Redemption games are typically

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

games of skill A game of skill or game of wits is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical skill, rather than chance. Alternatively, a game of chance is one where its outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device, such ...

that reward the player proportionally to their score in the game. The reward most often comes in the form of tickets, with more tickets being awarded for higher scores. These tickets can then be redeemed (hence the name) at a central location for prizes. The most inexpensive

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

s (candy, small plastic or rubber toys) may require only a small number of tickets to acquire, while the most expensive ones (skateboards, low-end electronics) may require several thousand. In general, the amount of money spent to win enough tickets for a given prize will exceed the value of the prize itself. Some redemption games, such as

Flamin' Finger Flamin' Finger is an arcade redemption game and merchandiser developed by American company Dell Electronics Labs and released by Namco, notable for its retro design and electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to co ...

, involve elements of chance, which can be set by the operator. A variation on the ticket-based redemption game is the

merchandiser A merchandiser is an arcade game, arcade gaming device, which features a machine that contains a display of merchandise, which can be won by playing the game. In the trade, such games are described as "skill with prize" (SWP) games, and are a hyb ...

, which directly displays and dispenses merchandise, rather than dispensing tickets which are then redeemed for prizes. Redemption games can be seen as the modern successor to

carnival game A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement arcade and amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway. They are also commonly played on holidays such as Mardi Gras, ...

s, as the same general principles apply. = Regulation =

North America

New Jersey

The state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in the United States is the first to prohibit redemption games that distribute tickets based on a player's skill. Games must either dispense no tickets or a fixed number of tickets per play. For example, Chuck E. Cheese's located in these regions have their redemption games configured to always dispense four tickets per play, regardless of how successful a player is at any game.

Florida

In April 2013, the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

passed legislation designed to target sweepstakes parlors—among other changes, it prevents gambling machines from awarding prizes more than $0.75 in value, and prohibits them from accepting cards or bills as payment. Although the law does contain specific distinctions meant to exclude arcade redemption games from its scope, the law attracted concern from the arcade industry, who felt that it could be interpreted to ban their operation—especially at facilities that use card-based systems for credits rather than tokens. In January 2015, as a cautionary measure,

Disney Parks Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., formerly Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and informally known as Disney Parks, is one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments and a subsidiary. It was founded on Apri ...

removed redemption and

claw machine A claw crane, claw machine, toy crane, or skill crane is a type of arcade game known as a merchandiser, commonly found in video arcades, supermarkets, restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls, and bowling alleys. Machine components A claw ...

s from the arcades of its Florida resorts: representatives of the company have supported attempts to clarify the wording of the sweepstakes parlor ban to reduce its potential effects on arcades.

North Carolina

In North Carolina, table-mounted video games known as "fish games" are illegal in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

because they are machines which result in a cash payout, not allowed "irrespective of whether the game requires skill or dexterity." After a 2017 court ruling, "fish arcades" were later determined to be gambling establishments and therefore illegal elsewhere. Two software companies filed an injunction against the sheriff's office in Rowan County on January 21, 2020 claiming gaming experts consider the businesses cited to be offering "games of skill".

Quebec

In the Canadian province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, arcades must pay operator fees and an additional fee per machine. If a game meets certain criteria, it may offer "free games or additional game time" as a prize. Examples include the Extra Stage mechanism in ''

Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance ...

'', or a racing game that awards a free race to those in first place. Only a

game of skill A game of skill or game of wits is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical skill, rather than chance. Alternatively, a game of chance is one where its outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device, such ...

, such as a

claw crane A claw crane, claw machine, toy crane, or skill crane is a type of arcade game known as a merchandiser, commonly found in video arcades, supermarkets, restaurants, movie theaters, shopping malls, and bowling alleys. Machine components A claw ...

