovered are actual scams. Don't ever
00:44step foot in another arcade again until you've watched this video in its
00:47entirety. Let's get started now admittedly the genesis for this
00:57video came when I was using my over engineered bowling ball that I could
01:00control just by leaning because I thought what if I took that same concept
01:03and applied it to mini golf. And while that idea could be really useful for
01:07getting a good golf score there's just no real payoff for my efforts which
01:15focused my attention to the holy grail of any mini golf course the arcade. It was
01:20time to recoup all the allowance money I've lost as a kid starting first with
01:24a ski ball. And before we really see it in action let me first explain how it works.
01:28Because if you take away the backpack you'll find a Frankenstein version of a
01:32softball pitching machine that we chopped up and modified so it runs just
01:36off batteries. Then there's a solenoid here that makes sure the ski balls get
01:39released one at a time. So if you just turn it on then we put a ball in here it
01:44fires the ball like this. The coolest part here though is when it's placed in the
01:48backpack you roll this pocket up to reveal the ball exit and then place this
01:51water bottle here as a clever disguise to load up to three balls at a time. Now of
01:55course if you don't have a secret robot backpack here's how you win this game as
01:59a mere human. For starters if you watch the pros play yes there are skeeball pros
02:04they actually aim for the 4,000 point hole. This actually makes sense because
02:08even if your throat is a little too weak or a little too strong you're still
02:12getting significant points. A common mistake is to take the bait and go all or
02:16nothing by aiming for the small 10,000 point hole in the corner. The pros aim
02:21for this only in desperate situations where they're behind and they need big
02:24points to make a comeback for the win. The other big tip is to brace your leg
02:28against the base of the machine in the same spot each time and then try and only
02:32move your arm which will make your throws more repeatable and accurate
02:35because you're reducing the variables that could lead to air. So if you want to
02:39win just follow these tips and practice a bunch. Or you can just go with my route.
02:51So then when you're all done dominating or if you think one of the workers might
02:55be getting suspicious you can just pick up the backpack at any point and walk away
02:59with a bunch of tickets on your card. Up next is one of my personal favorites
03:03basketball. In this case the backpack is being used just to smuggle the special
03:07mechanism inside. Because of the untrained eye this is just a normal basketball
03:11when in fact it's a robot in disguise. Now before I show you exactly how it
03:16works you first need to understand how these games work. Just underneath each
03:20rim is an infrared laser and a detector and then on the front of the rim on the
03:24other side of that metal plate is a reflector. So when the laser beam shines
03:28straight forward it bounces off the reflector and then the sensors like yep I
03:31can see the beam. So when a ball goes through the hoop it breaks the beam and the
03:35sensors like aha I didn't see it for a second. At which point it tells the game
03:39to add two points to your total because that means you must have scored. In
03:42engineering we call this a beam break detector and it's the exact same concept
03:46you have as a safety feature on your garage door. So if you really want to
03:49destroy the high score here the ball needs to break the beam then somehow get
03:53out of the way so the beam reconnects and then come back and break the beam
03:56again over and over again as fast as possible. But if you think about it the whole
04:00ball doesn't need to actually get out of the way just the part in front of the beam
04:04itself. And how might you do that? Well one way is to 3D print the bottom hemisphere
04:08of a basketball in two parts attached together through some linear guide rods
04:11then add a battery microcontroller and servo motor so the bottom part of the
04:15shell can translate up and down. This way it would reconnect the beam and then
04:18break it over and over again and register two points every time that
04:22happened. Now you just need a way to grab the rim so you can hang out there while
04:25you perform these shenanigans. And if you have some pneumatic pistons connected to a
04:28mini pressure intake controlled by solenoid valve triggered by an RF remote then you
04:32could shoot the ball normally and then with one push of a button piston rods
04:35would shoot out and grab the rim and then once mischief was managed you trigger
04:39the remote again and they would retract. Now if you just add another 3D printed
04:43hemisphere on top then glue on the actual basketball skin and when you put it all
04:46together it would look something like this. Now if you don't happen to have a
04:50robo ball here's a few tips that will help you get the high score for this game. Now
04:54the most important thing is you never want to waste time waiting for a ball to roll
04:57down to you and since these games normally come in pairs just swipe your card on both
05:01games and then temporarily borrow the second set of balls. Now this should give
05:05you plenty more than you need so just keep the balls that are the least
05:08inflated. Now you start the game and get into a rhythm where you finish your shot
05:11with one hand and then start grabbing a replacement ball with your other hand
05:14before your first shot has even gone in. Or if the rim is close and you want to get
05:18really extreme you can just go with the two-handed shooting strategy like this
05:21guy. But even that strategy is no match for my spherical transformer because when I'm
05:25ready to go I just shoot the ball with one hand and then hit the remote right as it's about to go in.
