A carnival game is a

game of chance A game of chance is in contrast with a game of skill. It is a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels, numbered balls, or in the case ...

skill A skill is the learned or innate ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. Some examples of gen ...

that can be seen at a

traveling carnival A traveling carnival (American English), usually simply called a carnival, travelling funfair or travelling show (British English), is an amusement show that may be made up of List of amusement rides, amusement rides, food vendors, merchandi ...

, charity fund raiser,

amusement arcade An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, mercha ...

and

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

, or on a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

fair midway. They are also commonly played on

holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

s such as Mardi Gras,

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

, and

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

. Carnival games are usually operated on a "pay per play" basis. Prices may range from a small amount, for example 25 cents, to a few dollars per play. Most games offer a small prize to the winner. Prizes may include items like stuffed animals, toys, or posters. Continued play is encouraged as multiple small prizes may be traded in for a larger prize. Multiplayer games — the " Watergun" game is one example—may change the size of the prize with the number of players. In a more difficult game, including the "Baseball and Basket" or "Stand the Bottle", a large prize may be awarded to any winner. Carnival games have a poor reputation in some areas. This may be that some carnival games utilize

optical illusion In visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide varie ...

s or physical relationships that make it hard for a player to judge the game's difficulty. Also, some operators have run games that are rigged to take advantage of unsuspecting players. In many areas, these games are tested by local law enforcement to find unfairly run games.

Carnival game operators

At amusement parks, the carnival games are usually owned and operated by the park owner. The games are usually installed in permanent buildings stationed around the park. A

may, however, be made up of multiple independent game concession owners. These independents owners contract their games with the carnival operator. Carnival games of this type are mounted to towable trailers that enable the game to be moved from site to site. However, there are still some free-standing game booths that are assembled on site. These carnival games are usually set up in rows along the midway area along with the rides.

Types of carnival games

Games of chance

Games of chance A game of chance is in contrast with a game of skill. It is a game whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device. Common devices used include dice, spinning tops, playing cards, roulette wheels, numbered balls, or in the case ...

are favorite carnival games. A random outcome gives all players the chance of winning a prize. An example of a carnival game of chance is the "Dime Pitch" game. The objective is to toss a coin (typically a dime or quarter) onto a horizontal board that has random marks on it. The marks on the board are the same diameter as the coin thrown. By completely covering the mark on the board with the coin, the player wins. Another example of a game of chance is the "Birthday" game. Players place their bets on a rail mounted strip that has months, colors and holidays written on it. Many players choose the month of their birth for their bet. A random player is then selected to throw a large multisided die into a designated center area (play area) of the booth. The die thrown has corresponding months, colors and

s written on the different sides. The month, color or holiday that shows on the top of the thrown die, when it stops, will indicate the winner. In "Pingpong Ball and Fish Bowl" players throw pingpong balls at a table filled with rows of empty small fish bowls. If the player gets a ball in the bowl, they usually win a

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the w ...

. A game like "Duck Pond," which is geared for young children, may offer a winner every time. The player selects a

rubber duck A rubber duck, or a rubber duckie, is a toy shaped like a duck, that is usually yellow with a flat base. It may be made of rubber or rubber-like material such as vinyl plastic. Rubber ducks were invented in the late 19th century when it became ...

that is floating at random in water. Writing on the bottom of the duck reveals the prize won.

Games of skill

Games of skill are another favorite carnival game. These games may test a players aim at hitting a target with either a ball or a

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

. Some games of this type are the "Cross Bow Shoot", the "Milk Bottle" game, or the "Balloon and Dart" game. Other skill testing games challenge the physical abilities of the player. One example of this type of game is the " Rope Ladder Climb". In this game, the player must keep their balance while climbing an angled rope ladder that can pivot and invert the player. The object of the game is to climb the ladder, without falling off, and ring a bell at the end of the climb. Another game that tests the physical abilities of the player is "Ring the Bell". The player uses a large

mallet A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head. General overview The term is descriptive of the ...

to strike a pivot board on the game, this causes an indicator to be driven vertically up an indicator scale board. By hitting the pivot hard enough, the indicator will ring a bell mounted at the top of the indicator scale board indicating a win. Cover the spot is a game that involves covering a giant red spot with five smaller discs dropped by hand; all red (or color) must be covered to win.

