Token Cards

[SlapHappy]

Today my family had a birthday party for my younger sister hosted by a family entertainment center. It was alright, but no Chuck E. Cheese's, I'll tell you what. :3 No mascots, no shows of any kind, and most of the staff consisted of whiny teenagers. But they did have bowling and laser tag*, though it was five bucks to play a round.

Anyway, this place utilized magnetized cards (like a credit card) in place of tokens. You get the card with a certain amount of money you put on it, and in each game they have a scanner installed where to token slot is. You scan your card, it tells you the remaining balance, and you play. There were kiosks where you can reload the card with more money using cash or credit, too.

Now, there are some games that need tokens to play (ex. Smokin' Tokens ski jump), but you scan your card in a token machine to get them.

Not only that, but when you got your tickets counted at the ticket machine, you don't print a label. You swipe your play card and the "ticket points" are loaded on to that, ready for use at the redemption counter.

I believe I read somewhere that Chuck E. Cheese's was utilizing this in a few stores. Is this true? Do you think token cards will show up in more CECs? I love my tokens to death, but this seems like a good idea, too.

Thoughts?


*If Chuck E. Cheese's had laser tag, that would be the best thing. . . ever.

[bzier]

Yep...CEC does utilize the cards in a handful of stores across america. From what I've heard though, they don't plan on continuing changing over stores to using these instead of tokens. I guess they expected to make more money off of them, and there really hasn't been a change.
The stupid thing about this is that they're not figuring in the amount of hours saved from gamepull, as well as the less hassle with the games...no token jams! I still don't get why this hasn't gone company-wide.

[SlapHappy]

Yep...CEC does utilize the cards in a handful of stores across america. From what I've heard though, they don't plan on continuing changing over stores to using these instead of tokens. I guess they expected to make more money off of them, and there really hasn't been a change.
The stupid thing about this is that they're not figuring in the amount of hours saved from gamepull, as well as the less hassle with the games...no token jams! I still don't get why this hasn't gone company-wide.

Between this and the whole not-grasping-nostalgia thing, CEC executives don't seem to be very bright. :P

[YoungCaliHottie]

i.ve used the cards in texas and in california (they.re not the same) and both sucked. Tokens and tickets are more fun and easier for little kids to understand. Not to mention that all games are one token, but with the cards they charge different point values for different games. So you end up paying more money for the same games with the cards. And it's a hassle if you want to use a card you got from a different store.

[zeekeroo]

What store was this?

Sounds like Dave and Busters.

[CEC_Tech]

From what i've heard, and don't quote me, the card swipe system is not going to be rolled out anytime soon. Kids do love tokens and tickets. It's like having something tangible they can keep and take home too.

In many cases the kids don't understand the whole swipe thing and end up wasting most of the credits on one machine. This angers parents. I know that a couple of stores have even had them removed. It's a great idea, but for teenagers and adults only.

Yeah, gamepull would be easier, and we would save some labor. However, I do like keeping with this "core" concept. Tokens and tickets are cool.

[bzier]

What I like about the card system though is, PARENTS HAVE TO STAY WITH THEIR KIDS TO MAKE SURE THEY DON'T WASTE THEIR CREDITS! I get so sick of stupid parents who don't pay any attention to their kids...they just let them wander around.

[Vega III CEC]

The credit card system is fine for older kids, teens, and adults, but little kids... No way. They can't keep their cards in their hands. If they lose a token, it's just 25 cents-worth. What about a card with twenty bucks on it? The lose it, there goes twenty bucks to whomever picks the card up next. I can't tell you how many cards I've come upon just littering the floor, or sitting on a game with money left on them (small amounts usually, like 10-30 cents which can be transferred/used as is). Of course, not at CEC but at places that use the card system.

That isn't counting all the money they lose when they swipe a card and they don't press the button to start the game, or press it thinking it didn't work and then they walk off. Of course, we can also argue that kids do that with tokens as well.