Carnivals are important to all generations. It consists of rides, games, shows, and feasting, which developed from the traditional outdoor festivals in honor of religious holidays and even seasonal changes. This dates back hundreds of years ago.
I’m sure that playing games in carnivals don’t always end up in your favor. However, we have revealed all the secrets, now go and get your date a prize! Did you know that the first fair held among American colonies was in 1641, in New Amsterdam? The concept of a carnival was used to showcase farm products of the local area.
Dart and Balloon Hack
If you want to pop a balloon to win your lovely date a prize by playing balloon darts, there are a few hidden things in this game you need to know. The balloons are actually underinflated, and the dart tips happen to be blunt. You need to throw the dart as hard as you can.
Furthermore, the best prizes to be won are almost always behind the balloons on the outside of the rest of the balloons, since most people tend to aim at the middle.
Shooting Hoops
You might be Michael Jordan when shooting hoops in your backyard but just know that the basketball hoops at carnivals are nowhere near regular size. They are tiny!
The hoop is smaller, generally oval-shaped, and the balls are overinflated. Oh, and to make circumstances worse, the yellow backboard is rigged to make the ball bounce off of it harder than usual, so don’t even think about using it to sink a shot.
Milk Bottle Toss
For the milk bottle toss, you need to know that the bottles aren’t like regular bottles, they are weighted down and heavier than they appear to be.
To knock them down, you would have to aim between the two bottles towards the bottom, not the junction of all the bottles as displayed above.
Rope Ladder
The secret to climbing those rope ladders is to ignore the rungs (steps) and only use the outside ropes to climb on. You need to apply equal pressure with your right foot and left arm, move your left foot and right arm simultaneously.
Then repeat the same thing with your opposite arm and leg simultaneously, shimmying yourself up the ladder. Refrain from using both hands and both feet at the same time because you’ll lose balance.
Target Shooting
This is one happens to be the most difficult of all carnival games. According to numerous sources, you can beat it by shooting around the star, making a circle so the paper will fall off with the star.
If you notice, the gun barrels are mostly bent, and their marks aren’t accurate at all. It’s important to measure how far off the gunshots are, then adjust your aim accordingly within the first few shots.
High Stricker
You don’t have to have a body like Vin Diesel to win a large teddy bear at one of those test-your-strength games. You know, the ones where you ring a bell by hitting a target with a mallet.
It’s all about precision, not strength. You should hold down the mallet as far as the handle can go. Judge how far away you are standing and try hitting the target dead center.
Swinger
There is a reason we aren’t able to beat the Swinger game is due to basic physics. The wooden pin sits on a table and hangs a ball which is suspended from a rope. Now, the object behind this game is to swing the ball past the pin and then knock it over as it returns.
Physics would say that the ball will miss the pin entirely on its return back. Rather steer clear of this unwinnable game.
Tricky Tubs of Fun
This game is similar to the basket toss. However, this is made out of plastic buckets for an extra bounce; it’s rigged. “From the inside of the booth, the carny tosses a softball, and it stays inside the tub.”
Once you’ve paid, the carny removes both balls and hands them to you. Okay, now it comes to your first toss, and it bounces out. Well, you might as well throw your second ball away because it won’t work.
Guessing Games
Unless you are quite large or really don’t appear your age, it’s best to have the carnival operator guess your birth month. Although, according to Blifaloo.com, you should say that your birthday is in October even if it’s actually not.
If they carny had to use this trick, they scribble something similar to the picture above. It could say Jan, Jun or Jul, right? The widespread permits him to be two months within any month, except October
Milk Can
Before you go ahead and try sinking that softball in those 10-gallon milk tins, know that a piece of steel has been welded to the rim of the can which means that the opening is one-sixteenth of an inch larger than a softball.
If you are superman, you can win by making the ball backspin. You throw the ball underhand but grip the ball on the top and aim for the back of the rim.
The Basket Toss
The basket throw appears deceptively easy. However, it’s not. Try leaning over to get as close to the basket as you are allowed.
