Loose ends: did the 2000’s-era coin catching game at Taco Bell have water in it?
By Alex Chrisman
It’s impossible for my kids to understand, but I grew up very poor. I was raised by a single mom in a housing project. Ultimately my path out of poverty involved working. Not an uncommon story, but it was my rope out of the hole that I was in. I also got some help from a few important people in my life.
I searched all over the place for a free photo of the coin drop game but could not find it. This was however the general anesthetic when I worked that, although my location was a full Taco Bell, not Express. (Creative Commons, DXPG, Taco Bell Express Restaurant in Mannheim, Benjamin Franklin Village (US Army Militärbasis))
Of my many jobs in the early 2000s, I worked at Taco Bell. For this reason, I noticed when there was a trending question about whether or not the 90’s-era coin catching game had water in it. I worked the front counter, where the game was, and so I can tell you, dear reader, what I remember.
First of all, what is this game called? Coin Drop Game. You can see a photo of it here. It’s basically a clear hexagonal container, about 2 feet tall, with layers of colored platforms. There’s a handle on the top for adjusting the platforms. The objective is to drop a coin from the slot on the top onto one of the platforms in order to win either a taco, burrito or cinnamon twists depending on the value of the coin dropped. The player would then show the cashier, which would have been me around the turn of the millennium. The cashier would verify the win (consulting a manager if the store in question is less trusting) and issue the prize by entering it into the register system.
The mystery at hand here is whether or not the coin drop game had water in it. As I write this I’m researching, so I’ll start by sharing my memory and then see if my research backs it up.
I remember there being water. I remember this because the platforms, to my memory, moved slowly, offering resistance to the player.
From what I can tell, the game, also known as an Aquaskill game, did start out with water in it.
“Taco Bell’s Coin Game was a staple of the chain’s countertops through the 2000s and 2010s and let consumers try to land a coin on a paddle in the water-filled contraption in exchange for free food items,” wrote MarketingDive.
Apparently individual restaurants later removed the water when it became a maintenance concern.
Taco Bell says that they brought in over 41 million dollars in donations to help teens with the games. They were removed during restaurant remodels in the mid-2010s and are now a distant memory for many. Since they existed in both watery and dry form, it makes sense that people would be confused. Thanks for reading, I think I’ll have a Mexican Pizza now, which is, of course, the best item on the Taco Bell menu.
Source: https://www.tacobell.com/newsroom/taco-bell-revives-beloved-coin-drop-game-virtually