05:30And now as the ball just sits there articulating I simply watch those sweet
05:35sweet points rack themselves right on up.
05:47And then as soon as time's up I just hit the remote again and the piston rods are tracked.
05:51And while no one's the wiser I've now engineered my way to a buttload of tickets
05:55and a new lifetime high score. Next up is a really popular game called quick drop where
06:00you hit this button to release these ping pong balls at the right moment and if
06:04you get all 50 ping pong balls into the buckets within the 22 seconds allotted
06:08without missing any shots then you hit the mega jackpot. But the thing is to get
06:12all 50 balls in before the time runs out there's essentially no margin for human
06:16air. Which is good news for me because robot backpacks don't make human airs. Now you notice when I walk up I can just set the backpack down and it self registers right in place.
06:24The trick here is we 3D printed an exact negative replica of the button housing on the game and this piston rod that pokes through and pushes the button on the game is attached to the solenoid that's controlled by this Arduino microcontroller and it tells it the exact timing needed to beat the game.
06:39Now if you're trying this on your own here's what you need to know. To successfully do this in 22 seconds you have to drop 4 balls in each bucket except in 2 buckets you've got to drop 5. Now dropping 5 into these 2 buckets isn't impossible but the timing is so tight it's really hard to pull off without them hitting the rim and bouncing out.
06:57Now the jackpot starts at 500 tickets and every time someone loses it goes up by 2 tickets and each time that happens the game gives you just a little more total time on the clock.
07:07And so if you ever see the jackpot at more than 625 tickets enough time is now on the clock where you only need 4 balls per bucket to win and it's definitely worth trying it a few times because that makes it so much easier to pull off.
07:19Alternatively if you're too impatient to wait for the jackpot to rise up you can just go to school for 6 years to get a degree in mechanical engineering and do it this way.
07:35And then even as all 554 sweet delicious tickets are being added to your account you can just inconspicuously walk away with your backpack in tow.
07:43For our next game we've got the perennial arcade favorite air hockey.
07:49Now this is the most complicated of all the builds because if you look closely here at the top there's a hole in the bag for a camera to look out through.
07:55Then stripping away the backpack you can see that camera connects to the brains and in this case it's a raspberry pi.
08:01Which is basically like a mini computer instead of just an arduino microcontroller like all the other builds have used so far.
08:07The reason this one needs a bit more brain power is because it uses computer vision to track the puck and based off the trajectory it makes a prediction then sends instructions to rotate this servo which is attached to an arm that moves the paddle and protects the goal.
08:20Nice.
08:21And perhaps my favorite part of this build is that it obviously won't work if the whole thing is sliding and moving all around.
08:26So we need to anchor it down securely into position but we need to do that quickly and discreetly.
08:31Our solution here is a pair of neodymium toggle magnets.
08:34So if you simply turn both of these knobs the rare earth magnets move into position and anchor it to the steel frame of the air hockey table and it's basically cemented in place as you can see here.
08:44As for the human strategy here playing air hockey might seem like total chaos but there are four simple tricks that will pretty much guarantee you can beat any casual player.
08:53The first is to hold the paddle like this and not like this.
08:56Doing that allows you to really whip the paddle around and gain extra speed on your shots.
09:01The second is that for your default defensive position you want your paddle to be out here not right up against the goal right here.
09:07That's because this cuts down the angle and you only have to move the paddle back and forth this far to protect the whole goal versus back and forth this far if you're against the edge.
09:15This is the same reason goalies will come out of the goal if there's a breakaway in soccer.
09:19Even for a bang shot you now just have to move the paddle a small distance diagonally back like this.
09:24So your paddle should essentially always stay inside a triangle like this when you're playing defense.
