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The Price is Right is a popular game show based on
contestants guessing the retail prices of displayed prizes. The modern United
States version, which premiered on September 4, 1972 and is hosted by Bob Barker, still airs today on CBS. The original 1956 version of the show was hosted by
Bill Cullen. An Australian variant has Larry Emdur as the well recognized host of
the game.
Unless otherwise specified, this article focuses on the 1972 CBS daytime format of The Price is Right. For
extended information about the 1956 version, please see The Price is Right (1956).
Versions of the show
Several television shows bearing the name The Price is Right have aired over the years. The first Price is
Right aired in the late 1950s and lasted until the mid 1960s. Hosted by Bill Cullen in the black and white television era, it was extremely popular. See The Price is Right (1956).
The most recognized version of the show was started in 1972 on CBS and has been hosted by
Bob Barker through its entire broadcast run. The show was first called The
New Price is Right (and shortly after its start simply renamed The Price is Right), and still airs today as the
last network daytime game show that is still running.
Other short-lived versions of the show have aired as well. A weekly version of the show aired from 1972 through 1980. This show was hosted by Dennis James from 1972 to 1976, then Bob Barker from 1976 to 1980.
Two syndicated versions were attempted: in 1986 with host Tom
Kennedy (The Nighttime Price is Right), and in 1994 with host Doug Davidson (The New Price is Right). Both of these quickly died
out.
The Price is Right has even spread internationally; British versions have
been hosted by Leslie
Crowther (of Crackerjack fame) and Bruce Forsyth. It has also aired in Australia, Mexico (Diga lo que Vale and Atinale al Precio), and Spain (El precio justo).
Overview
The 1972 daytime incarnation of The Price is Right (hosted by Bob Barker) has the distinction of being the
longest-running game show in television history. It has surpassed the previous record of 17 years and 7 months set by What's My Line?. Still airing today, it continues to extend its record,
and aired its 6,000th episode on March 1, 2004.
Notably, it is also the only daytime game show which has regularly aired on United States network television since
January, 1994.
(Incidentally, the 6,000th show was *supposed* to air on March 9...but for some reason, CBS wanted it broadcast on the 1st, so
its airdate was swapped with that of episode 5,994. Episode 6,001 aired on March 10. This is noted just in case anyone is
actually trying to keep track of episode numbers.)
Johnny Olson was the show's original announcer. Olson was the first to
call contestants to "Come on down!," which became the show's catch phrase. Olson died in 1985, and shortly afterwards, an on-air audition of several other announcers was held, and Rod Roddy was chosen to replace Olson. Roddy continued to do the show until two months before his death on
October 27, 2003. After another on-air
announcer audition, including Randy
West and Burton
Richardson (who announced the 1994 syndicated version), Rich Fields was named the show's permanent announcer on April
8, 2004.
The show experienced an unexpected garnering of younger college-age viewers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Barker theorizes that they acquired these fans from
his appearance in the Adam Sandler frat house favorite Happy Gilmore. He also suspects that these viewers remember the show from
when they were children and their parents watched the show.
Game Description
Contestant selection
To quote a well-known line from the show, "If you'd like to see The Price is Right in person, send your request, including the
number of tickets and the date you wish to attend, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, to 'TICKETS: The Price is Right,
CBS Television City, 7800 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90036". Okay, Bob!"
On the day of a taping, a line begins for people who wish to see the show. The first number of people who show up who can fit
in the studio are interviewed by the producers briefly, then allowed into the Bob Barker studio. Nine contestants are chosen by
the production staff per taping from among this pool of people. Thus, anyone who attends the show (over the age of 18) has the
potential to become a contestant on The Price is Right as well; this fact is one of the show's attractions.
Contestants' Row
The show opens with the announcer calling down the first four contestants for the show, as earlier picked, with the immortal
catchphrase, "Come on down!" They line up in "Contestants' Row", where the 4 contestants bid on the price of a small prize, like
a television, bicycle, or sofa. Each contestant bids in turn, and whoever declares a bid closest to the actual retail price of
the prize without going over wins. If all contestants go over, then the process begins again. If a contestant bids exactly right,
he or she gets a cash bonus of $500 (this bonus used to be $100).
Pricing games
The winner gets to play a "pricing game", where he or she can win a bigger prize, like a car, a trip, or cash. As only one
contestant is involved in a pricing game at a time, they will tend to get the unanimous support of the audience. After the
pricing game ends, a new contestant is selected for Contestants' Row, and the process begins again.
