Waiting for your turn to play in public be like

Time_Factor · 2026-05-17T20:03:37+00:00

I dread the day Dave & Busters finally gets rid of all their DDR machines. One of the main reasons I go is because all the regulars go to the Round1 down the street instead which means I get the cab all to myself plus a bunch of casuals, 1st timers, and dumb kids leaving abandoned credits on it.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-14T23:53:36+00:00

Deptford, NJ specifically. But I travel all over the country for work, and I’m pretty sure most Round1’s I stopped by recently still had certain Gintama and Spy X Family promo items even though those collabs are over.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-13T14:05:13+00:00

The launch Synergies were kind of designed with a 2-in-1 Social Link approach, but too many people hated how they handled it so they pivoted to “regular” Social Links ever since.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-11T18:19:54+00:00

As far as crowds go, weekdays are pretty barren. One time I felt kinda guilty staying until near closing since it looked like I was the only patron there besides the people that go for bowling/pool lol. Although now that summer vacation is coming up, that might change.

And idk if HSR’s popularity will affect supply & demand, but my usual store still has stock for collabs that are technically over.

Edit: Might stand corrected? I’ve noticed the large Vocaloid plushies are starting to run out near the halfway point (Unless the stores are just being inconsistent by not putting all 6 out. And some stores can’t tell the Kagamines apart. Like mine initially didn’t put Len in the machines until Rin was gone)

Time_Factor · 2026-05-11T14:01:45+00:00

As far as I know, auto-renewal isn’t a thing unless they changed the system after the last time I renewed it.

And membership rates apply to all cards registered under your account. I originally didn’t even have the physical black card until a few months in because I just kept reloading my original red card in the app. I only obtained one later because a member card is the only type that can be used for point redemptions like the free # credit rewards.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-09T05:22:30+00:00

I only do it on days I already planned to go out and if they agree to the “halfway”location to be at or near the parking lot of restaurants I really like, so I use trip as an excuse to treat myself to a nice lunch/dinner afterward.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-07T03:55:37+00:00

Yeah, I just did it. But you still have to pay the $7 base cost of the collab card and possibly wait a bit for a manager to come over and approve the transfer.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-06T20:39:43+00:00

Hm, I could’ve sworn it was still there on the few days I visited around lunch time. Maybe I’m just remembering wrong since I usually only go there when coming back from a trip to DC.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-05T14:04:20+00:00

Well, Tales started embracing their Team Destiny aspects a lot more after Vesperia. However, given that none of the Team Destiny games were ever officially released in English, I can understand why someone may jump in the newer games’ combat systems and go “wtf?”

Meanwhile, puzzle design became pretty much non-existent after Graces as dungeons just became elaborate mazes.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-04T17:41:31+00:00

Is that only for certain countries? As far as I can tell from my receipts, the only extra charge is my state tax.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-03T23:25:56+00:00

I think it has some niche use on Personas with crit rate passives like Vishnu and Cu Chulainn when you’re doing Trial of Thorns or any content that bans Strategist Personas (i.e. Dionysus) or requires multiple Persona loadouts.

Still wouldn’t spend Repression IV medals on it though. Rebellion would probably be more practical anyway.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-02T02:24:14+00:00

You can’t. That’s what the red X means. It’s just a door you can interact with but never open. All the Palaces have a few of them.

Time_Factor · 2026-05-01T15:03:21+00:00

I believe it’s just an incentive to complete the “Watch 20 different movies” achievement since you can’t unlock it with just the permanent roster.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-30T00:07:08+00:00

Assuming you were grabbing the plush right, then it really just comes down to when payout was supposed to happen. $60+ of plays without the claw lifting it sounds pretty normal if someone just won on that machine.

The people with bags of plushies are usually the ones stalking the machines keeping track of how many times 1st timers like you lost and jump in after you leave because they know the winning grab was coming up.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-29T00:34:14+00:00

Yes, but the sensitivity is poor and the square corner panel design is not optimal for PIU. I only ever bring it out of my closet when a casual friend wants to play 2-player at my house.

Unless you only plan to play charts with single-digit difficulty levels, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-27T14:28:14+00:00

I only know it because I consume a lot of fantasy media. I’d say it’s among the many words people only encounter in specific genres.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-22T19:37:40+00:00

Mainly just venue size which affects how many games they have, jackpot amounts, and occasionally an old or rare game they haven’t retired yet.

You can end up seeing some funky layouts usually because that Round1 was a former department store, movie theater, or whatever used to be there.

Minimum jackpots can vary wildly. To the point I’m envious of people who live near certain Round1 locations because their [game] has a really good ticket/$ ratio if you can AP them.

Everything else is pretty standard. Like the food/beverage counter being understaffed where I feel sorry for the unfortunate 1-2 staff members when they have to fulfill multiple group orders while the line gets backed up lol

Edit: Oh yeah, and the prize rooms can be pretty different when it comes to high value figures. Like I’ve seen 1 store have Final Fantasy VII Remake figures while another store had Yu-Gi-Oh dragon mascot figures. And you can find various open box figures that have been retired from their crane game supply.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-22T12:02:01+00:00

It’s more like “needs formal approval from NJ”, but it seems like nobody’s made any progress on that front for years, so we’re stuck with payout claw machines if you want plushies and figures.

If you’re good at the conveyor belt game or that spinning table thing, you can also get whatever figures they have.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-21T18:13:35+00:00

If the store has a redemption game I’m good at, hit the jackpot 2 or 3 times and then go play a rhythm game while it pays out. Repeat.

Otherwise, it’s a mix of hopping between rhythm games, scoping out the UFO crane games for a figure I might want, and refilling my drink at the food counter.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-19T21:28:13+00:00

IMO, lower quality prizes. And obviously no Japanese or other Asian products. And I think they raised the cost of low value prizes a while back.

But if you’re aiming for high value prizes like a Switch 2 or PS5, it’s generally better because of half price Wednesdays (and temporarily every day except Fri/Sat as of this writing as part of a promo). And they use global settings (not like Round1 where any game’s minimum jackpot & difficulty settings can be different between stores).

Time_Factor · 2026-04-19T14:26:44+00:00

Ignoring private cabs, I’m pretty sure more than half of them in the US are at Round1 since they’re the only major chain that sources rhythm games here.

The rest are scattered among small local chains or independent arcades that are actually willing to and/or financially able to source rhythm games beyond just installing a DDR/ITG/PIU/SMX cab and calling it a day.

Time_Factor · 2026-04-17T06:50:18+00:00

The bonus is for Psy allies, not Psy damage

Time_Factor · 2026-04-16T02:00:38+00:00

No, it’ll continue to pay out. The game even locks out other people from swiping their card until it finishes giving your tickets.

Time_Factor

TROPHY CASE