The Best Online Crane Game Apps in Japan (IMHO)

Online crane game apps are a convenient solution for those that don’t live near a game arcade, but want their dose of claw action. In these apps, you control the claw remotely from the comfort of your home. A play generally costs more than at an actual arcade (presumably to cover operational and shipping expenses), making it even easier to spend all your money.

Common features of online crane game apps

The below holds true for all the apps mentioned on this page:

1. New account bonuses to get you started (and hooked).
2. Rewards for opening the app everyday.
3. An “assist gauge” (names vary) that pretty much guarantees you the prize after a set number of plays. While this is nice, the limit is usually set to something way more than the prize is actually worth. So you should not rely on this but play with a strategy.
4. Functionality that automatically records all your plays, although only from the front camera angle. The videos are also only stored for a limited time (usually 30 days).
5. A free shipping ticket every week.

Now, without further ado, lets delve into each of the best online crane game apps for those living in Japan. In my humble opinion, of course. The order below is simply the order in which I installed the apps, not a ranking per se.

Taito Crane

The online crane game offering by the operator of the iconic Taito Station arcades across Japan. There’s a reason why this app is also #1 among arcade apps in the Google Play store. Taito Crane the best in terms of functionality and variety of crane games. The downer is that it is on the expensive side, and the setups can be more difficult than other apps.

But what really sets Taito Crane apart is its extensive range of machines that have the actual prize you are trying to win, just like in a real game arcade. It just hits different when you are attempting to grab or move around the plushie you want, rather than a placeholder box. They also have a wide selection of 3-claw machines, both the big and mini ones, all with the actual prize to grab.

A great feature of the app is the small video in the bottom left corner of each booth, which shows you how the last win was achieved. Another benefit of Taito Crane is the wide range of free practice machines available to all users. Each turn is also capped to 3 plays so you aren’t waiting forever.

Play cost: A play generally ranges from 1,800 TC to 2,500 TC. Assuming you bought a 24,000 TC + 1,200 TC bonus pack for 3,300 yen, this works out to be between 236 yen and 327 yen a play. The more expensive a pack you buy, the cheaper each play becomes. Sometimes plays for certain machines are discounted at 10% of 30% off. Play tickets can only be used on a selection of machines.

Shipping speed: Prizes won usually arrive within a week from the time a shipping request is made.

New account bonus: Get 10 free play tickets when you register and verify your phone number.

Daily login bonus: Get a free play ticket for the first 60 days, and a random number of TC points (between 50 to 1000) every day you open the app. The free TC points expire at the end of the following month.

Referral bonus: Get an extra 3 plays tickets if you download and install the app from the link below: https://onlinecrane.page.link/DC5NCnpMFP958q5y5

DMM Online Crane

DMM Online Crane seems to be a popular choice among pro crane gamers on Youtube that I follow. I think they must offer some sort of affiliate program or paid promotion program. In any case, their interface is clean and works smoothly, although continuing between plays takes an unnecessarily long time.

In DMM Online Crane, almost all prizes are represented by DMM boxes that you attempt to hit off a ledge or through bars using 2-arm claws. The variation mostly lies in the sizes and shapes of the boxes, as well as the strength/movement limits of the claws. The pro of this is that once you learn the strategy for each type of setup, you are pretty much guaranteed to get the prize. If you get really good, you can clinch the prize in just 2-3 plays, which can work out much cheaper than playing at an arcade. The con is that it’s not as fun as moving around the actual prize you want.

Free practice machines that are available for almost every type of setup help a lot. Unfortunately, management of them could be better. There is no time limit a person can play, which essentially means it can take hours for your turn on the harder ones. Namely, the 橋渡し [hashi-watashi] (through the bars) machines are often full, because many people get stuck. The queue is capped at 5 people, but even then, the wait can be frustratingly long. Once, a person in front of me literally played for an hour, unable to get the box to drop through the bars. When my turn finally came, I was doing something else, so it timed out and went to the next person. I was so annoyed.

An improvement was made when DMM only allowed people to get a win on the practice machines once a day. But I think the long waits could be further resolved if 1) they capped the time each person can play to 30 minutes, and 2) don’t allow people to request the box be reset to its start position just because they get stuck mid-play.

Play cost: Ranges from 50 to 230 DMM coins (DC). While it depends on what coin-pack you buy, the ratio is roughly 1.2 yen per DC. Which means, if a play costs 200 DC, you are paying 240 yen. When new prizes are added, you can play them at 30% off for the first week. If you use other DMM services, you can also play using DMM points.

Shipping speed: Prizes won usually arrive within a week from the time a shipping request is made. Combine shipping on multiple prizes to get free DC points.

New account bonus: Get 500 yen worth of points when you register and verify your phone number.

Daily login bonus: Get 20 DC every day you open the app. They expire a month from acquisition.

Win bonus: Share your win on X (Twitter) to get 100 DC. You can do this only once a month.

Namco Online Crane

Formerly known as Torumo, Bandai Namco rebranded their app in February 2024 to its current name. Their renewal campaign was especially value for money as it provided 10 free plays tickets on registration, an extra play ticket every day for a month, and double play points for certain point-pack purchases.

