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A crane or claw vending machine is a type of arcade game commonly found in video arcades, supermarkets, restaurants, movie theaters, and bowling alleys. A claw game may also be referred to as a teddy picker, plush crane machine, UFO catcher, candy crane, claw crane, claw machine, The Claw, crane vending machine, arcade claw, crane game, grabber machine, stuffed animal machine, skill crane, skill tester, or merchandiser.

A crane vending machine consists of prizes, usually plush toys or alternatives such as jewelry, capsuled toys, hats, dolls, shirts, candy, and electronics. Higher end prizes are sometimes placed in a plastic bag so the toy is harder to pick up. The player puts coins into the machine, which then allows the player to manipulate a joystick that controls the claw for a variable time (controlled by the operator) usually 15 to 30 seconds (in some cases, a claw vending machine might offer a minute of time). The player is able to move the claw back, forth and sideways, and some machines allow the user to move the claw after it has partially descended.

At the end of that time (or earlier if the player presses a trigger button on the joystick), the claw descends down and makes an attempt to grip. After making the gripping attempt, the claw then moves over an opening in the corner of the case and releases its contents. If the player is successful, then the prize the claw is holding is dropped into the opening and dispensed through a chute into a hatch for pickup.

An alternative version of the machine popular in arcades is the "two button" version: one marked with a forward arrow, one with a right arrow. The crane starts near the front, left side of the machine and the user presses first the forward button to move the crane towards the back of the cabinet. Once the button is released the crane stops moving and the button cannot be used again, thus requiring the user to judge depth accurately in one attempt. After this, the right button becomes active in a similar way and as soon as it is released, the crane drops to a certain depth and then raises, closing its claw on the way and returning to the drop hatch in the front left corner. These versions are generally considered to be more difficult. However, the button type machines typically do not feature the timers which are commonly found on joystick type machines.