"Rigged" carnival games

Carnival games are often viewed or portrayed as dishonest, due to past history that may not necessarily apply to modern-day games and operators. The term "

mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

" (meaning sucker) originated with the carnival."Chicanery On The Midway"
PAC-C.org (Professionals Against Confidence Crime) Deputy Marshal Dave Goldenberg's article: 2001 When dishonest carnival game operators found someone who they could entice to keep playing their rigged (slang term: "gaffed") game, they would then "

" the individual by patting their back with a hand that had chalk on it. Other game operators would then look for these chalk marks and entice the individuals to also play their rigged game. Rigging a carnival game may be done in many different manners depending on the game. For example, the "Ball and Basket" game may be rigged by moving the "A" frame onto which the basket is mounted. This would change the trajectory of the ball. Another method has the operator leaving a ball in the basket for the demonstration which absorbs the energy of the tossed ball, enabling the ball to stay in the basket, and then remove it when the mark plays, which makes the ball much more susceptible to bouncing out. In a game like "Ring Toss", the blocks that the prizes are attached to are cut in such a way as to ensure the ring will not fit. The "Balloon and Dart" game can be rigged by underinflating the balloons or by using dull point darts. Some games may be rigged to play honestly or dishonestly and can be switched by the game operator. The "

Milk Bottle From the second half of the 19th century, milk has been packaged and delivered in Reusable packaging, reusable and returnable glass bottles. They are used mainly for doorstep delivery of fresh milk by milkman, milkmen. Once customers have f ...

" game can be rigged this way. On a rigged game, one of the milk bottles is heavier than the others. Depending on how the bottles are stacked will determine if the player will win. Some games are simply impossible to win. One such game is the "Push 'em Up" (or "Stand the Bottle") game, which requires the player to stand up a bottle with a 2-tine plastic fork, was featured in episode 5 of Penn & Teller Tell a Lie. The bottles used in the game are weighted on one side, which makes it impossible to stand the bottles upright without tipping them over when the heavier side is rotated to the top. The "Bottle Up," often confused with this game, is simply a skill game where the player uses a fishing pole with a ring attached to the end of the string to stand up the bottle. By rigging the game, the game operators can vastly increase the money they take in. In many areas, local law enforcement will test the carnival games prior to and during the carnival to help eliminate rigged games. However, there are still some dishonest game operators. One method they use to avoid law enforcement is to give legitimate instruments or make the carnival game "fair-and-square" during testing, but rig it for other people.

Racist carnival games in the U.S.

In the United States, there was a longtime tradition of carnival games the point of which was to hurt, dehumanize or denigrate

Black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...

. Such games included " African dodger" or "bean-em", where a Black person would stick their head through a curtain to be pelted with beanbags, eggs or baseballs, or "

dunk tank A dunk tank, also known as a dunking booth or dunking machine, is a common feature at Canadian and American fairs, fundraisers, and celebrations. It involves at least two participants, one of whom sits on a collapsible bench above a human-sized ...

s" that would drop a Black person into a tank of water if fairgoers hit a target with a ball. In her 2020 book ''Caste'', Isabel Wilkerson describes these games as part of "a culture of cruelty

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

made violence and mockery seem mundane and amusing", teaching and reinforcing the U.S. racial caste system through entertainment.

Carnival game photos

Image:Whackamole.jpg, Whack-A-Mole game Image:Skee_Ball.JPG, Skee Ball game Image:Weight_Guessing_Booth.jpg, Weight Guessing Booth Image:Pingpong_Ball_And_Fish_Booth.jpg, Pingpong Ball and Fishbowl game Image:I_Got_It_Game.jpg, I Got It game (variant of fascination) Image:Water_Gun_Game.jpg, Water Gun game Image:MiniatureRifleRange.JPG, Miniature

rifle range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

Image:This_is_a_standard_example_of_Cover_The_Spot_game-_2013-09-13_12-55.gif, Cover the Spot

List of carnival games

* African dodger * Ball and Bucket Toss * Balloon And Dart * Basketball *

Big Six wheel The Big Six wheel (also known simply as The Big Six, the Wheel of Fortune, or the Big Wheel) is an unequal gambling, game of chance, played using a large vertical wheel that can be spun. Since 13 May 2002, it can be played legally in licensed ca ...

* Bingo * Birthday * Bottle Stand * Bottle Roll * Bulldozer * Cat Rack * Coconut shy * Cover the spot * Crazy Bike * Cross Bow Target Shoot *

Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

* Dime Pitch * Duck Pond *

Dunk tank A dunk tank, also known as a dunking booth or dunking machine, is a common feature at Canadian and American fairs, fundraisers, and celebrations. It involves at least two participants, one of whom sits on a collapsible bench above a human-sized ...

* Fishing * High striker or Ring the Bell * Horse Race * I Got It * Kissing booth * Ladder Climb * Milk Bottle * Pingpong Ball and Fishbowl * Plate Break * Ring toss * Shoot the Freak * Shooting Gallery *

Skee-Ball Skee-Ball is an arcade game and one of the first redemption games. It is played by rolling a ball up an inclined lane and over a "ball-hop" hump (resembling a ski jump) that jumps the ball into bullseye rings. The object of the game is to col ...

* Tin can alley * Water Gun * Weight Guessing Booth * Whac-A-Mole * Wheel of Fortune * Wire loop game

References

External links

- A website that explains how a few carnival games are designed and how they can be won. {{Authority control Game terminology Children's entertainment