Claw machines are appealing to arcade gamegoers because of their cute prizes. But winning stuffed toys in exchange for coins is not as easy as it seems. More often than not, the toy slips from the metal claws, leaving players empty-handed.

There are reportedly techniques to keep the stuffed toy firmly gripped so it can be dropped exactly into the chute’s mouth. For example, the claw should hold the toy’s body instead of the head for a better grip.

A man in Hong Kong showed a different technique in a video after he was caught by a Mong Kok arcade security camera tampering with claw machines there on 12 January. The viral video shows him inserting a metal ruler through gaps in the glass cover of the machines and pushing the toys to the chute using the measuring tool, The Standard (TS) reported.

The thief stole around HK$2,000 worth of plush toys, including Jellycats, at the Ho King Commercial Building. The thief, wearing a cap, gloves, mask and shades, quickly grabbed the fallen toys and placed them into a large tote bag before leaving, TS added.

In China, horse stuffed toys are in demand ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year on 17 February, as the animal symbolizes 2026. One popular version of the horse mascot is red and has a smiling face, produced and sold by a shop in Yiwu called Happy Sister.

Shop owner Zhang Huoqing said a worker mistakenly sewed the mouth upside down on several toy horses, reports Channel News Asia (CNA). When he saw the sad, instead of smiling, red horses, Zhang offered refunds to buyers of the flawed products.

Surprisingly, no one returned them nor asked for a refund. Instead, Zhang saw photos of the sad-faced horse circulating on social media and many people were ordering it, according to CNA.

“These days, almost everyone who walks through the door asks for the crying horse,” said Lou Zhenxian, a Yiwu vendor who has sold festive toys for more than 25 years, CNA reported.

Happy Sister’s sad horses were sold out, so its workers rushed to restock store shelves.

“We will keep selling it,” Zhang said of the frowning red horse mascots, according to CNA.