Board 8 > How many prizes can I win at the fair?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I say you keep one of the prizes - just ONE, likely the first - as a trophy and give the rest away. I don't think anyone will blame you. I certainly would be fine with it. "I won one for me, now these are for the kids."

Also, got a cool picture of that cool artwork? I wanna see!
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He already posted the drawing.
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__LeiaRolando__ posted...

I say you keep one of the prizes - just ONE, likely the first - as a trophy and give the rest away. I don't think anyone will blame you. I certainly would be fine with it. "I won one for me, now these are for the kids."

Also, got a cool picture of that cool artwork? I wanna see!

http://imgur.com/a/NHgg2Mn
http://imgur.com/a/IoaTP6z

And like...maybe I'll keep one, but real talk these things take a lot of space! I do like the snakes a lot though.
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ShatteredElysium posted...

Honestly they probably don't mind you winning if there's a crowd, especially if you win easily because it makes it look easier to other fair goers and may encourage them to try more than they would have done otherwise

If it were me running that game, I'd be trying to get you to win to show others how 'easy' it is to win.

I imagine the cost/reward consideration here is if it costs them more for me to win a prize for $5-$10 (on top of my $10 entry fee) than if they miss their opportunity to influence enough other folks to pay that much money or more.

So these snakes I've won from Bottle Up have all been from the manafacturing company Goffa. I have no idea what their bulk prices are other than what foolmo and Santa were talking about, but here are some of their prices:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Goffa/node/7959996011?productGridPageIndex=4

Not many things are under $20 on their Amazon page (skunk tails, dinosaur tails, plush soda bottles, ten-inch animals.....), and those are just for skunk tails you hang behind you. The prizes most similar to what I've won in the past before range from $70-$122 here.

But that's on Amazon -- let's go straight to the source:

https://www.goffausa.com/
https://goffatoys.com/

Oh hey, these are made in New Jersey -- wasn't banking on these being made in America.

I've tried to go even more straight to the source for their pricing in bulk, but nobody's picking up my calls from the numbers their site provides...darn.

Anyway, some observations after browsing this page:

https://www.goffausa.com/plush.html

***My snakes come in more colors! I saw the green one yesterday and may win that later, but also there's a red one?! Ya'll holding out on me, local fair...though to be fair, these snakes at the bottom are listed as part of their Small Toys collection and these things of mine are humongous.

***They have license toys with food companies. Tootsie Rolls, Dots, Junior Mints, Rita's Ice...just interesting to see food and toys join forces like this. I didn't really expect broccoli plush dolls, but I forgot candy and sugary treats get toys too.

***Speaking of Rita's Ice, I found some pricing

https://www.goffausa.com/uploads/7/3/9/3/73931107/ritas_ice_2018.pdf

These range from $1.75 each (for 144 of these -- $252 total) to $7.85 each (for six of these -- $47.10 total). There's still the individual pricing that would probably be sold in a retailer that would need to include their mark-up too, so...I dunno, $15-$25 dollars?

***They have inflatable plush dolls now. I'm used to thinking of them as either plush or inflatable, but, uh, why not both I guess. They have pricing available online too:

https://www.goffausa.com/uploads/7/3/9/3/73931107/inflates_2018.pdf

These range from $1.25 each (for 180 -- $225 total) to $8.50 each (for eighteen -- $153). I'm guessing individually in a store these would be more like $25-$35.

***While we're on pricing, here's a quote from their FAQ:

How can I purchase your products as a business buyer?
We only sell full cases to businesses. All orders must meet a minimum of $300.00. For business inquiries, please email us at [email protected].

***They have poop emoji hats for all the shitheads out there.

I checked out GoffaToys's site too and found similar snakes:

https://goffatoys.com/collections/jumbo-size/products/jumbo-snake-soft-plush-64

This is $40 for smaller snakes with sadder eyes than what I have now from them.

Looking over all these, I imagine ~$15-$20 individually is doing alright cost-wise versus buying in bulk from Goffa and doesn't hurt the game-runners much if at all in the long run.
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Forceful_Dragon posted...

If HaRRicH was murdered I'm starting my investigation with Duwana...

Start with the other dude coming up on me from behind.
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Harrich got some carnie strange

Funny joke aside, this brings up a question: is the word "carnie" offensive? It was never my understanding growing up and I see some websites describing the word as informal but not necessarily offenive. That said, also online is recognition that it can offend and I've been corrected on this before after telling my story on this game.

