[title]
You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who, at some point in their lives, has not been done dirty by a claw machine—most are designed with a too-weak grip that drops or barely caresses the prizes inside them, refusing to give you a genuine shot at snatching a prize.
But my ambivalence towards claw machines as a losing-averse person has been tested recently: my friends have been taking me to these highly-addictive, money-eating crane game arcades that, in the span of a year, have seemingly become ubiquitous across Manhattan's Chinatown, Flushing and beyond.
My favorite part about them? I've been winning. A lot.
RECOMMENDED: Tropical-themed nightlife spot Gitano is opening its first permanent location by the Seaport
These new generation claw machine arcades are designed to be an entire experience of their own. For one, they look and feel like they were pulled straight out of Japan—organized in tightly crammed rows, flashing with neon lights and playing high pitched jingles I can only describe as “extremely kawaii.” Most of the prizes and toys are of characters from Japanese franchises like Sanrio or Pokémon.
When you enter one of these arcades, you typically have to approach a front desk or an automated machine that releases tokens into a small plastic trey. Different machines require a different number of tokens, depending on how large the prices in that machine are. In most of these arcades, they're labeled by level of difficulty, so you can decide how much of a risk you actually want to take.
Feih Hidalgo, a 21-year-old assistant manager at Anime Claw in Chinatown, tells me that she's seen the explosion of claw machine arcades pick up across NYC since the pandemic. She thinks it is, in part, a result of people traveling to Japan and finding out how lucrative these claw machine businesses actually are. More importantly, though, the people bringing these Japanese-inspired claw machine arcades don't just want to steal your money.
"They're bringing Asia's version, which is a more friendly claw machine experience," Hidalgo tells Time Out New York. "The claw machines in the States are definitely rigged."
Unlike the claw machines most of us grew up with, I'd say there's a roughly 25% to 30% chance of winning something here, based on my own rough estimate from spending many hours at these places. Some of Hidalgo's favorite moments from working at the arcade are the most human, like when the arcade is empty but a customer wins a plushie so they celebrate their win silently. These small moments—when a grown person can't help but revert to a state of simple, childlike joy—are a treat to experience.
Clem Yu, the founder of Stanley's Claw Machine at 60 Mulberry Street in Chinatown, decided to open a claw machine arcade in 2022 after he experienced that joy first hand, too, namely, when he saw his son's face light up after he won a toy from a machine in Asia. He dedicated the following year to developing a claw machine business and finally opened his arcade in October 2023. The name Stanley's is an ode to his son's favorite plushie, Stanley, which he's carried everywhere with him since he was 1.
When I asked him why he thinks claw machine arcades are having a moment, he cites the type of nostalgia where we tended to live more in the moment. "There's a cyclical interest for retro and simple entertainment devoid of screens," Yu says. "Claw machines are simple, don't require instructions, and are largely self-sufficient."
“There's a cyclical interest for retro and simple entertainment devoid of screens.”
At Anime Claw, Hidalgo makes sure that people don't leave the arcade empty handed, and she gives people who didn't win anything freebies or, if they prefer, help. Once, I spent $20 on tokens and won nothing, so one of the staff members unlocked a machine and balanced a plushie at the very edge of the machine, essentially making it so that all I had to do was knock it over half an inch to win.
There's an abundance ethos to these arcades that makes them highly addictive and welcoming, much less frustrating and hostile than their greedy American cousins. In a world that feels chaotic and ever so complicated, the simple joy of winning a plushie from a machine that is not rigged against me must not be trivialized.
Here are some of the more popular claw machine arcades you can check out:
Manhattan
Anime Claw (20 Pell Street, Chinatown)
There are several machines here, including smaller ones with keychains. There's a mix of young adults and groups of friends, and it's conveniently located in the heart of Chinatown.
Boba Box2 (12 East 14th Street, Union Square)
Perfect if you want to play some games and also get your boba fix, all in one centrally located spot.
PARTEA NYC (220 East 14th Street, Union Square)
This one feels a little more intense with low lighting and more neon lights, and also has food, boba and dozens of claw machines.
Stanley's Claw (60 Mulberry Street, Chinatown)
This is a smaller, cozier space if you prefer an intimate experience.
Queens
Up One (136-17 39th Avenue, Flushing)
One of the perks of being in Queens is that the spaces are bigger, which means more plushie options. This one has many more than your typical Manhattan joint.
Gatcha (133-33 39th Avenue, Flushing)
Located on the second floor of a mall, this one has an extensive collection of claw machines as well as other arcade games, perfect to take a breather in between attempts.
Project KE (36-12 Main Street, Flushing)
Chiller vibes with seating. You can also buy manga and figurines.
Matte (8511 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights)
There are claw machines here, but you can also buy plushies and other toys without having to play the games.