09:29Now when you watch professionals play, yes there are air hockey professionals, you will see them employ both these first two tips.
09:35The third trick you'll also see is they try and play for possession.
09:38You want to try and cushion your opponent's shot and gain possession of the puck so you can set up your own shot which leads to the last tip.
09:44Mix up the straight shots and bank shots but try and practice at least one trick shot like this one where you hit the puck down into the corner and then when it rebounds back to you you hit the bank shot for the win.
09:53Here's what that looks like in action.
09:55Now the real benefit of my backpack system is you can be playing your opponent but then when you get a phone call or you have to attend to some other important manners your goal is in safe hands.
10:12And then at your own leisure you can eventually just come back and finish things off.
10:16Then with the victory securely in hand you just disengage the two toggle magnets with a twist and you're good to go.
10:22And finally we've got the ultimate test of strength, the punching bag game.
10:26Now for this one to make it more interesting I wanted to find and challenge the guy in the arcade whose muscles looked the least like mine.
10:33So I stepped up first and rocked a 6-7-8 out of a possible 9-9-9.
10:39But then he stepped up and rocked an 8-7-7.
10:44And since that's bigger than 6-7-8 the trash talking commenced.
10:48Maybe you spent a little less time at the computer and a little more time in the weight room.
10:52So that was disappointing but lucky for me I had a trick up my sleeve.
10:56Like actually because that's a fake arm in order to disguise this.
11:01That was the one that was still a little inadequate.
11:03It's basically a bionic punching arm powered by two spring loaded pistons.
11:07To set the springs we use a threaded rod and a drill and once under tension they're held in place with a quick release mechanism I can trigger with my finger at the exact moment I want to punch a thing.
11:17And I would classify the initial test in the lab as encouraging.
11:24Now it's important to note to play by the rules for this game there's no side punching, pushing, running, kicking or headbutting.
11:30But you'll notice there's no rule against spring loaded piston punching gloves.
11:34So now that my moment of sheer domination had arrived I stepped up and rocked an 8-38.
11:43Which was less than 8-77 which was disappointing.
11:48And in hindsight I should have known it's really hard to compete with the human body in terms of things like punching and throwing.
11:54Because we're just so efficient with those mechanics.
11:56And I have to sacrifice a lot of the speed and momentum of my own arm body system when I'm wearing that heavy wrist mounted puncher.
12:03But you know what? I'm a fighter. And what I lack in muscle mass I make up for in tenacity.
12:07So out of curiosity I took a closer look to see how the machine actually works.
12:11And it turns out it has a beam break sensor just like the basketball game.
12:15So as that odd shaped metal piece which is attached to the axle and punching bag rotates around the beam has this tiny window to hit the sensor.
12:22You can see the sensor in the front view here.
12:25So the game cleverly measures how many milliseconds the sensor sees the beam for.
12:29And from that it infers how quickly the bag is rotating on the axle and therefore how hard it was punched.
12:34And this gave me an idea.
12:36So I went to the prize counter and redeemed a few of my jackpot tickets I'd been stocking up in exchange for a PEZ dispenser.
12:42Step one was to unwrap and eat some of the PEZ because they're just delicious.
12:46And then for step two I removed the head and cut the arcade card like this and then taped it here and then went and tracked down my new friend.
12:53My theory was that if I extended the PEZ dispenser and modified card out like this and then let go.
12:58The force of the spring would retract the card and it would break the beam so fast the machine would think it was an insanely fast punch.
13:05But would it actually work?
13:07And it turns out it absolutely does because I maxed out the machine.
13:13So yeah, use this information responsibly kids.
13:17Now a few years ago I made a video where I visited the carnival and collected data on all the games and then used physics to expose which carnival games were rigged and then showed how to beat them.
13:26So this time around instead of the carnival I once again bribed some family friends with unlimited slurpees in exchange for them collecting a bunch of data at some local arcades.
13:34And in addition to uncovering which games were scams, which I'll cover in just a minute, here's what we discovered.
13:39For starters, the most popular games in the arcade were the redemption games as opposed to the experience games.
13:44And here's what I mean by that. Redemption games are the games where the goal is to win tickets.
13:49So like the coin pushers or this Plinko game or spin the wheel.