The range of prizes and machines are not as extensive as the other apps, although they do have some Namco limited goods. The most common machines are a pillow 前落とし [mae-otoshi] (forward drop), and the gold standard 橋渡し [hashi-watashi] and 末広がり [sue-hirogari] / 横ずらし [yoko-zurashi] (widening bars). Like DMM, placeholder boxes are used and not the prizes themselves. Consequently, like DMM, once you learn the strategy for each setup, you can easily clinch the prize.

Unfortunately, the app is kind of buggy. If you reserve a play, it doesn’t let you leave the machine without losing your spot, so you have to stay there watching. When searching for a prize or machine type, it keeps refreshing the list to the default as soon as you toggle to another page or app. Thankfully, actual play works fine — just ensure you have a reliable internet connection.

Play cost: Namco Online tends to be cheaper than the others, especially if you bought one of their special campaign packs (500 yen for 1,000 Namco points, or 3,000 yen for 6,000 Namco points). Normally, a 3,300 yen pack gives you 2,800 NP, which works out to a ratio of 1.18. Depending on the prize, a play usually ranges from 150 to 200 points, which works out to 177 yen to 236 yen a play. Again, the more expensive a pack you buy, the cheaper each play becomes. 

Shipping speed: Shipping is slow, because they are swamped due to many people taking advantage of their app renewal campaign. Currently, prizes won arrive in around 3 weeks from the time a shipping request is made.

New account bonus (till end of April): Get 10 free play tickets when you register and verify your phone number.

Daily login bonus: Get a free play ticket for the first 60 days, and a random number of NP every day you open the app. The free NP expire a week from acquisition.

Sega UFO Catcher Online

Not to be confused with GiGO Online Crane, which is no longer owned by Sega. (I will not be covering that app in this article because I found it kinda crap. The actual real life GiGO arcades are fine though.)

Sega UFO Catcher Online appears to use exactly the same interface as Namco Online Crane, but slightly less buggy. The Sega app resembles an actual game arcade the most out of all the apps in this list. Plus, the staff seem actually passionate about gaming. There is a wide variety of machine types, including the UFO Triple and Duet catchers that you see in arcades. Some of the machines have placeholders, but many also have the actual prizes. There are also a number of interesting setups not seen elsewhere, such as “gate challenge,” where you have to get a ball through an arch in a pinball type machine.

The Daily Challenge ticket allows you to play chance-type machines like roulette and pinball once a day, where you can win a “novelty” prize. Not exactly sure what these are since I have yet to win one.

Unfortunately, their setups are rather difficult, with the claw strength for hashi-watashi very weak. The box barely moves unless you position in the exact optimal place. Which is doubly difficult because unlike other online claw games, you only get one shot to position.

While you can reposition freely for the 3-claw machines, I tried playing a UFO Triple with a Sonic the Hedgehog plushie placeholder and it is hard. While the stop function works like in a normal arcade, it is difficult to accurately position the claw given limits to the camera angles. After playing 18 times and still not getting assistance or the kakuritsu, I sent an enquiry through the form and was surprised to get a response immediately. After playing another four times, the staff came and repositioned the prize for an easy get. It seems the “assist gauge” at Sega UFO Online Catcher is set at around 3,000 to 4,000 yen, which I heard is lower than most other online crane game apps.

In any case, I was impressed with the customer service at Sega; it really makes me happy to support them. Especially since the Game Gear was my first ever console as a kid. The madlads at Sega UFO Online Catcher even run a Youtube channel explaining strategies for the different setups, and look like they have fun doing so. I just wish they had proper practice machines like Taito Crane and DMM.

Play cost: A 3,300 yen pack will give you 2,700 UP + 100 free UP, which works out to a ratio of 1.18. Plays usually range from 80 to 200 UP, which works out to 94 yen to 236 yen. Again, the more expensive a pack you buy, the cheaper each play becomes. 

Shipping speed: Prizes won usually ship the day after a request is made, making them the fastest among the apps reviewed on this page.

New account bonus: Get 500 points when you register and verify your phone number.

Daily login bonus: Get a random number of points and a free Daily Challenge play ticket every day you open the app. While the Daily Challenge ticket expires at the end of each day, the free points expire after 180 days.

General tips

• Buy play points on the web version of your preferred online crane game rather than through the app. The prices listed above are for purchasing in the app, but unless there is a sale going on, the web version will always give you more bang for your buck. For example, with the Sega UFO Catcher Online, buying a 3,300 yen pack through a web browser will give you 2,700 UP + 800 free UP (an extra 700 UP), which lowers the per yen ratio to 0.94.
• Prizes won are only held for a certain time (between a week to a month depending on the app), so make sure you submit a shipping request by the deadline.
• Some discounted prizes are labelled as セット発送 (“set shipping”), which means you cannot submit a shipping request for them alone. They must be sent with another item in order to use the free shipping ticket.
• Personally, I feel DMM is the best in terms of ease of winning and cost, while Taito Crane is the best for interesting setups and range of prizes. Sega tops the list for shipping speed and overall geekiness, but their setups are too difficult for the casual player.

If you’re new to the world of crane games, check out my Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Crane Games, or the archives for the lowdown on some places to play.