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by Marvin Barias
I was in Sacramento, Calif., to catch the Lakers/Kings game at Sleep Train Arena. Just before heading to the game, I decided to check out a what local sneaker consignment shop KicxUnlimited had on hand. They've been advertising their newest gimmick called the "Kicx Master" (formally known as the Key Master) vending machine game – think of a claw machine that you'd find at any carnival or Chuck-E-Cheese.
Now I'm not a gambler by any means, but if there's a shot to win overpriced and typically out-of-reach limited sneakers for just $5, you have to at least think about it. I had $10 in my wallet and asked one of the owners for change. Before allowing the Kicx Master to take my money, I took a look at the day's offerings. To name a few, there were Air Jordan 10 "OVOs," Supreme x Jordan 5s, Don C x Air Jordan 2s and the adidas Yeezy Boost 350 in both colorways.
Since I missed out on the Supreme x Jordan 5s upon their retail release, I decided to focus on those. My first attempt was all wrong. Being a rookie at this type of game, I should've paid closer attention to the strategies of previous winners. In fact, Instagram user and frequent customer cuban_t comes in to play every once in a while and he's won this thing a store record of six times.
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Here's how gameplay went down. On my first attempt, I let go too early thinking there was a third button I had to press to engage the key into the slot. Apparently not. As a kid, I never read video game instructions. I always learned on the fly. But this time it cost me $5.
On my second attempt, I decided to play it smart. You first start by positioning the key to the row you wish to play on. On the second move, you position the key to the desired height, and once you let go of the button, the key moves forward through a small opening and attempts to push the sneaker forward through the holder. I ended up hitting the top of the slot and just like that and I was down $10.
They don't always use sneakers. For KicxUnlimited's one year anniversary, they put up to $3,000 cash inside the machine. It's definitely a great lure to get customers into the shop, even if I wasted my money. And to prove it's actually winnable, here's a look at the previous game winners.
