I can’t resist a good card-dropper, but I’ve played out the DC Comics and Star Wars versions and they’re dead to me. Yesterday my eye lingered on this Willy Wonka version:
With six play areas surely there would be one with a few cards ready to drop? A quick perusal found this was indeed the case. Behold this imminent avalanche:
Not one but two Wonka cards! “Surely it couldn’t be that difficult to win one?” I thought. Surely it couldn’t cost that much? I walked away, then back, then away again at which point the girl at the counter smiled at me and I was lost: I had to win that Wonka!
At this point the very logical question would be “Why?” Why would I want these cards? The simple answer is I don’t. The fun here is the winning, not the prize itself. The release of endorphins when the cards fall is addictive, but perhaps you have to play one of these machines yourself to understand. Thank god the vast majority of these machines are based on licenses I care less about else I’d be in trouble. I mean even a Willy Wonka machine coaxed some cash out of me today!
In the end it took me ‘only’ $20 to win the Wonka cards. And it was very close, with the final fall of three cards happening when I had only a few coins left to drop. I could go into some detail about the player-thwarting refinements in the basic engineering of the ramp or back wall but suffice to say I mastered it quickly (as I always have) and that $20 was less than I daresay it may have taken most.
In addition to the five cards (I got two Wonkas) my $20 had earned me 46 tickets, with potentially another 250 tickets from redeeming (turning in) the five cards. A quick look through the shop showed 46 tickets weren’t even enough for a single Chupa Chup and even with the potential additional 250 tickets the options were less than worthless.
The cashier girl smiled at me again and I walked away.
