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Each year, as the dog days of summer give way to those first crisp tinges of autumn, communities everywhere start dusting off the carnival games in preparation for the annual county fair. “This is it,” you tell yourself. “This is my year!” Shooting hoops in the driveway, you psych yourself up for carnival games like the Basketball Free-Throw Challenge, the Ring Toss, the Dart Throw, and Shoot Out the Star. You can feel it. This is the year you will conquer the carnival games and bring home that giant purple panda you’ve had your eye on since the third grade.

Oh, but the pitfalls are many. You’ve been down this road before. Midway games are deceptively sinister. The balloons in the Dart Throw are underinflated, and the darts are dull; the weight-guess guy is always right on the money; and the hoop in the Basketball Free-Throw Challenge is smaller than your goal at home.

But the midway workers make it look so easy. What’s the secret?

This year, Journey magazine has got your back, my friend. We asked around, we scoured the Internet, seeking tips from the carnival workers themselves, and we have the strategies to improve your odds.

Take the Basketball Free-Throw Challenge, for instance. The ball is overinflated, the hoop is smaller than regulation size, sometimes even oval shaped, and the backboard is often made of plywood, rendering it super bouncy. The trick is to shoot the ball at a high arc. Don’t try to bank it off the backboard. Your only hope is a nuthin’-but-net swish.

In the Dart Throw, the balloons are underinflated, and the darts are dull. Throw the dart a bit harder and go for the balloons with the most air. Toss the dart toward the largest cluster of balloons to increase your chances of a hit. Or better yet, throw the dart with a high arc so that it comes down on the balloons, and possibly take out more than one balloon with a single dart. We have a winner!

Shoot Out the Star is one of the trickiest games on the midway. The goal: Shoot out a small red star on plain white paper with an automatic BB gun. The catch: You only have about 200 pellets, the gun barrels are often bent, and the sights are off. The secret: Watch a few rounds and look for the gun that sprays the pellets in the tightest pattern. Then fire off a quick burst of BBs to see if the gun is shooting straight. Adjust your aim accordingly. Finally, don’t shoot directly at the star. Instead, shoot out a circle around the star and with luck, the star will fall out.

When it comes to that pesky weight-guess guy, have him guess your birth month instead. You’d be surprised how accurate these guys can get at guessing weight. Now you have the upper hand. He’ll scribble a month down on a piece of paper. According to the rules, as long as the scribbled month falls within two months of your birth month, you lose. Wanna win? You say October. The scribbled month will start with a “J” and could pass for January, June or July. October is the only month that doesn’t fall within two months of January, June, or July.

Now, how are you gonna fit all these giant purple pandas in the car?

Try your new skills this fall at the largest fairs in Washington. The Evergreen State Fair (Monroe) runs from August 21–September 1; the Puyallup Fair (the largest annual attraction in Washington) runs from September 5–21; and the Central Washington State Fair (Yakima) runs from September 26–October 5.