🗺️ Roadmap

Every chapter in the guide, its status, and what it covers. This is a living document — as the business model changes or new research comes in, chapters get updated.

Status legend

✅ Published — drafted, on the site
🚧 In progress — being written now
📝 Outlined — outline exists, full content not yet drafted
⏳ Future — planned, no work started

Volume 1 — The Business

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · Reality Check	Honest view of costs, competition, effort — before you spend anything
✅	Ch 02 · Why Claw Machines	The appeal and the business advantages of skill cranes
✅	Ch 03 · The Business Model	How the money flow works: plays, win rate, prize cost, profit
✅	Ch 04 · Costs & Startup Budget	Every cost item, with realistic dollar ranges
✅	Ch 05 · Revenue & Profit	What a machine can earn, margins, and payback

Volume 2 — Formation & Legal

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · LLC vs Sole Prop vs S-Corp	Which structure fits a single-owner claw shop
✅	Ch 02 · Forming the Business	Steps to legally register, EIN, bank account
✅	Ch 03 · Permits & Licenses	Business license, arcade/vending permits, sales tax permit
✅	Ch 04 · Insurance	General liability and what an arcade really needs

Volume 3 — The Space

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · Commercial Leases 101	NNN, gross, percentage rent — in plain English
✅	Ch 02 · Finding the Right Space	LoopNet/Crexi, brokers, what sites to use, what to ask
✅	Ch 03 · Size & Layout	Square footage, footprint, how to lay out machines
✅	Ch 04 · Negotiating the Lease	LOI, deposit, term, how not to overpay

Volume 4 — The Machines

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · Machine Types	Skill cranes, pushers, redemption, mini vs full-size
✅	Ch 02 · Buy vs Lease	The biggest cost decision and its tradeoffs
✅	Ch 03 · Where to Buy	Named suppliers, new vs used, price ranges
✅	Ch 04 · Payments & Cashless	Coin/bill acceptors, phone-pay card readers
✅	Ch 05 · Prizes & Plush	Wholesale suppliers, per-item cost, win-rate math
✅	Ch 06 · Maintenance	Claw, string, power, jams — what breaks and how to fix it

Volume 5 — Operations

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · Running the Shop	Hours, monitoring, keeping machines full, security
✅	Ch 02 · Staffing	How few people you really need, and when to hire
✅	Ch 03 · Marketing & Foot Traffic	Local marketing, social media, repeat customers
✅	Ch 04 · Day-to-Day Checklist	Opening, closing, daily maintenance routine

Volume 6 — Money & Taxes

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · Accounting Basics	Separation, EIN, books, accountant vs software
✅	Ch 02 · Taxes 101	Federal income, self-employment tax, deductions
✅	Ch 03 · Sales Tax & Arcade Fees	Is a machine play taxable? State-by-state caveats
✅	Ch 04 · Quarterly Estimates	Estimated tax payments and how to avoid penalties

Volume 7 — Real Examples

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · Success Stories	Named small-footprint claw shops and what they did right
✅	Ch 02 · Failures & Lessons	Where claw businesses fail and how to avoid it
✅	Ch 03 · Case Study: Prizemate	One real claw arcade taken apart end to end — machines, lease, pricing, parties
✅	Ch 04 · Case Study: Claw Crushers	The city permit you need before you can open, the machine identified to its model number, and a token ladder that stops rewarding bigger spend
✅	Ch 05 · Your 90-Day Plan	A concrete week-by-week plan from idea to open doors

Volume 8 — The Photo Booth Shop

Status	Chapter	Notes
✅	Ch 01 · What a Photo Booth Shop Is	The three unattended formats, the customer journey, and the four ways a booth differs from a claw machine
✅	Ch 02 · The US Field Guide	Named US operators you can visit — Korean-brand mall studios, supermarket shop-in-shop booths, and independent neighborhood studios
✅	Ch 03 · Where the Shops Live	Mall in-line vs shop-in-shop vs storefront, host-venue deal structure, the joint-storefront model, and the site scorecard
✅	Ch 04 · Machines & Sourcing	Booth models and their price on every procurement route — ex-works, OEM direct, installed, coin-op, franchise
✅	Ch 05 · Unit Economics & the Korea Caution	Session pricing, worked scenarios, booth-vs-claw comparison, and the consolidation warning from Korea
✅	Ch 06 · Bolting One Onto Your Claw Shop	The install plan: footprint, power, pricing ladder, licensing deltas, frame calendar, and the 90-day pilot thresholds

By the numbers

Metric	Value
Volumes	8
Chapters	38
Pages	50 (38 chapters + 8 volume overviews + home, start-here, roadmap, podcast)
Podcast episodes	31 (Volumes 1–7; Volume 8 not yet recorded)
Version	v1.1 — first edition + Volume 8

What's next

Machine pricing drift — as new/used machine costs change over time, on both the claw and booth sides.
Local law changes — arcade licensing and sales-tax treatment by state, including how printed photos are classified.
New named examples — as more small claw shops and self-photo studios open.
Volume 8 podcast episodes — the audio series currently covers Volumes 1–7 only.
US booth price and placement data — Volume 8's US venue counts come from an independent directory; expect them to drift.

If you're ready to dive in, start with Chapter 1 of Volume 1.

Back🧭 Start Here → Next volume📘 Vol 1 · The Business →

Roadmap · updated October 2026 · v1.1