I imagine you gotta be a kid or be "in" with the carnival workers to be safe with the word. Otherwise, I dunno anymore.
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That drawing is pretty awesome, alright. Thanks for sharing!

And yeah the dude creeping you out is... unprofessional. They're the ones not following their own prize rules. One per person per day. If someone wants to keep coming back, by all means they can. That's just part of the business.
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I got a little caught off-guard, certainly. That said, I've worked up some courage since then by sleeping in a bed of snakes.

http://imgur.com/a/5omDlQw
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This is a legitimately fascinating topic and I can't wait to hear more!
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We all know Mountain Dew's Game Fuel, but did you know about Fair Game Fuel?

It's true, it exists! Behold: fresh squeezed lemonade and a deep-fried Milky Way.

http://imgur.com/a/EDFPBDX

Whew, I needed it today too. Story later tonight.
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Heavy lifting in the heat is hard work.

http://imgur.com/a/ioSbalt

@lordloki12 I tried to get you a cool shotgun picture, but this is as close as I could get.

http://imgur.com/a/S5TElwO
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Leanansidhe posted...

This is a really fun topic! Is this what the show Carnival Row is about

...that's a show? Ha. I'd watch an episode.

And thank you! Same for the rest of you enjoying the topic -- haven't done much on Board 8 lately and just thought this would be fun to come back and share. =)
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So let's talk about that fresh lemonade and deep-fried Milky Way.

You may be asking yourself how does a deep-fried Milky Way taste. If so, you need to go to more fairs, but basically imagine a Milky Way with the temperature consistency of a Hot Pocket -- hoooooooooooot on the outside and still nearly frozen on parts of the inside.

Let's get the bad news out of the way too: a small glass of lemonade is $4. I have sworn off restaurants before for charging $4 for cranberry juice. Also, a deep-friend Milky Way is $5. Milky Ways are usually what, $1, give or take? That's a lot of profit as long as their vendor fees aren't through the roof. I'm kicking this fair's ass and not paying for parking so I feel comfortable going to other vendors for an experience or a story, but still...man, I'm glad I don't have kids with these prices. At least I get it with movie theaters when so much of their money comes from concessions, but I don't know that's the same situation at the fair. "Here, we squeezed a lemon into some sugar-water and we served you a candy bar that will either scald you or freeze your teeth depending on the bite, now pay us the average full dinner price of our surrounding restaurants."

Whatever, it was delicious.

I talked with a woman selling lemonade. She's lived here all her life and has been serving lemonade for local events for her fifth year now. I congratulated her, secretly being mad these prices must be what it takes to stay in business -- I checked out a few different booths first before and that's pretty consistent pricing.

For the deep-fried Milky Way, I talked more in-depth with a woman named May. She was cute and funny -- when I asked for advice on how to explain this purchase to my doctor, she was straight-up and said "Just tell them you had a deep-fried Milky Way" as she powdered it with sugar. She had been with the company since January...

...so let's talk company-business the little bit I've gathered from my perspective. The event is the local fair, but the local fair is not the business -- the business is called Wade something and it bounces from location to location. Some booths -- food, games, stores, etc. -- are local businesses renting space while others travel with the business as part of the business. I haven't figured out that line yet -- I assume every ride is part of the business, for example, but I don't know that. I learned a little later at least one of these booths were churches that seem to keep all the money they make too -- more on that later.

Anyway, again, it was delicious. If this was an RPG, it was a full health replenish that also lowered my max HP.

I was on my way to Bottle Up until I was stopped by another carnival worker.
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This is just a little story, but the guy running one of the basketball games there caught my attention on my way to Bottle Up. His name was Palmer, and while he was under his umbrella on a sunny day he just HAD to share a story with me that I didn't fully understand.

Basically (...?), the boss is a hard-ass and he's been riding Palmer hard lately. As we were talking, this boss was riding in a golf cart driven by someone else. Palmer pointed him out, and I immediately offer to talk to his boss for him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," he says. Apparently, this situation was over something about somebody pulling a truck up to pick up fair supplies and they backed up too far, hitting one of their set-ups...I think, not really sure.

I lost track of the story mid-way through to point out that I appreciated they had a sign that says "Basketball Rims Are Oval." He was like "Yeah, the boss insists on it." I shake his hand and head over to my main event.
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That was a bizarre filler episode that I didn't understand
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So, Bottle Up.