Throw the ball gently using a backspin effect. Try aiming for the inside, the upper lip of the basket. The softer you throw, the better.
Stand the Bottle
The tool you use is a fishing pole with a small ring at the end. Your goal is to halter a soda bottle laying on its side, standing it up.
It’s unreasonable, regardless, the trick to beating this game is to lean in and shove the bottle once you’ve hooked its neck instead of pulling. Also, don’t swing the bottle to the left and right.
Cat Rack Game
If you’d like to knock down those sweet little kittens, you use a gentle dart motion and aim for their noses. Toy cats, not real one’s people!
It’s about the angles and targets, not your Hercules kind of strength. If you are anything like me and your arm needs a compass, good luck!
Whac-A-Mole
To win this devious game, you should reduce the distance between your mallet and those pesky critters that always pop up for a beat down.
We understand that you think it looks extremely manly to hit something with authority. My tip to you, you will hit a whole lot more if you keep the arc of your swing as tiny as possible.
Skee-Ball
To rack up the most points when playing Skee-Ball, all you’ll want to do is angle your tosses. It’s as simple as that.
By peeking off the side, the ball will enter the targeted area more directly above the holes. Determine the speed to adjust the depth of your toss.
Coin Tossing
The object is to throw a coin onto a plate without the coin bouncing off. There are a few tricks that will help increase the odds of winning this game: A) Use a very high arc with as little spin as possible when tossing the coin. You can even try tossing the coin right up into the hanging stuffed animals above.
B) Covertly cover the coin with spit before tossing it. c) Some people recommend purposely bouncing the coin off one plate to make a second bounce land on a plate safely.
Ring-Toss Game
If you want to win the ring-toss game, it’s all about the wrist. You want to twist your wrist when you throw for the greatest possible spin.
This secures the ring and makes it easier to land on the target. If you didn’t know this, you are very welcome.
Flukey Ball
Players should bank a Wiffle ball off of a tilted board and into a basket below. It sounds simple, but it’s quite complicated.
The keys to winning this game are to ask if you could lean over and also make double sure that you use the same ball as the carny does. Now, throw the ball as gently as possible to only graze the board.
Cover the Spot
This game happens to be very simple. If you’ve never played Cover the Spot and don’t understand how anyone could win, it’s simple.
The task is to cover the one spot with the discs. All you would have to do is cover the Wiffle with 5 disks, almost making it look like a flower.
Baseball Radar Game
While playing the baseball game, you need to estimate the speed of your toss. You usually get two ‘warm-up’ shots and then one that counts, alternatively throw as hard as you can but toss slow on your first pitch.
On your second throw, do so slightly faster and estimate your speed. After, throw slightly faster for your final throw.
Duck Pond
The Duck Pond game has a goal to use a fishing pole which retrieves plastic ducks from a makeshift pond. The goal is to keep playing in the hope of getting a better prize.
99% of them come with a silly prize. It’s like the lottery: somebody can hit the jackpot, but it’s unlikely to be you.
The Goldfish
One of the simplest games at any carnival is the goldfish game, the one where you throw a ping pong ball into a bowl to win a pet that you never wanted. When you win, the fish costs less than what you paid to play the game.
Oh, and you’re stuck carrying the little guy around the carnival in a little plastic bag. What goldfish doesn’t want to hang out in a sandwich bag while you stuff your face with cotton candy and play games?
Water Gun
In the water-gun game, a row of people plays, and each one gets a water pistol. The object is to be the first one to fill his or her balloon with air that’s mounted on top of their clown head, which you do by firing a stream of water into its mouth.
The trick to edging out your competition is to line up your shot and squeeze the trigger before the bell even rings. If you’re already lined up and focused instead of distracted by all the carny nonsense, you’ll be that much more likely to win. Get ready to read about our famous carnival rides and where they originally originated from.
Ferris Wheel
The debut of the Ferris wheel was in 1893 at the World’s Colombian Exposition, Chicago. A year before this event, William Somers had designed and built three wooden wheels.
