OFUN KIKO (Bugis Cube)

OFUN KIKO is a small claw machine arcade tucked into a corner of level 3 at Bugis Cube, with machines spilling out into the walkway outside the unit.

It is a compact room rather than a floor — a few dozen crane machines mixed with a handful of arcade cabinets, including a basketball hoop — and it runs on coins. Open midday to 10pm, seven days a week. The staff are what people remember: known by name, quick to come over when a machine sticks or a prize hangs on the lip, and happy to let you take your time.

The claws are the sticking point, and worth knowing before you break a note: they are set tight enough that regulars comment on it, and the arcade cabinets have been left unrepaired for stretches. The counter does a great deal of the work in making up for that, so ask for help rather than working the machines out on your own.