The guy game-runner is the only one there tonight -- I'm just gonna call him Buddy since that kinda sounds like his name and he's the only person not wearing a name-tag there that I've seen. He's also all alone. It's just us for awhile while he smokes his Juul out in the middle of everything (most carnival workers will step to the side of their games to smoke)..

He's mad at me for not coming earlier when there were a bunch of kids here earlier -- apparently it's Kid's Day. He's also complaining how hot it is outside, which he was correct about. I ask him about what it takes to set the game up every day. He tells me about how they have to remove the wires, speakers, and prizes every night...but at least trucks drive up to his booth to ease the loading. I'm into these conversations about how the fair works.

I eventually tell him I want to play and have my $5 out, and he tells me winners have to pay $5 for one try. I look at him funny and ask him "Is that what the rules say?" while I point at the rules. He's insisting on it and I'm calling him out on it, but eventually I cave in and negotiate with terrorists -- I'll pay $5 for one try THIS TIME, but that's just because it's only going to take one time to do it today.

And folks, that's when it happened.

Buddy then took the closest pole and told me he's going to curse my pole. He rubbed his hands all over the rod I'd use to stand the bottle with and made like the faintest of humming noises, then he finally handed it to me. "There, it's cursed."

To reiterate: dude had cursed my pole with the carnival curse.

I asked him if the bottle was cursed too. He said nah.

I line up and stand the bottle on my first try, effectively breaking the curse and shutting him the fuck down on his little $5 winners-only hijack he thought he'd get away with. This one felt good.

However, right before I pick the HUGE rainbow koala I was about to pick, there was what felt like a very Tell Tale Games-like moment. A woman beside me exclaimed "No, not the koala bear -- that's the one I want!" I turn to see this cute chemo-or-a-statement-type-of-bald-headed lady with her boyfriend, and she's right to shout right then because that was the only koala of its kind available for grabs. I feel the Tell Tale Games-bar dwindling down on what to do, and I think I did what made the most people happy:

"Tell you what, I'll wait here in case you can win the prize -- I'll let you have it if you can win."

The game-runner gets a boost and the couple gets hope. He happily accepts and spends about fifteen dollars before deciding he can't do it. He then walks to me and puts me in another situation:

"How 'bout if I gave you $25 for the prize, would you do that for her?"

My heart churns a bit. I tell him I'm giving these prizes to kids and non-profits, and he understands. We shake hands and they leave. I lean to Buddy as they leave and say something like "Damn, don't it cost $25 just to get here?" He laughs, not knowing it only costs me $15 since I ain't paying for their parking.

For the record, I fully intend to give these to kids and non-profits, but I do have a price since these have all been coming from my pocketbook. That price? More than $25, I assure you.

Buddy then takes me to the koala bear I wanted and showed it had a decent tear on its leg -- styrofoam or cotton or whatever fell out as he showed me the hole. I change my mind and go with a big ole' purple monkey I've been eyeing awhile.

I ask Buddy what time would be best to show up tomorrow. He says 8:00 PM. I told him I'd try to come around then. Realistically though, I get off work at 5:00 PM and I don't wanna go home before the fair or play that late, so I might actually show up earlier -- we'll see. At least I got some info on when they think their busy times are.
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Forceful_Dragon posted...

That was a bizarre filler episode that I didn't understand

Me either man, but I'm trying to do on-the-ground reporting as best as I can.
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HaRRicH posted...

I line up and stand the bottle on my first try, effectively breaking the curse and shutting him the fuck down on his little $5 winners-only hijack he thought he'd get away with. This one felt good.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/IsTgNfo

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We're almost done with the day -- I'm just taking my prize and going home, right. I feel a little nip at my arm though on my way out and turn around.

Daria! Ya'll don't know her, but I do -- she's an older lady who I've gotten to work with or see in some plays over the past year. We hug a few times. Basically, her husband recognized me and she chased me down to see if it was really me. Daria's there as part of their Methodist church group to help them with their missions. Here lately, they've been selling candy apples to send people overseas like her husband who goes to Costa Rico every year alongside some other people. I'm not religious, but I had some Methodist leanings growing up and I sure like her and her husband...so I tell her if I see her again at her booth, I'll buy an apple. I'll be looking for them -- they're stationed right in my victory path.

