Games being pulled...

[Topical2009]

...seems to be quite the thing now. Does anyone have definitive info on how it works? Does it happen automatically at a certain threshold - and if so, how is that calculated - or does an actual person make the decision? And then what - is that game gone forever on that machine, or does it return at some point? And does anyone know what precentage of machines are networked, so that it can happen in the first place?

Until yesterday I'd assumed it was a temporary thing, which made sense - if someone is winning big on a particular game on a particular terminal, you yank it (oo er missus) until the next day, say, on the assumption that the person most likely to be winning big is an itinerant pro, who won't be back in the same location for a while anyway.

By way of explanation, I do a Monday night pub quiz with a friend in London from time to time. Last time I went (five or six weeks ago), I played the Paragon in the pub beforehand, and won a jackpot - at which point I was a bit startled when I got thrown back to the main screen, with the game in question vanished from the menu. Reading recent posts, it sounds as if I'm not alone in this.

Last night I was back in the same pub, and put my pound in, only to find no sign of the game on that cabinet. Obviously, for all I know, it's possible someone hammered the machine in the afternoon just before I arrived, and it had come back but been pulled again, though that seems to be a bit too much of a coincidence.

Anyway, it struck me that if operators are going to pull games every time someone wins a single jackpot, never mind multiple big wins, and never allow it back, isn't the menu screen on machines in certain busy pubs going to look a bit threadbare in the not too distant future?

[kingzilla]

Are you talking about the Paragon? in that case there is something in the machines software that pulls games that payout too much. Pretty naff really when some games can be generous at times and then make the money back later.

[ggdr]

Just about on topic, I have now twice had an experience whereby I won, and collected, a decent amount of cash on a Hotwire/Open, only to find that every pound coin I tried to put in after that was rejected. The manufacturers couldn't control the hoppers, could they?*

*No

[Topical2009]

Sorry, should have said, yes it's a Paragon. And yes, that was what I was thinking, if they pull the game permanently, then surely it never makes any money back by going into bastard mode until it's redressed the balance, which is how I always assumed every game worked.

[tonkarentino]

...seems to be quite the thing now. Does anyone have definitive info on how it works? Does it happen automatically at a certain threshold - and if so, how is that calculated - or does an actual person make the decision? And then what - is that game gone forever on that machine, or does it return at some point? And does anyone know what precentage of machines are networked, so that it can happen in the first place?

Until yesterday I'd assumed it was a temporary thing, which made sense - if someone is winning big on a particular game on a particular terminal, you yank it (oo er missus) until the next day, say, on the assumption that the person most likely to be winning big is an itinerant pro, who won't be back in the same location for a while anyway.

By way of explanation, I do a Monday night pub quiz with a friend in London from time to time. Last time I went (five or six weeks ago), I played the Paragon in the pub beforehand, and won a jackpot - at which point I was a bit startled when I got thrown back to the main screen, with the game in question vanished from the menu. Reading recent posts, it sounds as if I'm not alone in this.

Last night I was back in the same pub, and put my pound in, only to find no sign of the game on that cabinet. Obviously, for all I know, it's possible someone hammered the machine in the afternoon just before I arrived, and it had come back but been pulled again, though that seems to be a bit too much of a coincidence.

Anyway, it struck me that if operators are going to pull games every time someone wins a single jackpot, never mind multiple big wins, and never allow it back, isn't the menu screen on machines in certain busy pubs going to look a bit threadbare in the not too distant future?

Forgive my ignorance but I can't quite get my head around this....Did it pay you the jackpot or did it throw you back as though nothing had happened?
I too would be interested to see how much you have to "win" before this happens.

[cp999]

It pays the win, then the screen blanks. Amount required for a removal varies from game to game (though if you play a virgin machine the amount required to remove game x is completely consistent), and still to see any games removed on a first visit return on a second, barring where the machine has obviously been reinstalled. It's nothing to do with whether a machine is networked or not, it's an automated part of the program.

[cp999]

Just about on topic, I have now twice had an experience whereby I won, and collected, a decent amount of cash on a Hotwire/Open, only to find that every pound coin I tried to put in after that was rejected.

Standard behaviour on them.

[Topical2009]

Forgive my ignorance but I can't quite get my head around this....Did it pay you the jackpot or did it throw you back as though nothing had happened?

It went through the You Have Won screen, then momentarily blank, then back to main menu. Winnings were retained (I'd have been quite annoyed if it was programmed to pull the game and nick your win) and could be collected as normal, but the game I was playing was no longer displayed on screen. cp999 says that situation stays in place till the next game update, which agrees with my observation, so I'm guessing he's encountered it more than once, which is all I'm going on.

Looks like the powers that be would rather take their ball home than let anybody win more than once on a particular game/machine combo, but there again, it's their game, their rules. You can't really expect their business model to be designed solely for the benefit of people who happen to be good at their games (and who might fancy a week in Spain ).

[Matt Vinyl]

Who will be the first one to rid a machine of every possible game then?

[Topical2009]

Who will be the first one to rid a machine of every possible game then? Wink

This was really what I was thinking - where will it end? I'm picturing a Paragon in a well-frequented location - the logical conclusion must be that if a variety of different players win that little bit too much and thus delete their own game of choice, the operators are happy for that cabinet to sit there indefinitely, offering a choice of two or three games to any other future punters, which seems a bit pointless...

[BigEd]

You lot going to "do" Bullseye?
From what I've read on here; I think not.
That's going to be a hell of a lot of staying out of the red.

[Matt Vinyl]

True.

[QuizMaster]

Yeah. Good luck with None of the Above as well.

[QuizMaster]

I'm not normally an Open player (I gave up after they took Pub Quiz off), but found myself in front of one last night due to having purchased a pint and then gone round the corner of the pub to discover that the Gamesnet had been replaced by an Open, so felt obliged to recoup the cost of the beer at least.

Star Wars didn't want to play. It was there on the screen in the big window, but wouldn't launch. All the other games would so I nabbed a quick £4 out of Simply Wank and departed.

Anyones else seen this? Thought it somewhat bizarre.

[ImpartialBernard]

I did have a similar experience the other day.

All the games were greyed out and I pressed the centre game and both my legs shot off and I was then arrested on the way home for Arseing about in the High street.

Should have known better.

stupid bloody Opens.