Random Question...Americans please.

[starrylizard]

At fairs, show grounds, circuses... that sort of thing. You know when they have those games where you have to shoot, like, little tin ducks to win big stuffed toys? usually in American movies the big tough guys play and win the toy for their chick.

What do Americans call those games?

Is it something like a shooting gallery?

Also, why is the game hard? Is it because the guns are not aligned properly or something?


It's for a fic. Thanks guys!

Comments

[the-muppet.livejournal.com]

I don't know the right name (not being American) but shooting gallery sounds right to me. And I'm assuming they're hard because the 'bullets' are really, really light whilst the target they're trying to knock down is considerably heavier. It's all a bit of a con really =)

[foreverseenstar.livejournal.com]

Just carnival games or games of chance/games of skill. I feel like the watergun games, like shoot the clown's mouth and the balloon fills up and pops, may be the only one not rigged usually. Easiest to rig are Ring Toss or the stacked milk cans. I've never seen an actual like, shooting game other than with just waterguns, though my google brought up a nice cross bow shoot which kinda scares me. Wouldn't want to be at that carnival. That I could see fixed as mentioned in the comment above, just lighter ammo versus heavy target. The same thing works with the milk cans. */ramble*

[reedfem.livejournal.com]

Depends on the game, some of them are "themed" and have names to go with. But yeah, generally they are all called some version of "shooting gallery". I've seen duck shoots and rifle shoots and others.

The guns aren't regular BB guns, they are often bent and the sights are always off, the pellets often aren't the right size for the barrel and don't shoot at any great velocity. The type of target can affect results as well.

[erinrua.livejournal.com]

Shooting galleries, yup. (Though they may give the game a cute name, like African Safari or Wild West Shootout, depending on what theme they decide to use.)

And the guns are crap. They're just pellet guns and probably the sights are a little off, and undoubtedly the pellets used are not the best or even properly matched to the gun. Basically, they're crap. ;-) It's a carny thing - none of the games are rigged to be easy, or all the clever people would win them all the time.

Hope this helps!
Cheers ~

Erin

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Shooting gallery.

The guy behind the counter is usually rather filthy and lazy, and the whole thing pretty beat up. The pellet guns are as light as a feather compared to real guns, and the pellets so light, I'd be surprised if they could put a hole in a paper plate. I've hit the target dead on, only to have the pellet bounce right off.

"Hey...."

The carny said, "You have to knock it over, those are the rule."

My brother's friends used to swear they knew which gun wasn't as "off" as the others. They'd sight down the barrel to see if its crooked (a lot of them were). I've heard of someone fixing the broken sight on the gun (vaguely recall my step dad doing that for my brother once).

The guy behind the counter has no investment in whether you win or lose, so you could potentially bring your own ammo, too. I've heard that suggestion circulate among the kids. Especially if you worked there.

All you need is someone to show you how to shoot, with or without the gallery. Carny types tend to have guns, and spend time "plinking" (shooting bottles and cans and whatnot). They might even take potshots at a neighbor's mailbox.