It's easier to win the stuffed stuff in the off-season. I saw one of the guys in an NJ shore arcade adjusting the tension on the claws a few weeks after Labor Day. Also, they pack the toys in tight so you can't get them out. One someone loosens up the bunch you have a fighting chance. I don't play them (pinball's my game) but watched my niece do quite well on the cranes a few summers ago.