She also shared something pretty cool about the power of the local fair: she met her husband at this fair years ago! He sold cotton candy for a Baptist church and she sold candy apples for a Methodist church...now they both sell candy apples for a Methodist church. We laughed about this carnival conversion. She also lamented about how there used to be a lot of churches that helped with these events, but now she thinks her church is the only one still doing so. I can understand that being something of a weird feeling after so many years of doing this.

Anyway, I walk my giant purple monkey back and there were a group of kids pointing and yelling "I want that monkey!" I tell them the fair's still open, which I don't know the kids or their parents appreciated. I probably should have just said thanks.
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redrocket posted...

HaRRicH posted...

I line up and stand the bottle on my first try, effectively breaking the curse and shutting him the fuck down on his little $5 winners-only hijack he thought he'd get away with. This one felt good.

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/IsTgNfo

That is hard for me to read out loud with a straight face.
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What questions do ya'll have about fairs and carnivals? I'll see what else I can learn and teach back your way.
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HaRRicH posted...

Heavy lifting in the heat is hard work.

http://imgur.com/a/ioSbalt

@lordloki12 I tried to get you a cool shotgun picture, but this is as close as I could get.

http://imgur.com/a/S5TElwO

Lol that's great. I'm glad your having fun doing this and the daily exploits have been fun to read.
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HaRRicH posted...

What questions do ya'll have about fairs and carnivals? I'll see what else I can learn and teach back your way.

What fair is this? A county fair or a state fair?

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I did not expect this topic to be such a fun read.
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redrocket posted...

HaRRicH posted...

What questions do ya'll have about fairs and carnivals? I'll see what else I can learn and teach back your way.

What fair is this? A county fair or a state fair?

Tennessee Valley Fair, which surprisingly is neither county nor state. It's regional...just learned that was a thing.
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So my very first thought upon seeing this topic was "wow, how does someone not get sick of the fair after a day or two?" I've always found myself seemingly running out of things to do after just like half a day, even at the big fairs - but here we find you having awesome adventures day after day!

Do you have any fair-going tips as far as planning or mindset goes to get the most out of them? No joke I've skipped the OC Fair the last couple of years because I've always gotten bored with it, but this topic is encouraging me to give it another whirl next time it rolls around.
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So fairs are expensive, half of the rides ain't for you, most of the prizes ain't for adults, and a lot of the items like shirts being sold are just uncomfortable to look at.

Winning helps.

Best advice is to learn a game, but nobody wants to do that. More realistically: go with friends, talk with people, play the occasional game as long as you know the goal is to make you think you're close but not actually win so limit your money, eat something you wouldn't admit to in high society, catch a ride that won't make you sick, people watch awhile...you got options.

Oh , and they have silly shows too. I'm still mad I can't seem to catch this show they run there called the Magnificent Mutts. I've passed by it too many times with different times each day, each time different from the day before. Check out some stupid stuff and own it -- it can be fun!
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Leanansidhe posted...

How do you cast curses?

I cast them all the time and used to get soap in my mouth for them.
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That helps quite a lot actually, thanks!
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Update late tonight.
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They restocked their prizes and I made a new friend:

http://imgur.com/a/G8i68cd
http://imgur.com/a/fz0nzoW
http://imgur.com/a/4Nm8Ret
http://imgur.com/a/nDkIKw8
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So the next few days I'm pretty rushed for time, but I'm still finding time to win these prizes and write these stories.

Do you know how rushed I was? I saw the Magnificent Mutts show beginning and I couldn't stick around to watch. I'm not sure I'll get over this disappointment if I don't catch them by the end of the week. I saw a dog do a wall-kick off a Frisbee though -- that was rad. I hope to write more about this another time.
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Bottle Up, day five.

I walk right up behind Duwana while she has her back turned and say kinda loudly "Hey -- how do you play this game?!" She turned around and didn't seem to appreciate my sense of humor.

She asks me if I can come back later, but bad news for her and Buddy: I got things to do the next few nights and have juuuuuuuuuuuust enough time to stop by between other things in my life the next few days. She also pulled a Buddy and said for winners it's $10 per try -- I tell her I heard this one before and shut that down. She gets some points not one of you knuckleheads get though and noticed I've been wearing a video game shirt every day. She doesn't even play them, ya'll, come on!

