where claw machines, called UFO Catchers, spiked in popularity in the 1980s when video game companies offered bigger machines and new toy prizes. Xie bought 28 pink, yellow and purple claw ...

As fun as claw games are, the jaws are always disappointingly weak, and you usually end up with bupkis. What if the jaws were completely within your control? That’s the idea behind [Upside ...

corrupt politicians, ruthless militias and Kalashnikov-toting drug traffickers — has a new public enemy: plushies. Or, more specifically, the joystick-controlled claw machines that dispense them.

In fact, they are games of chance ... effectively a crap shoot. Claw machines can be found in Rio’s shopping malls, subway stations, supermarkets, arcades and toy stores.