The Showcase Showdown
Six pricing games are played per show. After the 3rd and 6th pricing games, there is a "Showcase Showdown", so that 1 finalist
per Showdown can be determined for the Showcase from among those who won their way out of Contestants' Row. The contestants, in
order from the one who won the least to the top winner, spin a wheel with 20 sections marked $.05 to $1. After the first spin,
the contestant has a chance to stay or spin again. The contestant's score is the sum of the two spins (or 1 spin if he/she
decides to stay). The goal is to have the highest score without going over $1. Any contestant who goes over $1 is immediately
eliminated. There is a rule that the wheel must go "all the way around" when spinning, to make it hard to aim for a specific
square of the wheel.
If a contestant gets $1 in the "Showcase Showdown", he/she wins $1,000 and gets a "bonus spin". A score of $1 on the bonus
spin yields a $10,000 bonus, and $.05 or $.15 (located below and above $1) yield a $5,000 bonus. The bonus spin starts with the
wheel on the $.05, so that the contestant is never denied money for failing to get the wheel all the way around.
If 2 contestants are tied, there is a spinoff consisting of one spin only each. The $1,000 bonus and a bonus spin can still be
earned in a spinoff. If two contestants tie with $1, there is a spin that is simultaneously a bonus spin and spinoff. However, a
contestant cannot win more than one $1,000 bonus. Until the late '70s, however, there was no "bonus spin", and contestants simply
won a $1,000 bonus every time they spun $1 (so if two people tied at $1 and had a spinoff, they could win another $1,000 bonus by
spinning $1 again). Another interesting possibility is that if the first 2 contestants in a Showcase Showdown can go over, the
3rd contestant automatically makes it to the showcase, but he gets one spin to try to get $1 and win $1,000.
The Showcase
The 2 winners of the Showcase Showdowns in each episode make it to the Showcase. The Showcase usually involves several prizes
connected by a little story, and tend to be worth several times the amount of any individual "pricing game". The goal, as in
Contestants' Row, is to be the closest without going over. One showcase is shown, and the contestant with greatest winnings so
far has the option to "bid or pass". After the bid is placed, the 2nd showcase is shown and bid upon by the remaining
contestant.
If both contestants go over, nobody wins the Showcase. If the winner is within $250 of (used to be less than $100 away from)
the price of his own showcase, he wins both showcases. If the two contestants are exactly the same distance from the
actual prices (in other words, if there is a tie), each wins his own showcase. (This has happened exactly once.) If there is a
tie where the difference is within $250, both contestants win both showcases. (This has never happened.)
The old half-hour version
From 1972 to 1975, The Price is Right was only one half hour long. It featured 3 pricing games rather than 6. There
was no Showcase Showdown; the top 2 winners of the day participated in the Showcase. This was changed in 1975 to the hour-long
version which is described above.
Barker's Beauties
The daily show featured models who became known as Barker's Beauties. From the mid-70s through most of the 80s these were
Dian Parkinson, Holly Hallstrom and Janice Pennington. Controversy
erupted in 1993 when Parkinson sued host Bob Barker for sexual
harassment. Barker admitted to sexual involvement with Parkinson in the late 80s. In 1995, Hallstrom was dismissed from the
show. When she subsequently complained that she had been fired for failing to lose weight, Barker sued her for libel and slander.
Hallstrom replied with a countersuit. Pennington was fired shortly after having been subpoenaed to give testimony during
Hallstrom's lawsuit.
New life in prime time
A series of six nighttime specials aired during the summer of 1986. Six nighttime specials saluting various branches of the
United States armed forces aired during the
summer of 2002. Eight nighttime "Million-Dollar Spectaculars" aired during 2003 with more planned for 2004; on these specials, a
$1 on the bonus spin in the Showcase Showdown gives the contestant $1 million instead of the usual $10,000 (as of this writing,
the top prize has never been won).
There have also been primetime specials for the show's 25th and 30th anniversaries.
Fremantle
Mark Goodson Productions was bought out by Pearson Television in the mid
1990s. (Pearson is now known as Fremantle Media.) Some fans
associate this time as the start of a decline in the quality of the show. There are many recent changes that are disliked:
- The frequent turnover in models. Longtime models, such as Janice Pennington, who was with the Barker version since day 1,
have been fired to make the show more appealing to younger viewers.
- Some pricing games have not been adjusted to account for inflation.