Now, here comes an ethical situation I think I handled just fine, but I present the situation for your judgment.....

Buddy comes over to me when there's a few people nearby. He's trying to get them to play and he called on me to show them how the game's done. I pick up a rod and try...failed, then try again...then failed again. I ended up needing five tries to stand the bottle -- two more than I've needed at any point at the fair up to this point. Whether I was doing $3 for one try or $5 for two tries, this could have cost me fifteen dollars at the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc7ZBM5OXIM" data-time="

Straight-up EMBARRASSING.

However, they never asked for my money up front, they saw me missing a few times and they didn't ask me to pay more up-front, and when I finally stood it up they saw it but didn't yell WINNER WINNER WINNER or give me my prize. Therefore, I am led to believe these were free warm-ups given for promotional purposes. I wait five or ten minutes to be sure, and nope...not giving me a prize by their own intuition.

I get assertive and pull five dollars out, saying it's time I play. They take my five dollars, and I get it my first time. WINNER WINNER WINNER! I think it's okay to say this was the time that counted and not those other five times.

They recently restocked their prizes, which is great. Also though, they couldn't find "the winner's ladder," which at this point is just bad foresight, so I was afraid they were going to tear the back of my blue elephant's head off. It came down harm-free though, and good.

Duwana takes my picture and life is grand. I tell them maybe I can come at a better time for them on Friday or Saturday. They're mad I can't come in primetime hours tomorrow or Thursday, but I checked in with me, myself, and I on the issue and we all agreed they'll get over it.
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HaRRicH posted...

She gets some points not one of you knuckleheads get though and noticed I've been wearing a video game shirt every day. She doesn't even play them, ya'll, come on!

I'm not here to comment on random things like this, though.

HaRRicH posted...

They're mad I can't come in primetime hours tomorrow or Thursday, but I checked in with me, myself, and I on the issue and we all agreed they'll get over it.

LOL
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I decided my new blue elephant friend and I were going to enjoy a ride. You see that Kamikaze-ride in the background where I was holding the elephant up? I was going to record a video of us riding it (which in hindsight would have been disastrous), but they told me I can't ride it by myself and the elephant was too big to fit inside anyway.

That's fine I guess, except I already bought my tickets. Crap! It also sucks because it required five tickets to ride it and they sell tickets four at a time for $5. I asked the ladies at the ticket booth to keep three of the eight I purchased and give them to a kid they thought would need it -- they smiled and said sure.

Now that my ride of choice has shut me down, I scouted for other rides. I eventually settle on this colorful one called Axis that I'd been eyeing awhile -- it looked fast, it was a classic-looking ride from my childhood, and I thought there was a chance my elephant would be included.

That chance did not actually exist. I bring it to the ride and they tell me I have to sit it on the ground during my ride. I talk the ride-runner into taking a picture of me on the ride with my prize though -- appreciated that. This ride was only four tickets, meaning I could have saved myself $5 on tickets afterall! Oh well -- I give him the extra ticket and ask him to give it to a kid who might need it later.

As I'm getting my picture taken, a woman yelled from twenty feet away "LOOK AT HIM GETTING A PICTURE WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND." Touche.

If you couldn't tell what Axis rides like, basically the entire thing spins counter-clockwise and then the trio of seats at the end of each arm of the ride also spins counter-clockwise. It gives you constant moments of WHOOOOOOAAAAAAooooaaaaaaOOOOOOAAAAAAooooaaaaOOOOOOAAAAAAHHH and all forces push you to the right of your seat. It's wild to remember these kinds of things are legal, but it's fun and we didn't die so okay. The two scariest things were:

1) Remembering this ride was mostly for kids, and by that I mean my head was eye-level with the game-runner's umbrella. I could have slapped that umbrella several times, no question. Way too close!

2) The game-runner hit the break real hard! The slow-down of speed was one thing, but it was more about that wicked sound screeching metal can make. That's scary!

I get off a little dizzy with a stretched out neck, and as I walk off with my prize a different woman asked me about how I won my prize. She's shocked I won it for five dollars and said I might leave this fair with a girlfriend. Thank you for being much more supportive, but this ain't a date -- it's a mission thirty years in the making.

As I leave, I hear security casually say to their co-workers "If you see him coming in, you'll see him leave with a prize." That's right.

I then rushed home to drop the prize off before a table reading I barely made on time. Schedule's similarly tight the next few days!
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MetalmindStats posted...

