Even with the disclaimer on the box front that it's "A card game based on the popular TV show," Milton-Bradley's 1964 home version of The Price Is Right, "Bid It Right," is mind-numbingly simple yet it deviates from the TV show like no other home version of a TV game show had. (Well, the home version of Merv Griffin's Word For Word comes pretty close.)
Our family had this game when it came out 42 years ago, and I recently stumbled upon it. It contains only 15 prize cards, four sets of 15 color-coordinated bidding cards, and a stack of game money.
You have a choice of two games. "Bid It Right" shows the prize card face up with its value in plain view. Each player draws a bidding card and lays it face down. After that, the cards are turned face up. Whoever has the highest bid (regardless if it's over the prize's value) wins it. It's played this way with all fifteen cards. Whoever has amassed the highest in value is the winner.
The second game, called "Mystery Game," is like the one-bid games on the show (closest bid without going over wins), only the prize card is kept face down until each player has drawn a bid card. Again, all fifteen prize cards are used.
Lowell Games came up with a Price Is Right game in 1958 which was quite faithful to the show (four bidding devices for the players, prize cards, emcee's ARP reader). Given that Milton-Bradley is usually quite good at making their home games as accurate as the show (Concentration is arguably their best), I'm surprised they didn't make "Bid It Right" in a similar vein. It would be nine years before they'd do another home version of Price, and even though that edition would skimp on some of the show's games, it's still more accurate than "Bid It Right" was to the original series.