- The announcer no longer appears on camera; traditionally, the late Johnny Olson and Rod Roddy made at least one on-air
appearance per episode. Recently, though, this policy has been relaxed; Rich Fields has begun to appear at the end of the show
alongside the rest of the cast with the Showcase winner.
Fremantle has had many failed remakes of other Goodson shows, such as Match
Game (1998), Card
Sharks (2001), and To Tell The Truth (2000). Two of these have become somewhat
popular: Family Feud (1999),
and Whammy!: The All New Press Your Luck (2002).
Summary and Analysis of Selected Games
Contestants' Row
The four potential players are presented with a prize that they must all bid on once. Closest without going over wins.
The strategy for this game is interesting. Suppose the price is uniformly distributed between $1 and $1,000? What is the
optimal bidding strategy?
The Showcase Showdown
See Showcase Showdown section above
The strategy here is also interesting. When should you choose to spin again? A simple computation or computer simulation will
yield the answer. Historically, the show's consensus seems to be that $.60-$.65 is a score that a contestant should give serious
thought to staying on with a single spin. Spinning on $.70 or above when it is not necessary is likely to get a bad reaction from
the audience.
Any Number
The first game ever played on the show. The first number of the price of a car is shown, with the other four covered up, as
well as the price of a three-digit prize, as well as the "piggy bank". Each of the digits 0-9 is used on the board once,
including another instance of the first digit in the car. The contestant calls digits, and they are revealed wherever they are.
The contestant wins the first prize that he uncovers all the digits of.
Barker's Marker$
The contestant is shown three prizes and four possible prices to place markers by; each marker represents a prize. He/she is
also given $500 in cash. Once the markers are placed, Bob Barker reveals two prices that the contestant correctly placed markers
by. This leaves one prize and two possible prices, one of which has a marker beside it. Barker gives the contestant two choices:
give up the $500 and switch the marker to the unmarked price, or keep the money and leave the marker where it is. The contestant
loses everything -- including the $500 -- if the unmarked price at the end of the game happens to be correct.
Check Game
For some reason, the rules of this game baffle many contestants, although it's really quite simple. The contestant writes a
check for a certain amount. If the value of his check plus the price of the prize ends up between $5,000 and $6,000, he wins.
Formerly, the amount was between $3,000 to $3,500.
Cliff Hangers
This is a fun, challenging game that has become a favorite of most "Price is RIght" fans. The contestant must guess the prices
of three small prizes without going over 25 steps. If the contestant's guess is correct, the mountain climber stays where he is
and the game goes on. However, if a contestant is INCORRECT, the mountain climber will move up the mountain 1 step for every
dollar missed from the actual price. As the mountain climber moves up the mountain, a yodeling song, which has become extremely
popular withe show is played. A WORD OF ADVICE: Since these prizes are generally TWO-DIGIT prices, it is not wise to bid $250 on
an $80 set of jewelry or $9 on a $35 "Peter Pan" DVD. The contestant continues to play until either: 1. He/She wins the large
prize 2. The mountin climber goes over the cliff.
If the contestant keep the mountain climber on the mountain, he/she wins the large prize. SOMETIMES, especially during
SPECIALS and SPECTACULARS, cars have been offered as prizes in "Cliff Hangers"
This game is easily won by someone who watches the show regularly. Guessing 20/30/40 or 30/40/50 will almost always win.
Clock Game
The player is given thirty seconds to deduce the price of two prizes (one first, and then the other with leftover time). The
contestant makes a guess, and the host says "higher" or "lower". The contestant is allowed to take shortcuts in pronunciation;
for example, saying "nine seventy-one two three four five six seven eight nine" will test all prices in the range $971-$979. Any
contestant who knows binary search will win easily; as such, this is the only game on the show in which skill guarantees a win.
In recent years, a win on Clock Game also scores the contestant a $1000 bonus.
Coming or Going
A contestant is presented with a prize, such as a trip or furniture set. He is presented with a string of four numbers, such
that he has a choice. He may either set the numbers 'coming' (to get, say, $6,523), or going (to get $3,256). Note that the only
difference between these two numbers is whether the first or last number is read first. A correct guess wins the prize. Odds of
winning: 1:2.
