Though some of us are far bigger gaming enthusiasts than others, we've probably all tried our hands at a claw machine at some point, likely hoping that we were that one exceptional kid who could win.
Alas, most of us lost way more money than we would like to admit to one of these machines, and with no toys, adorable stuffed animals or other prizes to show for it.
TikToker Katie Clark (@clarkatie) recently revealed why that was the case for all of us—and the truth is almost maddening.
Clark primarily uses her TikTok account to share renovation videos as she works her way through her through her eventual dream home. She recently purchased a claw machine from Facebook Marketplace and was looking at the internals to figure out how to get it running again.
While she had the machine open, she found the manual for the machine hidden behind all of its internals, and what she found confirmed the suspicions we've all had—which was that these machines were rigged to take our money.
Specifically, as Clark shares in one of two videos, the machine has a difficulty setting. The owner can set the machine up to allow players to win anywhere from every time...to only once in fifty tries. Talk about poor chances!
You can watch the video here:
As if that weren't enough, Clark shared in another video that there was also something suspicious at work with the claw itself. We've all agonized over a claw being unable to pick up a toy, or to pick it up and then be too weak to carry it all the way to the drop zone.
As it turns out, that is a setting on the machine, as well. More specifically, the owner of the machine can add a metal washer to the grabbing mechanism just above the moveable claws. With a washer, the claw's grip will be much stronger. Without a washer, the claw's grip will be frustratingly weak, like we all experienced.
You can watch the second video here:
Fellow TikTokers agreed that we sort of always knew this, but it was validating to have the manual confirm our suspicions.
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
@clarkatie/TikTok
Clark later shared a fun update of her family assembling the bar area of her upcoming home, which is the room where she planned to install the claw machine. In the video, the claw machine was not fully repaired or installed yet, but it will be fun to see how it looks when it's up and running again.
For our nostalgic hearts, it will be wonderful to see someone finally win a few rounds with the claw machine. We hope there's at least one incredibly adorable teddy bear waiting in there for her.
But no matter what difficulty setting she decides to use or however many washers she decides to add, hopefully Clark will warn her nephews that the experiences they'll have with her claw machine should not be expected anywhere else.
@kirstendunst/Instagram 
Barack Obama/Medium