Posted By teeni on September 4, 2007

This is the prize I got for winning the Whack-a-Mole game at the amusement park that TGH took me to on Sunday. I think it is some sort of Fraggle. We had a lot of fun. And even though I’m actually awesome at Whack-A-Mole, it still cost about $8 for this stuffed animal, as I had to play a few times to get past the “little” prizes and trade up for the biggest one.

Now, first things first - I need to clear the air. I am not great at a lot of things so I don’t feel like I’m boasting when I say I’m awesome at Whack-A-Mole. I really AM great at it. I know that I can always win a prize at an amusement park if they have that game. I have made little kids cry and pissed off their parents because they can’t win when I’m playing. Believe me, I wish it was a skill I could transfer to a more important aspect of life, but I can’t so I have to use the talents I was given in the only way I know how. But I also AM nice about it and even bow out a few games to let other people have a chance at winning so I don’t want to hear anyone give me grief about it. I’m allowed to be good at something. So there.

Now - the important part of this post is that amusement parks are really cheap with their midway games. I was impressed with the park we were at on Sunday because it was clean (bathrooms had attendants and everything) and almost affordable to enter the park. Also, the entrance fee covered the shows inside the park, which were really good. This was not a big name franchise park like Six Flags so I was even more duly impressed. Plus, it is the one remaining amusement park that I remember going to with my family as a kid. All the rest have been torn down, turned into condos, etc. So, needless to say I was happy to see how well this one had survived the times and seemed to be doing it well. But unfortunately, this park, like all of the bigger ones, had really cheesy prizes.

Not only did they have cheesy prizes, the games were expensive to play in the first place. To top it off, there were signs posted to inform you that the prizes were not for sale. I think these signs are really what got to me. I could picture some poor schmoe spending his hard earned dough on one of these unfairly biased midway games, trying to win a prize for one of his brood and having to walk away empty handed.

I used to be one of those kids and I remember my dad trying to knock over those milk cans to get me a huge blue stuffed cat that was bigger than I was. I had one quarter in my hand and dad had run out of his, losing them all in an effort to please me. I gave him my quarter for one last try and wouldn’t you know it - he won the dang thing! I was the beamingest kid on the planet that day. I think every kid should have that feeling towards their dad (or mom). But the games ARE slanted against the players and very difficult to win.

Really, would it kill them to hand out or sell a prize to someone who just spent $10 playing there without winning? What the player spent more than covers the cost of the prize - I mean, let’s face it, we’re not talking about collectible Steiff bears here - these are cheaply made, thrown together and not even soft, stuffed animals probably made of flammable fabrics. I honestly don’t believe that someone who spent that much should walk away empty-handed whether they won or not. So why not let someone buy a prize? Sheesh. They could still make a good business and they’d sure send a lot fewer kids home crying.

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Category: Games, Got Me Thinking
Tags: Amusement Parks, Games