A claw machine is not really a game about the claw. It is a game about what is in the machine. Fill it badly and the best machine in the world feels rigged; fill it well and a cheap prize feels like a trophy.
This is the part people plan last and it is the part that decides whether the queue keeps coming back.
Shape matters more than value
The single biggest mistake is filling a machine with things a claw physically cannot grip. A claw grabs by closing around a shape, so it needs something with a graspable middle — a neck, a waist, an ear, a loop.
Works well: small plush toys (the classic, for good reason), anything in a mesh or drawstring bag, capsule balls, boxed items with a ribbon, items with a lanyard or loop.
Works badly: flat items, smooth cubes, anything in slippery cellophane, single rigid boxes with no edge to catch, and anything heavier than the claw is set for.
If you want to put an awkward item in, the fix is usually a bag. Drop it into a small mesh bag and the claw suddenly has something to hold.
Size it to the chute, not to the cabinet
A prize that fits in the cabinet but not through the drop chute is the most frustrating possible outcome — someone wins and then watches it jam. Before you buy a few hundred of anything, check the item against the chute opening, not the glass.
As a rule, prizes want to be comfortably smaller than the chute in every dimension, and light enough that the claw can lift them clear rather than drag them. Mixed sizes are good: a few larger "hero" prizes at the back for aspiration, the bulk of the machine filled with the size you actually expect people to win.
Fill it properly, and keep filling it
A half-empty machine is a bad machine. Prizes need to be piled to a reasonable depth and reasonably level, because a claw dropping into a crater will come up with nothing no matter how it is set. As the machine empties through the day, prizes slide into the corners and the middle hollows out.
At an event, that means someone needs to top it up and level it every so often. We handle that on staffed hires, but if a machine is running unattended at a fete or in an office, nominate someone and tell them what "levelled" looks like.
Use your own product if you have one
This is where a claw machine stops being entertainment and becomes a campaign. A machine filled with your own product is a sampling mechanic people queue for, which is not something you can say about a trestle table of samples.
It works best with small, light, bag-friendly product: sachets, minis, travel sizes, merch, gift cards in a capsule. If the product itself is awkward, put it in a branded bag or capsule and you get both the grip and the branding.
We can wrap the machine in matching artwork in-house, so the cabinet and the prize tell the same story. See the case studies for what that looks like in the field, or the claw machine hire page for the machines themselves.
Things to avoid putting in
Anything fragile. It is going to be dropped from height into a metal chute, repeatedly.
Food that can melt or crush. Chocolate in a warm venue is a mess waiting to happen. Sealed, robust, shelf-stable only.
Anything with small parts if children are playing. Check age suitability the same way you would for any giveaway.
Valuables loose in the machine. If you want a high-value prize, put a token or voucher in a capsule and redeem it at a counter. Safer, and it lets you control how many go out.
Anything you only have a few of. If three people win in the first ten minutes, you have run a three-minute activation.
How many prizes do you actually need?
This depends on how the machine is set, but plan generously rather than exactly. For a busy few-hour event you want enough stock to refill the machine more than once, plus the understanding that a well-set machine is meant to be winnable — people losing repeatedly is how a queue dies.
Our view is that the point of the machine at an event is throughput and good feeling, not difficulty. Tell us what the event is and we will set it accordingly, and advise on quantities for your headcount when you book.
If you would rather not sort any of this
We can supply the machine filled and ready, or you can fill it with your own product and we handle the machine. Both are normal. Hire includes delivery, setup and pack-down, and the cabinet can be wrapped in your branding with artwork designed and printed in-house.
Tell us about the event and we will tell you what to put in it.