# I want to win a prize at the fair. How do I do it and what game should I play? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369 "2023-09-19T16:53:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/61 "2023-09-28T20:33:47Z")
You could bring the local Sheriff to flash his badge. šŸ˜‰ _Opie and the Carnival_ is in my top 5 Andy Griffith Episodes. Opie loses money trying to win a prize for his dad. He asks Gober to try because heā€™s a good shot. He loses money and goes to Andy. Andy investigates and discovers the sights on the gun are bent. He arranges for Opie to have a fair chance at winning the prize. Great episode that warned me to watch out at carnivals. I still play the games for fun and donā€™t expect to win. I like the ring toss game. I know its rigged but its still fun. You can increase the odds to win by using the information in the youtube video. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/62 "2023-09-28T23:11:22Z")
Thereā€™s a game where you hit a small catapult with a mallet, and it flings as rubber frog toward a target. (Google says itā€™s called Frog Bog.) Iā€™ve won that a couple times. I think the gimmick is that the frog is larger than the launcher, so it tends to wobble after it gets launched. My trick is to fold the frogā€™s legs under the body so it sits square on the launch pad. It gets a more consistent launch. Aim for the closest target so itā€™s easier to gauge how much force to apply. > [@DCnDC](#): > > The ā€œshoot out the red starā€ game, just shoot a circle around the star. How are the rules actually written? The star is on a card thatā€™s held at the top by a clothes pin. If you just shot around the clothes pin, so that the entire card fell away, would that count as shooting out the star? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/63 "2023-09-28T23:19:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > If you just shot around the clothes pin, so that the entire card fell away, would that count as shooting out the star? No. ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/64 "2023-09-28T23:35:09Z")
Has it been tried? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/65 "2023-09-28T23:41:23Z")
Everything has been tried. You arenā€™t going to outsmart them or come up with something novel after decades of it being around and billions of attempts. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/66 "2023-09-28T23:45:30Z")
It might still be hard to do; hard enough that the game is still profitable. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/67 "2023-09-28T23:45:45Z")
Theyā€™ll just pick up the paper and show you that the star is still there. Good luck rules lawyering with a carny. Edit: Given that none of the youtube videos on how to beat the game show that technique, Iā€™m going to say that itā€™s not a good strategy. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369/68 "2023-09-28T23:50:17Z")
They make it clear you have to shoot a hole in the card such that not 1 molecule of red dye remains. I think the star was red last time I saw one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-win-a-prize-at-the-fair-how-do-i-do-it-and-what-game-should-i-play/990369.md?page=3)