The wheels measured around 50 feet in diameter in New York and New Jersey. He owed a debt to the wooden ‘pleasure wheels’ which were invented in the 17th century.
Bumper Cars
When you think of electric cars, you might think it’s a modern invention. However, they’ve been driven and crashed for over a century.
There is a dispute over who could have invented the road-rage cars, but one thing everyone can say is; how difficult earlier versions of the bumper cars were to steer.
Carousel
Carousels with wooden horses were initially used to teach Turkish and Arabian cavalry members how to horseback ride.
When the crusaders came back to Europe with the carousels, to France, the carousels became particularly popular in the 17th century.
The Rollercoaster
The first government permit went to LaMarcus Thompson in 1885. However, he was not the first person to make a rollercoaster.
Our Modern roller coasters actually descended from Russian Mountains. They have winter sled rides that were extremely popular in the 17th century, St. Petersburg.
Tunnel of Love
Unmarried couples in the late 19th century needed a place to fool around in public. Love/ hormones found a way to do so with the so-called carnival dark rides.
As the couples would go through dark tunnels, they were treated to moments of romance or maybe even fright, to encourage an arm over the shoulders.
The Mechanical Bull
These bulls were strictly used to train cowboys in the 1970s. The earlier ‘bulls’ was just a barrel tied down by ropes.
The later, mechanical version came about due to a Texan businessman wanting to increase the popularity in his bars.
The Whip
The first Whip was patented in 1914 which was made for Coney Island. This crazy ride is what slings riders around an oval.
This ride happens to very rare these days, but you can still find original models that have been are scattered around some old school parks.
The Wipeout
This is a gigantic, rotating ride that moves around, down and up in a wave-like motion was originally a German attraction, the Trabant.
However, American innovators had brought bigger and better versions and called it The Wipeout. Oh, and the rest is history.
Tilt-A-Whirl
Created by Herbert W. Sellner in 1926, he is the woodworker and waterslide maker that launched many stomachs into the air.
This ride made its debut at the Minnesota State Fair a year later. Apparently, Herbert experimented with the ride’s design by placing a chair on his kitchen table.
The Scrambler
That which we call the scrambler has many names. This scary yet fun ride was first produced in the UK in 1959.
Since then, it has earned a new name, new pattern, or motion every decade. However, the thrill is still the same.
Log Flume
There is a modern version of this ride from the early 20th century. However, the old mill rides track to guide the boats through the dark tunnels and over small bunny hills.
As rollercoaster got crazier, those old mill rides had only one direction to go: wetter. The modern ‘splash’ versions surfaced in the late 1950s, early 1960’s
Wave Swinger
It’s easier to say that a carousel looks pleasant. But imagine removing the horses and adding swings in their places, oh, and then elevate the carousel a few hundred feet.
Now we’re talking. Swing rides were popularized in the 1970s and have been around for decades. Postcards of California displayed an image of the swinger as early as 1908.
Shoot the Chute
People have been getting soaked from head to toe on these flat-bottom boats since 1884. I’m sure you remember these.
Newburg invented the one that runs along a greasy wooden track down the side of a hill, and it used to splash land, Rock Island, Illinois.
Helter Skelter
This ride was first seen in the UK’s Blackpool Pleasure Beach in 1906. This ride kind of looks like a castle.
The ride looked like a high tower with a slide curling and nestled against it. The riders would have to climb the stairs inside to get to the top and ride down.
Loop-O-Plane
This ride was invented in 1933. It consists of two ‘plane’ compartments on either side of a tower that acts as counterweights during the loop around one another.
This ride happened to be a flight simulator and was ordered by the Cuban government to train their pilots. However, it only became popular when civilians jumped in for a fun ride.
SkyRoller
In the late ’40s, a German ride maker designed the SAkyRoller. His name was Gerstlauer, he designed this contraption.
This swing-type invention allows riders to control the number of barrel rolls they do by controlling the positioning of the wings as they spin around.