HaRRicH posted...

She gets some points not one of you knuckleheads get though and noticed I've been wearing a video game shirt every day. She doesn't even play them, ya'll, come on!

I'm not here to comment on random things like this, though.

HaRRicH posted...

They're mad I can't come in primetime hours tomorrow or Thursday, but I checked in with me, myself, and I on the issue and we all agreed they'll get over it.

LOL

Pretty random things to comment on, my metal-minded friend.
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HaRRicH posted...

As I leave, I hear security casually say to their co-workers "If you see him coming in, you'll see him leave with a prize." That's right.

Badass
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HaRRicH posted...

Pretty random things to comment on, my metal-minded friend.

Ok, you got me.
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This has made my day.

5tarscream posted...

This has made my day.

Brilliant thing to wake up to!
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I would love that ride. Wish it was at the local fair going on here.

Also you were absolutely in the right on the winning round being the only one that "counted". Especially if they are trying to charge you more than normal to play. The rest were just to show the crowd same as if they did it themselves, only it looks more legit to see a random person do it than the both worker.
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HaRRicH posted...

As I'm getting my picture taken, a woman yelled from twenty feet away "LOOK AT HIM GETTING A PICTURE WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND." Touche.

LMAO

I saw the smoke from the topic list
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Taking a break from work to day-dream about beating that ass again tonight.
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Aaaaand it has been brought to my attention I am anime AF in thia picture:

http://imgur.com/a/G8i68cd

Makes me think of Cloud with a Buster Elephant. #omnitrunk

Whatever, point is it's hard to unsee. Any way I can get a fun Photoshop while I'm breaking my foot off in the game tonight?
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HaRRicH posted...

So I found my game soon after meeting that previous winner, but I circled around awhile first and got roped into another game first.

We'll call it Toss the Ball in the Bucket.

The goal: to toss the ball in the bucket. Truly, get two out of four throws in to win a prize.

Talked to a guy who was trying real hard to get me to play, to the point of saying "This is how I make my money man!" He made a deal where he'd let another guy play for free if I played, so I threw five bucks down. I asked them how the pros do this, and he told me "Hit the rim on the way in."

Four tries! First one bounced in and out, then, they threw one in. I took that opportunity to use the ball in there to stop it from bouncing out, and it worked. They then cleared the balls...uh-oh. On ball came short, the other bounced out. Bummer!

In hindsight, I think the actual trick is to throw them in for an angle. They could do it like that.

Still, he was alright with me. He was a stickler for rules at first, but when I asked if he cared my toes were on the line he said "I don't fucking care dude, stomp all over it." I liked him.

I shook hands and stepped away to smell the bad side of the fair, then got to the reason why I was there: Bottle Up.

Trick is to toss it with a high arc so it barely bounces off into the basket. If they have a strip at the bottom of the board, they are shady.

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Corrik7 posted...

HaRRicH posted...

So I found my game soon after meeting that previous winner, but I circled around awhile first and got roped into another game first.

We'll call it Toss the Ball in the Bucket.

The goal: to toss the ball in the bucket. Truly, get two out of four throws in to win a prize.

Talked to a guy who was trying real hard to get me to play, to the point of saying "This is how I make my money man!" He made a deal where he'd let another guy play for free if I played, so I threw five bucks down. I asked them how the pros do this, and he told me "Hit the rim on the way in."

Four tries! First one bounced in and out, then, they threw one in. I took that opportunity to use the ball in there to stop it from bouncing out, and it worked. They then cleared the balls...uh-oh. On ball came short, the other bounced out. Bummer!

In hindsight, I think the actual trick is to throw them in for an angle. They could do it like that.

Still, he was alright with me. He was a stickler for rules at first, but when I asked if he cared my toes were on the line he said "I don't fucking care dude, stomp all over it." I liked him.

I shook hands and stepped away to smell the bad side of the fair, then got to the reason why I was there: Bottle Up.

Trick is to toss it with a high arc so it barely bounces off into the basket. If they have a strip at the bottom of the board, they are shady.

I played this game once when I was very little. Threw a ball with backspin onto the rim and it stayed in.

They told me it was cheating and I lost.

Never played again.
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I tried some backslices too! They didn't call me out though.

I'll look for the strip, good thought.
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Shorter than usual update tonight.
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