Dice Game
This game is played for a car. The first digit of the car is given for free, but the contestant must roll dice to get the
remaining four digits. After each roll, the contestant has to determine if the correct number was higher or lower than the number
rolled if that number was not in the price. The price is revealed after the fourth roll, but the contestant loses with even one
incorrect guess. Prices in the Dice Game do not contain zeroes or any numbers higher than six; however, this rule was not in
place when the game debuted in 1976. There were only four numbers and four dice, and no
free number was given. It was also difficult because numbers could range from 0-9 even though the dice has 1-6. The 1-6 numbers
rule was put in effect shortly after the debut of the game. During the 1980s, if they
played for a car with five digits, they played "Deluxe Dice Game" with 5 numbers and the first number given free.
Double Prices
One of the five original pricing games. Two prices are shown for a prize; pick the right one, and you win.
Flip Flop
A contestant is presented with a prize, such as a trip or furniture set. He is presented with a string of four numbers -- a
"wrong price" -- divided into two sets of two numbers. If, in an example, the numbers given are $42-03, he may: 'Flip', giving a
prize of $2,403; 'Flop', giving a prize of $4,230; or 'Flip-Flop', giving a prize of $2,430. A correct guess wins the prize. Odds
of winning: 1:3.
Golden Road
Golden Road, one of the show's most popular games, begins with a grocery item that is priced under $1. The two digits in that
price are used to guess the concealed digit of a three-digit prize, giving the contestant a 50-50 chance. If the contestant
guesses it correctly, that price is used to guess the concealed digit of a four-digit prize (1-3 odds). If that guess is correct,
those four digits are used to guess the concealed digit of the five-digit prize at the end of the Golden Road (1-4 odds). That
five-digit prize is usually the most expensive prize that's given on the show, such as a recreational vehicle or a luxury/sports car like a Cadillac or Dodge Viper with a price of at least
$50,000. An incorrect guess at any time ends the game.
Grand Game
Six grocery items are shown, and the contestant has to determine which four items are priced below a certain "target price."
The contestant starts with $1 in the bank, and a zero is added to the end of the bank with each correct guess. If the contestant
finds all four items that are priced below the "target price," he or she wins $10,000. The game ends if an item priced above the
"target" is chosen, but the contestant only loses his money if the game is lost on the last item.
The top prize was $20,000 on the recent primetime specials.
Grocery Game
One of the five original pricing games. Five grocery items are shown; the contestant must choose quantities of items to total
between $6.75 to $7.00 (now $20 to $21). The running total is displayed on a manually operated cash register.
Although, one contestant one stated to want 25 units, but the manual cash register can only add up to 20 units.
1/2 Off
This game, which debuted on the May 28, 2004,
episode, is played for $10,000 in cash. The contestant is given 16 boxes – one of which contains the money – and
three groups of two small prizes. One of the prizes has the correct price, the other has one that is one-half the actual retail
price. If the contestant correctly picks the prize that is “half off,” half of the boxes are eliminated. If all three
half-priced prizes are picked correctly, the contestant would have a choice of two boxes to pick from. After the box is picked,
the contestant opens it, and he/she wins the $10,000 if the box contains the money.
Hi Lo
The contestant is shown six grocery items; he must pick the three highest-priced ones out of the group to win. There is no
room for error, however; if chosen blindly, the odds of winning are 57:1.
Hole in One
Always played for a car or other large prize, Hole in One begins with the announcer describing six grocery items. A contestant
will try to guess the prices of these items from lowest to highest, and his choices will be placed on corresponding lines closer
and closer to a golf hole. As long as an item is higher in price than the previous, the contestant is allowed to advance (and if
the contestant gets ALL the items right, he gets a $500 bonus for doing so). When either an incorrect guess is made, or the $500
bonus is collected, it's time for the putting portion of the game. Bob Barker always attempts an 'inspiration putt' from the line
furthest away from the hole, usually to the delight of the audience. Then the contestant, from whatever line he's earned, tries a
putt as well. If he makes the putt, he wins the car. If not, Bob reveals that the game is, in fact, 'Hole in One...or Two!', and
the contestant gets one last putt from his earned line to win. If neither put is made, the game is over.
It's in the Bag
This game involving grocery items is played for a cash prize of up to $16,000. Six grocery items are shown, as are five
grocery bags with prices on them. The contestant has to match the product with the price shown on the bag (one product is never
used). If the contestant correctly matches the first item with the first price, he or she wins $1,000 and has the option of
doubling his or her money with each bag after that. The contestant can quit at any time before reaching the $16,000 top prize,
but he or she loses everything with one incorrect guess.
