TPiR Recap - 10/3/2013

[TPIRighteous]

Brilliant idea, whoever that was. I did find it interesting though that it is essentially the same reveal as Magic #, and that showed up today as well.

I loved the reveal too, but wow, good point. If it sticks, that may be a conflict.

It looks like Magic # is the new "let's throw away some prizes" game. Contestants still set the price way too low for some reason, but now they're setting it up with flippin' $3500 ranges. I didn't think Magic # of all games would be broken by inflation, but I think it has been.

[sideshowPA]

It looks like Magic # is the new "let's throw away some prizes" game. Contestants still set the price way too low for some reason, but now they're setting it up with flippin' $3500 ranges. I didn't think Magic # of all games would be broken by inflation, but I think it has been.

Agreed.  Magic # has become an instant win game, which is not always a bad thing to have around.  But a challenge now and then would be nice.  Just went on Scorpz site to check out its win rate from last year, 8-2. 

[Kyle]

It looks like Magic # is the new "let's throw away some prizes" game. Contestants still set the price way too low for some reason, but now they're setting it up with flippin' $3500 ranges. I didn't think Magic # of all games would be broken by inflation, but I think it has been.

My experience at a taping talking to someone who played Magic # leads me to believe that most people just don't understand the game. Yes, it's a very simple concept and Drew did explain it very well today, but, the girl I spoke to who played the game (and lost) said she thought (even after Drew explained it to her) that her objective was to figure out the difference between the two prizes and make that the Magic #. Apparently, that's what her group of friends in the audience thought she was supposed to do, too.

Or maybe people just get hung up on the concept of trying to pick an exact number? They think maybe there's only one number that they have to try and set the geezmo to that will win them the game and that's why so many contestants seem so confused and just sort of give up by the end of the playing. Perhaps they just don't understand that they can to pick any number that's between the range of the two prizes, instead of a specific number.

Other thoughts on today's show:

Punch-a-Bunch was set-up very well, the fake prices were pretty fair. Push Over was pretty easy, as either $7,527 or $8,907 looked to be the right prices. More or Less was set-up very well. The fake prices were reasonable and the car could have gone either way. For the record, I would have gone more just like she did. But, for as well as More or Less was set-up, That's Too Much! was awful. The price she thought was too much was $22,050 after a jump of almost $2,000 from the last possibility and the actual price was $22,495, less than $500 away. "Booooo, Wendy Testaburger, booooo!" Didn't want this one won. Squeeze Play was pretty easy; $7,998 just looked too right.

Florida was a wonderful contestant. Tears of joy on The Price is Right are always wonderful to see, even after such a painful loss.

[Flerbert419]

Drew mentioning that TTM is a tough game and seeing Magic # today made me realize that difficulties never used to be so game specific. 

It's true that certain games are naturally more difficult than others.  But setups can try to even things out, since every game needs to be winnable.

Have a difficult Magic #, Cliff Hangers, or Pick-A-Pair playing.  Have an easy Temptation, Check Out, or Stack the Deck setup.

Lucky $even on Tuesday was a good example.  Let's break the trend of basically knowing results when games are revealed.

[MSTieScott]

*Is it common practice to not let someone change their bid once its entered? I didn't think so; I thought there was some degree of leniency, but Drew just seemed oddly dismissive of Brenda during the 2nd one bid (there could have been a bad edit where she waffled too long...still).

The rule is that for parts of the show where a contestant's decision is lit up (One Bids, Showcases, Pay the Rent's grocery placement...), once the bid/decision appears on the monitor, it cannot be changed.

[WilliamPorygon]

The rule is that for parts of the show where a contestant's decision is lit up (One Bids, Showcases, Pay the Rent's grocery placement...), once the bid/decision appears on the monitor, it cannot be changed.

Interesting... I'm curious when and why that rule was put into effect, because it certainly wasn't that way in the Barker and Roger era.  Is it because the current displays are programmed in a way where it's difficult to change something once it's entered?  Or if it's a S&P thing?  Or just the whim of the producers?   

