Crocodile Teeth Game

App has a crocodile mouth with 10 teeth and one of them closes the mouth and you lose. Pick 1 at a time. If theirs 10 teeth, and I pick the first 5, am I 50% to get by without losing ?

Yes but only if you play perfect basic strategy.

Crocodiles are better for making shoes than games.

I've got $60 + $60 odds on the points of 4, 8, & 10 on the website craps game. I roll 9 four times, then 7-out. My WinCraps bad luck follows me. Quit, down $1200.

Quote: Ace2

Yes but only if you play perfect basic strategy.

Crocodiles are better for making shoes than games.

Is this a joke im missing the punch line to or something?

If im understanding the game correctly, you only win if you leave the tooth you're trying to avoid to be last.

So with 5 teeth gone, you still need to pick 4 more.

Odds of a successful pull = (teeth left - 1) / (teeth left)

So starting with 5 teeth left the odds of succeeding are:

4/5 x 3/4 x 2/3 x 1/2 = 24/120 = 1/5 = 20%

Quote: tringlomane

Is this a joke im missing the punch line to or something?

If im understanding the game correctly, you only win if you leave the tooth you're trying to avoid to be last.

So with 5 teeth gone, you still need to pick 4 more.

Odds of a successful pull = (teeth left - 1) / (teeth left)

So starting with 5 teeth left the odds of succeeding are:

4/5 x 3/4 x 2/3 x 1/2 = 24/120 = 1/5 = 20%

I think you misunderstood the question. I read it to be, is the probability of getting through the first five teeth without losing 50%, which is correct, as any of the teeth can be the "losing" one.

So we're talking "Crocodile Dentist" which is a children's version of "Russian Roulette". There are 10 teeth (chambers) to push down and one of them causes the croc's jaws to close (fires a bullet). If you're playing it on a phone app then yeah, pushing the first 5 teeth would be 50/50. Think of it simply as two groups of 5 (let's name them Heads and Tails). Picking one group causes you to win while picking the other causes you to lose. Easy enough.

If, however, you were to buy the physical game at a toy store then things would change. The randomizer is just a cheap plastic mechanism with a spring. After a few plays you'll notice a not-so-random trend. For example, on your game (spring tensions will vary) the bad tooth might usually reset 4-8 teeth counterclockwise whenever you open the jaws to start a new game. Thus the previous bad tooth (and the teeth next to it) are practically risk free. [Note: opening the jaws quickly makes things more random.] Here's a video of how it works...



Obviously it's unlikely you'll ever play this game for money. I post here only because partying teens and tweens will occasionally use something like "Crocodile Dentist" or "Pop-Up Pirate" as a drinking game or strip poker alternative. Should you find yourself in such a situation then knowing the characteristics of the mechanism puts you at a huge advantage.

Side Note: Surprisingly, in the original release, you actually pulled out the teeth using an extractor (large plastic tweezers). As you might imagine, this led to both teeth getting quickly lost and teeth being popped into mouths and choked on. They quickly redesigned it to where you push the teeth in.

And speaking of Russian Roulette comparisons, there's also extreme versions to be played...

Quote: ThatDonGuy

I think you misunderstood the question. I read it to be, is the probability of getting through the first five teeth without losing 50%, which is correct, as any of the teeth can be the "losing" one.

Ah yeah, I misunderstood it I think.