Let 'em Roll
This game is played for a car. The contestant is given one roll of five special dice at the beginning of the game and could
earn up to two more rolls by correctly guessing if a grocery item had a higher or lower price than the item before it (think
Card Sharks with prices instead of cards). Each die that the
contestant rolls has six sides: three of them have car pictures, and the other three sides have cash values of $500; $1,000; and
$1,500. After each turn, the contestant has the option to keep the cash that was rolled or roll the non-car dice again (if he or
she has earned any additional rolls). The contestant wins the car if the car picture appears on all five dice by the end of his
or her last roll.
Lucky $even
A contestant is given seven one-dollar bills and after receiving the first digit of the price of the car, he or she has to
guess the remaining four. If the guess is incorrect, the contestant loses one dollar for each number that the guess is off by
(e.g., if the contestant guesses "5" but the correct answer is "7," the contestant loses two dollars). The contestant needs to
have at least one dollar left at the end of the game to win the car.
Usually, if the contestant gets their first guess within 1, and guesses 5 for the remaining digits, the contestant will
win.
Money Game
Nine cards with two-digit numbers appear on the board. The object is to find the two cards that make up the first two and last
two digits of the price of the car (the middle digit of a five-digit price is given for free). The remaining seven cards are
money values. The contestant wins the car if he chooses the two car price cards before revealing four money values; otherwise, he
wins the total amount of money he drew.
Often, the two winning combinations are located adjacently on the game board.
Most Expensive
The contestant is shown three prizes, and he or she has to determine which one is the most expensive of the three. If
successful, he/she wins all three prizes.
One Away
The contestant is given the incorrect price of a car in this game. However, each digit in that price is either one number
above or one number below the correct digit; it is up to the contestant to determine which way to change the number. Once all the
digits are changed, the contestant asks if he or she has at least one number right. If he or she hears a car horn, the game
continues; if not, the game ends. The contestant keeps asking how many numbers are right until he or she has every digit right
(thus winning the car) or gets no response. If that happens, the contestant changes the appropriate number of digits that are
incorrect. The price is revealed after the changes are made, and the contestant must have every digit correct to win the car.
1 Right Price
The contestant is shown two prizes and one price tag; he or she has to determine which prize the price belongs to. If correct,
he or she wins both prizes.
1 Wrong Price
The contestant is shown three prices for three prizes. Two of the prices are correct; one is incorrect. If the contestant
picks the prize with the incorrect price, he or she wins all three prizes.
Pass the Buck
The contestant is given one pick from six numbers on a board, with the opportunity to earn up to two more picks. He is shown
two pairs of grocery items. In each pair, one item is shown with its correct price, and the other is marked at $1 below the
actual retail price; if the contestant correctly "passes the buck" to the underpriced item, he or she wins an additional pick on
the board.
One number on the board contains a new car, three contain cash values ($1,000; $3,000; or $5,000), and two contain the phrase
"Lose Everything," which is self-explanatory. The contestant wins everything that is picked until he or she decides to stop
picking or runs out of picks.
Pathfinder
The contestant plays on a 5-by-5 grid of 25 numbers in this game, which is played for a new car. The number in the center of
the grid is the first digit in the price of the car (or an asterisk in the days of four-digit cars). The next digit in the price
is one of the four numbers that are adjacent to it; the contestant guesses that digit by stepping on that number. If the guess is
incorrect, the contestant can earn another chance by correctly guessing the price of one of three small prizes (he/she is given a
choice of two prices, one of which is correct). The contestant wins if he/she steps on all of the correct digits in the price of
the car -- which are always adjacent to each other on the board -- without making too many mistakes and running out of
second-chance prizes.
Pick-a-Pair
The contestant is shown six grocery items; each has the same price as exactly one of the other items. The contestant has two
chances to pick two that have the same price.
This game is notable for enduring the most radical set change of any pricing game: The first Pick-a-Pair setup from the early
1980s had the products rotating around on a carousel. While fun to watch, it slowed the game up greatly, so a new setup was
designed around 1990 where the products sat on an elongated table.
Plinko
The contestant drops large "Plinko Chips" from the top of the board; the chip bouces off numerous pegs on the way down, and
the constestant is awarded the cash value of the slot the chip lands in. ($100 $500 $1000 $0 $10,000 $0 $1000] [$500 $100]
The odds of winning $20,000, assuming the board randomizes perfectly, are 1 in 59,000.
Originally, the top prize was $25,000, with $5000 in the center slot. On the primetime specials, the center slot is worth
$20,000, for a total top prize of $100,000.