, may distribute another type of prize. Arcade games cannot distribute prizes based on luck, as most redemption games do. This led to arcade chains such as Xscape and

Cinémas Guzzo Cinémas Guzzo is a regional chain of movie theaters located in the Canadian province of Quebec. There are currently 10 Méga-Plex locations and 1 Cinema location, all within the greater Montreal area. History Cinemas Guzzo was started by Angel ...

offering only traditional arcade games and games of skill. In 2019, the Quebec government agreed to update the legislation regarding arcade games in the province, with the new laws taking effect in October 2019. Following this announcement, Canadian movie theater chain

Cineplex Entertainment Cineplex Inc. (formerly Cineplex Galaxy) is a Canadian movie theatre and family entertainment centre chain headquartered in Toronto. The company was formed in 2003 via the acquisition of Loews Cineplex's Canadian operations (which included ...

announced that it would be opening up a new location in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

's soon-to-be-constructed Royalmount mega mall complete with a restaurant, a VIP theater for adults aged 18 and over, and an arcade area called "The Rec Room", with the latter being the first of its kind in Quebec. The Rec Room will feature both skill- and luck-based arcade games in which visitors can earn credits and exchange them for prizes. The new theater is expected to open in 2022.

Legacy

As revenue from traditional arcade games started to decline in the latter half of the 1990s due to competition from home game consoles and the Internet, arcade operators began to rely on the income from redemption and merchandiser games to remain profitable. These games were often much less expensive to purchase, and had a better return on investment than video games. The revenue of video games would diminish as the titles were released to the home market. Redemption games did not have that problem. Redemption and merchandiser games could generate good revenue for many years, compared to months for most video games. Redemption games have allowed many arcades to remain profitable in an ever-changing entertainment market.

Examples

Many redemption games are based on popular media such as

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

s and

mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...

Board games

Connect 4 Connect may refer to: Music Albums * ''Connect'' (album), an album by Australian rock band Sick Puppies *''Connect'', album by Mark Farina *''Tha Connect'', a 2009 album by Willy Northpole *''Connect'', a 2009 album by Dave Schulz (musician) ...

Hungry Hungry Hippos Hungry Hungry Hippos (or Hungry Hippos in some UK editions) is a tabletop game made for 2–4 players, produced by Hasbro, under the brand of its subsidiary, Milton Bradley. The idea for the game was published in 1967 by toy inventor Fred Krol ...

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

Game shows

*Deal or No Deal (with versions based on the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

game shows for America and the UK respectively) *

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...

Mobile games

Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castl ...

* Candy Crush Saga *

Crossy Road ''Crossy Road'' is an arcade video game released on 20 November 2014. It was developed and published by Australian video game developer Hipster Whale, with the name and concept of the game playing on the age-old joke "Why did the chicken cross t ...

Cut the Rope Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut ( ...

Doodle Jump ''Doodle Jump'' is a platforming video game developed and published by Croatian studio Lima Sky, for Windows Phone, iPhone OS, BlackBerry, Android, Java Mobile (J2ME), Nokia Symbian, and Xbox 360 for the Kinect platform. It was released worldwid ...

Flappy Bird ''Flappy Bird'' is a mobile game developed by the Vietnamese video game artist and programmer Dong Nguyen ( vi, Nguyễn Hà Đông), under his game development company .Gears. The game is a side-scroller where the player controls a bird, attemp ...

Fruit Ninja ''Fruit Ninja'' is a video game developed by Halfbrick originally released on April 21, 2010. In the game, the player must slice fruit that is thrown into the air by swiping the device's touch screen with their finger(s) or (in the case of the ...

*Pop the Lock *

Temple Run ''Temple Run'' is a 3D endless running video game developed and published by Imangi Studios. The player controls an explorer who has obtained an ancient relic and runs from demonic monkey-like creatures chasing him. The game was initially rele ...

Other games

*Alien Command *Colorama *Cyclone *Hoop it Up *Jumpin' Jackpot *Magic Mr. X *Pirate's Gold *Slam-A-Winner *Wheel 'M In

Pachinko

A Japanese form of redemption game is

pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...

, which features small metal balls which are both used in play and used for redemption, instead of tickets. Pachinko is primarily or entirely a game of chance.

Notes

External links

*{{Commonscatinline, Redemption games