H:Claw (West Coast Plaza)

H:Claw sits in the basement of West Coast Plaza, a neighbourhood mall out past Clementi that most people arrive at by bus.

West Coast Plaza is a Far East mall, so the points you pick up here land on Great Rewards rather than on a card that only buys more toys — they are spendable across the group’s other malls. The claws are a different matter. The recurring fault is one that grips well and lifts cleanly, then judders as it travels, so the toy is back on the heap well before the drop.

People do win here, which is more than most of the chain manages. There are regulars who have been taking toys home from this shop for years, so the machines are not impossible — just slow, and expensive if you keep at one. When you are choosing a cabinet the judder matters more than the grip, so go for a prize sitting close to the chute rather than one that has to travel the width of the glass.