[tallsy]

Drew mentioning that TTM is a tough game and seeing Magic # today made me realize that difficulties never used to be so game specific. 

It's true that certain games are naturally more difficult than others.  But setups can try to even things out, since every game needs to be winnable.

Have a difficult Magic #, Cliff Hangers, or Pick-A-Pair playing.  Have an easy Temptation, Check Out, or Stack the Deck setup.

Lucky $even on Tuesday was a good example.  Let's break the trend of basically knowing results when games are revealed.

I understand that setups can ameliorate things but I prefer the idea of altering prizes to meet them. Make Stack the Deck for cars between the usuals and the 3 Strikes-type cars. And (this could help on budget) maybe slightly less impressive prizes for Cliff Hangers, Switch?, or Magic #.

The easiest way to control a budget is to make it predictable, and making the while there will be individual unpredictability. Over the course of an entire season, the sample size should be large enough to evaluate what kind of prizes should go with which games.

[Richie]

Punch a Bunch: I thought that first SP was cruel.  Bailing with $2,500 IMO was smart for Betty.

Push Over: This was a tossup.  7527, 9075, or 8907.  I lost---I picked 8907.  Happy Max won this.

That's Too Much: THAT'S ONE SHORT!!!  Ugh.  I thought Florida was right.  Damn you Richards.  Cruel setup. 

Magic Number: Forced win.  I think Richards wanted to give those prizes away.

Squeeze Play: I said 2, so did Emi.  I think Richards wanted this won. 

More or Less: I wonder why Brenda moved to touch the car when she didn't guess more or less on it yet.  I think her mom in the audience wanted her to say LESS.  I also thought less too.  After Brenda lost, I heard her say, "Sorry Mom."

Showcases: I thought Brenda shot herself in the foot when she passed the car showcase to Florida, thinking that showcase 2 had a car as well.  I was right.  I didn't expect showcase 2 to surpass $30K.  As for Florida, I'm happy she won her showcase after getting screwed on a Richards-esque That's Too Much setup.

[DJTorgo]

That's Too Much: THAT'S ONE SHORT!!!  Ugh.  I thought Florida was right.  Damn you Richards.  Cruel setup.

Explain how that was a cruel, "Richards-esque" setup.

[Mr. Weatherman]

Explain how that was a cruel, "Richards-esque" setup.

Amen. How can TTM have a fair setup? I guess you could have a difference of like $5000 between all of the prices, but then there would be a range of like $10,000 - $50,000, which is absurd. TTM is a tough game, and quite honestly, Mike's setup really wasn't extremely difficult, at least no more than it should be.

[Jordanar18]

Explain how that was a cruel, "Richards-esque" setup.

Amen. How can TTM have a fair setup?

The most sure-fire way to guarantee a car loss on The Price is Right is to put the right price on That's Too Much way on down the line.  Even Roger used to do that.  A fair setup would be to put the winner early on.

However, it would be "Richards-esque" if he were to set it up late many times.

[blozier2006]

OK guys, what would you consider a decent spread to be, as far as the difference between the lowest possible price and the highest possible price goes?

[SteveGavazzi]

I don't get why some of you guys were so down on Drew during the first half.  I thought he was having a reasonably good day.

I love the new price reveal in That's Too Much!.  I can't understand why that wasn't done eons ago.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but for the last couple years, they've been making Magic # way too easy.  I've lost count of how many recent playings have been forced wins.

It doesn't actually make much of a difference [when Drew talks about a game's difficulty].

And you know this...how?

[trustno1]

I'm hearing a rumour that the Showcase winner was in fact ineligible.  I base this on the Game Show Kingdom website.  Can anyone confirm?

[stardf29]

Gameplay was just okay.

The new reveal for That's Too Much? Genius.

Not only do they do the split-screen, but they also show the price immediately before so we know which two prices the ARP has to be between. Really, they should have done this a long time ago. Definitely a cool thing to see in an otherwise meh episode.