13:53On the other end of the spectrum you have experience games like air hockey, skee-ball or racing games.
13:58It's a trade-off because the games on this side of the spectrum give out more tickets but it's not as much about the fun of the experience.
14:05And then in the middle of the spectrum you have games like the ping pong drop or hit the clown that have middle of the road ticket payouts but they're also middle of the road fun to play.
14:14Now since the games on this side were a lot more popular, they earn a lot more money for the arcade even when you factor in the higher ticket payouts.
14:21We found that for a medium-sized arcade on a busy day, the less popular games were played 25 times and the more popular ones could be played up to 250 times or more.
14:31At an average gameplay of $1, that means each game makes $25 to $250 per day or about $7 to $70,000 per year.
14:40And finally, we found that if your sole goal was to win tickets, coin pusher games like this Avengers one seemed to be the best return on investment.
14:47But honestly, you can just ask one of the workers there who are hanging out making minimum wage and are probably pretty chill because chances are they'll just tell you which ones they regularly see payout the best.
14:57Alright, so finally let's get to the real juicy part and talk about which games we discovered were basically scams.
15:04Now I actually have some experience in this area because a few years back I built my original backpack arcade robot to dominate this game.
15:10Basically, it would sense the light turning on a few lights in front of the jackpot light, then it would hit the button with sub millisecond precision,
15:16and then we would touch nothing in between runs, and yet it would alternate between missing both short and long.
15:22In other words, the timing on the jackpot light doesn't match up with the duration it's lit, and it's very different from all the other lights.
15:28You can actually test this yourself by picking a random light, and you'll find miraculously you could somehow hit that random light every single time you try.
15:35Now this caused me to dig a little deeper, and after a bit of research I was able to locate a copy of the owner's manual,
15:40at which point I discovered the arcade owner could just manually set how often a jackpot should be won.
15:46So this time around I was curious what other games were essentially running the same scam where you think it's a game of skill,
15:52but in reality the arcade owner is controlling when a jackpot's won.
15:56And as it turns out, this really popular game called Stacker employs the same trick.
16:01This other really popular game Keymaster and this Cut the Rope game are also in fact running the same scam.
16:07In all three cases I was able to get a hold of a copy of their owner's manual,
16:10and each one has some language around how the arcade owner can specify how often a jackpot occurs.
16:16I also found many but not all claw machines have language around how it would close with full strength,
16:21but then back off to a much weaker strength of whatever is set by the owner.
16:25For this reason it's best to try for prizes closest to the exit hole to minimize the amount of time it's held in the claws.
16:31And I call these games scams because they present themselves as winnable games of skill,
16:35when in reality it's essentially a random dice roll that is heavily stacked against you.
16:40And just like at the carnival, the most lucrative games are those where people overestimate their chances of winning,
16:45because they seem to get close, but they don't quite win.
16:48In gambling psychology this is known as the near-miss effect, and it will lead to increased play of the slot machine.
16:53But this is much worse than a slot machine, because at least in that case,
16:56you know it doesn't matter how you pull the lever because it's random chance.
17:00And on top of that, those games are regulated, so there is a minimum payout required by law.
17:05So for every dollar, for example, put into a slot machine, they have to pay out at least 80 cents back to the players.
17:11But for those scam arcade games I just mentioned, the default payout rate is on average 20 cents for every dollar you spend,
17:17but a shady arcade owner could basically set that to zero, and no one would know,
17:21and that would be perfectly legal.
17:23And that's especially messed up because it's primarily played by kids.
17:26So if you remember nothing else, just try and pick games that avoid any sort of digital winning element that can be rigged,
17:32because in those cases, you just never really know what your chances are.
17:35These games, however, are all great options to at least have a better sense of your actual odds of winning.
17:40I've checked the manual for all of these, and what you see is exactly what you get.
17:44And I can vouch, some arcades are more fair about this than others.
17:47For example, my home arcade here refuses to carry any of the games that could be rigged against you,
17:51which I think is pretty cool.
17:53However, if they happen to see this, my only suggestion is that moving forward,
17:56they should probably institute a no backpacks allowed policy.
17:58And perhaps also don't let people redeem tickets for PEZ dispensers.
18:14All right, thank you.
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