Up One — Local services in New York

Updated review. Super positive.

I spent time in Tokyo for work, directly associated with toys and toy sales and acquisitions. That's when I became aware that they had drops of toys that were not available for sale. They could only be obtained from a crane machine.

Needless to say, while I was there, I became hooked on claw machines, Plinko, bulldozer games, hook games, key slot games, etc.—really any prize arcade game.

This is very popular in Japan, but some of the games are considered gambling here in NYC. But you see claw machines at arcades and carnivals, so…

Rainy Sunday, I needed to take my son out and I decided to Google and see if we had claw arcades. The first place I found was UP ONE, and by the pictures and reviews, I was not let down.

This is a small place. However, it's very clean, and what's important is that it's very fair. From fluffing the machines to help you win to giving my son free plays and moving toys so you can have a shot at what you want in machines that don't offer a trade, they sincerely want you to win.

And with a point value trading system, it is very reminiscent of Japan for me.

It is only claw games, a few high-speed, sharp precision games, but mostly classic claw machines; most are stuffed animal machines. Some have the prizes on the floor of the machine.

The first time we went, my son was completely overwhelmed; he wanted every single plushie and didn't want to trade in for anything, not even his doubles. Then I let him keep his toys because it was his first time, and he really just loved them and still does.

But since then, he's really come to understand the point value. He wanted another Pokémon Eevee of the same size from the same machine. The agent said they had a bigger one behind the counter, which was so right on time! The machine was a difficult one, with only three or four prizes directly on the floor. I told him I wasn't going to play the machine to try to win him the same toy, and he was getting upset. But he lit up like a lightbulb when he saw Eevee, four times bigger.

He picked nine wins, he wanted to trade and got exactly what he wanted. He wanted a few of the plushies, which was fine, and picked out a present for his mother. I believe he even understands that he can save them for next time, but it's allowed to ask from a four-year-old.

I wanted to update my review after exploring a few other places in Flushing, even some random claw machines in Japanese stores around Astoria.

UP ONE is so fair. If you're just out for a date with your significant other, you'll have a good time.

My son has begun to add claw machines to his imitation play routine, pretending he's feeding tokens and winning prizes.

Bringing my son is a treat for him; for me, I want to win that One Piece Zoro figure… they have everything behind their prize counter, from Prada bags to Dragon Ball sculptures.

I'm a huge collector, and the access to some of the Bandai Japanese release toys that I get to play my favorite game to win is so great.

Kumori looks like the Joker Pop no?

Fun for the...

They opened just about a month ago. A friend told me about it, so I decided to drop by. I looked around and was reminded of Anime Claw right away and thought they were smaller than the new Teso X that just opened as well.

The first staff I met was Jasmin, who comforted my bad luck with these claw machines with a free try; Even though I failed like I expected... She was kind and patient enough to explain and show me things that the other two stores never did in any of my visits. She was very very friendly and welcoming.

So out of these 3 similar stores, I wanted to know what and how else they were different. I spoke with the other staff at the counter and met Karen. To my surprise, she is the store manager and she designed the logos in the store and on the machines (she was a graphic designer).

Here's what I learned from my short Q&A:

You can't exchange different plushies from different machines caught at the same token value. But if you catch a plushie from the same machine and want a different color, the staff will change it for you. If you don't finish using your purchased tokens, there are no refunds. They would prefer you not taking the tokens home with you; since it's limited stock in the store. They can open an account in their system and deposit it for future use. They don't use a card like anime claw.

They also offer a points accumulation system that you can exchange for exceptionally fantastic prizes!!! If you catch stuff you don't want to keep, they can add up, like in an arcade with tickets, and be exchanged for other prizes. And these prizes are coach bags, Demon Slayer figures that cost over a hundred dollars, besides Funko pops and other larger stuffed animals.

Please remember you must turn in the stuffed animals the same day you catch them and it can be accumulated to be used at a later date.

FYI: So for credit card users, there's a $20 minimum.

Karen heard about my bad luck with my these machines and was determined to change that. She gave me a handful of tokens and Jasmine provided one on one lessons on more than 5 machines... And I finally got one !! I won a super cute panda !! And I love it !!

Thank you so much Karen and Jasmin !!! I will definitely be back to try my luck again. :) You guys...

I am in the graphic media merchandise market. There are item and merchandise drops. In Tokyo, where items are released to crane machine arcades, the only way to obtain these exclusive items is by winning them from fairly difficult machines. A person who plays crane machines often knows the difference between bins with plexiglass sides or ramps.

A tactic I often use is to use a full machine and the claw to knock items into the bin, rather than pick them up directly. Packed machines are the best bet for a win. Machines with items on the floor that you need to pick up and drop are very difficult. Especially for me, I find ramps more difficult; if you drop an item close, it may not fall in and may roll farther back.

Having qualified myself as a crane game player, this place was awesome. It was perfect to bring my child to, as they were very fair. It reminded me of being back in Japan, as they offered the ability to trade wins for points and pick what you want with accumulated points from behind a counter. The items behind the counter were Japanese release items—DBZ and One Piece figures, for example.

Fun for the whole family! It doesn't matter what you're into. For me, there's the attraction of the items behind the counter, and I love playing crane games. My son and I left with 20+ plushies of Pokémon and other recognizable characters. I really like that the toys stocked in their machines often have keychain or suction cup attachments; some are branded, which I love!

They had a super-packed machine with Kirby in it. I went nuts! The label had a Nintendo licensing mark, and the rest was in Japanese. So, for me, it's a secondary market jackpot. And it's so fair that you're really getting them at almost a regular retail price if you're fairly decent at the game.

It is a skill game, and this place is totally fair. Go have fun, and...