Stacker (arcade game)
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Stacker is an "Amusement with prizes" (AWP) style game manufactured by LAI Games. The aim is to align rows of moving blocks on top of each other by pressing a button. When a player gets to the top row, they win a major prize (the manufacturer's suggested retail price [M.S.R.P.] of which may be more than 300 times the cost per play). There is also a "minor prize" whose value is significantly less than the price per play (Lai Games recommends 20-30% of the per-play price). To maximize repeat play (and income), the company (cf. "Getting Hooked on Stackers", Merchandise Manual Comic Book, panel 15) recommends calibrating the difficulty so that players can easily reach the minor prize level, at which point "greed takes over" and 90% of players will try for the major prize.
Standard layout
There is a row of three red or pink squares which move side to side on the screen. When the player pushes the button, the row of squares will stop. Then, another row of three moving red squares appears above the previous row, moving faster than the one before it. If the squares do not align directly above the previous set, any overhanging squares will be removed. When the player misses completely, the game is over. The number of available squares is automatically reduced to two, then one, during the game. The goal is to consistently get the squares directly above the previous set, "stacking" them to the Minor Prize and ultimately Major Prize levels.
Probability of Winning
The game is based purely on skill and reflexes until the last row, which can be rigged so that anywhere from one in twenty to one in eight hundred players actually have a chance at winning. The last two rows are set to be much more challenging, and although people can frequently reach and clear the second to last line (reaching and surpassing the "Minor Prize" level in the process), the last line is by far the most difficult and rigged of the game. The very last block will move at lightning speed, and players may even press the button at the right moment, only to have the block move over an extra square and make them lose. Once the machine has enough money in it (usually $600), the last block will no longer be rigged.
There are also versions of the Stacker software that are entirely skill-based, for use in states that disallow preset winning percentages. This software allows the operator to change cube speed.