While it hasn’t been confirmed that the Key Master arcade game is rigged several people/blogs have discussed how or why it may be. The 2 ways that people believe the key master game is rigged is through the payout rate setting and the compulsory upper deviation. These terms are explained below but, from reading about the ways that the game is rigged it makes complete sense why they may believe the game is rigged.
- Vertical Displacement/Compulsory upper deviation: By default the Vertical displacement of a Key Master arcade game is 1.6 mm and the highest it goes is 3.6mm.
- Payout rate: The default payout setting on the Key Master game is 1 payout for every 700 credits – the highest this can go is 1 payout for every 9999 credits (which is terrible, no one gets paid). This means that there won’t be a prize released until that 700 credit benchmark is met or in other words until $700 is spent.
- Example: If you’re going for a prize that’s worth $400 you’ll basically lose money trying to play because the game won’t release anything (and that’s if the payout rate is the base payout rate) until the game collects it’s $700. This means that it’s only favorable to play if the prize you’re playing for is higher than the base payout rate.
*sidenote: there have also been claims of individuals playing the game, winning, and not receiving anything when they won – which is further explained by the payout settings.
With all that being said:
A class action lawsuit has actually been filed that states that the game isn’t actually made so that players win based on skill. And, to be completely honest, if you think about it this makes complete sense. If Sega made it so that players won they would go out of business (much like in the way that if a casino didn’t make it difficult to win they would go out of business).
The lawsuit actually states that the game is marketed as a game of pure skill while in reality it is programmed so that players only win after a certain number of losses.
The lead plaintiff, Marcelo Muto, stated that he want to represent those who were fooled into thinking the arcade game is designed with skill in mind when it’s reality designed so the house profits on those unsuspecting consumers.
As stated above in the payout rate section, this game is designed to only allow players to win after a certain number of losses (1 for every 9999 credits).
In the lawsuit, the lead plaintiff stated that individuals would likely not have played the game if they had known that it was based moreso on machine programming than skill. Marcelo also stated that individuals would likely play the game again if the machines weren’t programmed to cause even skilled players to lose.
Sega did players an injustice by not informing players about the machine’s programming and the lead plaintiff simply wants that to stop.
Legally, Sega has been accused of:
- Violating California Consumer Protection Laws
- Fraud
- Unjust Enrichment
Conclusion
While there haven’t been any statements from the creator of the company stating whether the game is rigged or not, it’s become pretty apparent that the odds lean to the side of the game being rigged. How do you fix this? You simply don’t play the game because you can’t win – at least not favorably.
In case you’re interested, here’s a link to the class action lawsuit: Muto v. Sega of America, Inc. et al. – 5:21-cv-01161 (classaction.org)