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Turns out… I’m Incapable of Playing Crane Games?
And gacha too
While in Japan, I had a very interesting interaction with crane games and my anxiety…
I’m sure we’ve almost all played a crane game in our lives. There used to be one at the local bowling alley when I was a kid, although that’s long gone. Now the only ones I ever run across are crappy mini-crane games in Walmart that cost loonies just to get a poorly painted rubber duck.
But in Japan, crane games are something else!
They’re a skill to hone, a hobby to pursue, and obsession to feed. If you watch vlog content in Japan, you’ll likely have seen the buildings that are multi-story towers of crane games. Some buildings are a variety, with crane games on the first few floors and arcades on the upper levels, or a gacha hall — but the point is — floors and floors of crane game machines!
Going to Japan we were well aware of the plentiful crane games and arcades. We watched CDawgVA host competitions with his friends where they’re both given a budget and they see who can win the most prizes. And that looked like a lot of fun. That was one of the many “Just Japan” things we wanted to do.
Well– that didn’t end up happening for two reasons. Firstly, me and my partner were travelling with only a…