Punch a Bunch
In this game, the contestant earns punches on a 50-hole "Punchboard" by correctly guessing if the prices of four small prizes
were higher or lower than the prices that were given. The contestant then punches out the number of holes on the board -- each of
which has a cash value -- that he or she has earned. Bob Barker then pulls out the slip in the first hole and shows the
contestant how much he or she has won. The contestant can either take the money or leave it and move on to the next punched hole
(as they often do with lower cash amounts). The contestant must take the money from the last earned punch if he or she passes on
the others.
The values on the Punchboard are $50, $100, $250, and $500 (10 holes apiece); $1,000 (5 holes), $5,000 (3 holes), and $10,000
(2 holes). Four holes -- one each of the four lowest values -- contain a "second chance," which allows the contestant to punch
out another hole and add the values of the two holes together. Thus, a win of over $10,000 is possible, and has in fact happened
more than once; for example, a contestant on the March 24, 2004, episode won $10,050.
On the recent primetime specials, the top prize was $25,000.
Punch a Bunch is often referred to as just "Punchboard."
Pushover
9 blocks with digits are shown (e.g. 649507185), contestant must push the blocks in the window of a four-digit price. Any
impostor blocks that are pushed too far fall in a box and "go to China".
Once (maybe twice) a season, Pushover is played for a five-digit car.
Race Game
Four cards with prices are given to the contestant; he places the cards on the prizes he thinks matches the prices, then he
pulls a lever to see how many he has right. If he has some wrong, he can make changes. All this must be accomplished in 45
seconds. Not unlike Mastermind with a time limit.
The current record for this pricing game is 07"xx seconds (38" remaining) is set in Seaason 31.
Shell Game
After winning up to four chips by guessing whether the prices of small products are higher or lower than the displayed wrong
prices, the contestant then places his chips in front of whichever of four plastic "shells" he believes houses a small rubber
ball. He wins the bonus prize if he places a chip in front of the one with the ball. If he wins all four chips, he of course wins
automatically; in this case, he is offered $500 if he can correctly choose which shell holds the ball in one guess.
Squeeze Play
A five-digit string of numbers is shown (say, "51892"); the contestant must remove one of the three middle numbers to form the
price of the prize (so if he thinks the price is $5892, he'd remove the "1").
On the very, very rare occasions that Squeeze Play is played for a car, the contestant has four digits that he can remove
instead of three.
Temptation
One of The Price is Right's classic games, and always played for a car, a contestant is given four prizes
outright. The prices of each of the prizes contain within them a number in the price of the car. The contestant must use the
prices of each of the four prices to build the price that he believes the car is. At the end of the four choices, the contestant
must choose to either keep the four prizes given to him, or to 'go for the car' - but all numbers in the price of the car must be
right. If they are, the contestant wins both the car and the four prizes; if not, everything is lost.
Ten Chances
The player is shown three prizes, one two-digit, one three-digit, and one five-digit (a car). He is given ten chances total to
guess the prices of the prizes using the scrambled numbers given to him. (The two- and three-digit prizes each have a dummy
number included in the jumble. The car's jumble has 5 digits, but it too contained a dummy number in the days of 4-digit car
prices.)
There is an unwritten "zero rule" in this game, which says that if a zero is one of the digits (which almost always is the
case nowadays), the zero is the last number. In the rare cases in which 0 is not one of the digits, the last number is always 5.
Someone who watches the show regularly, and therefore knows the rule, obviously has a big advantage. Bob Barker tends to
criticize contestants who don't know/forget this. This rule did not apply for all of this game's history, but it has been
followed on all recent episodes.
3 Strikes
Discs containing the numbers in the price of a car, and one red disc with an X, are put into a
bag. The player blindly draws a disc; if it is a number, he guesses what position in the price of the car it goes in. If correct,
the number lights up; if not, the chip goes back in the bag. If the X is drawn, the player is penalized with a strike, and the X
goes back into the bag. Game ends when the player correctly reveals all 5 numbers (a win), or when the player gains three strikes
(a loss).
Originally, there were three separate strike discs placed into the bag that were removed as they were drawn; the current
format was introduced in 1998 after a long string of losses.
3 Strikes is the one of the few games where the contestant can lose even if they know the price in advance.
Triple Play
This game is played for three cars. The contestant is given a choice of two prices for the first car, three prices for the
second, and four prices for the third. None of them are the actual retail prices, though; the object of the game is to find the
price that is closest to the real price without going over. Triple Play is an all-or-nothing game; the contestant loses
everything if he/she makes one incorrect guess.
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