Author Topic: Simple Questions & Answers Thread  (Read 254729 times)

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Offline Plinkoman

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #240 on: May 12, 2020, 10:41:56 PM »
Is there a reason why people here hate the trips so much?

They have a lot of expenses. If you win a trip to somewhere outside of the US, you have to have a passport. Tax on the whole trip must be paid, plus you have to have time off work to take the trip, travelling from your airport of choice to your destination (from Augusta to Hong Kong is at least 24 total hours, including flight time and layovers), and you have to have extra money for spending (my trip to Hong Kong had daily breakfast, but lunch and dinner had to be paid by me). A lot of the excursions offered in the trips are given as cash value (my half-day guided sightseeing tour), so that does help a bit with the taxes.

Oh, and you can sell or gift a trip. I was hoping to win something I could sell (not a trip), a car (I'm a hospice nurse who visits patients in their homes- travelling is essential for me), or something that would be useful to use around the house (not a trip).

I'm sure there are many people who would've loved to have taken that trip to Hong Kong; but, unfortunately, I wasn't one of them. HOWEVER, I did win my pricing game and, for me, that's all that really mattered!  :-)
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Offline LiteBulb88

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #241 on: May 12, 2020, 11:17:27 PM »
Oh, and you can sell or gift a trip.

I think you mean you can NOT sell or gift a trip. As you know, if a contestant wins a trip, they must be one of the people who takes that trip if they don't turn it down.

Offline Ton80

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #242 on: May 12, 2020, 11:23:06 PM »
Quote from: Plinkoman
Oh, and you can sell or gift a trip.
You mean you CAN'T sell or gift a trip, I think. 

The thing about trips is this:  on the surface, I would be excited to win a trip to somewhere nice!  What an opportunity I wouldn't otherwise have....

...until I actually start to think about and plan the logistics of it. 

Plinkoman is absolutely right (and he would know better than any of us!)  A "free" trip isn't free by any means, unless you're fortunate enough to be retired and can afford all the fees, taxes, and spending money. 

Make no mistake, if I won a trip somewhere, I would do anything in my power to take that trip and enjoy the experience.  Realistically though, my life, work schedule, and financial situation would me it difficult, if not impossible, to take that dream trip - even if it were "free".
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Offline Plinkoman

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #243 on: May 13, 2020, 04:19:03 PM »
Yes, I forgot the word 'not.' If I had been able to sell or gift it, I would have.
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Offline Spmahn

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #244 on: May 15, 2020, 12:39:45 PM »
Does the show have a procedure in place for an instance where an elderly person or someone with mobility issues gets on stage and the next pricing game is something like Race Game or Bonkers? Would they be forced to switch games on the fly, or do they have other accommodations that could be made?

Offline gamesurf

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #245 on: May 15, 2020, 01:03:23 PM »
In days past it was “play Bonkers & Race Game early, and save any elderly contestants from being called down until after they’re played”.

There’s an anecdote from Stan’s book (Stan Blits is the contestant coordinator who interviews people in line) where he was impressed by an elderly woman in line, and he picked her to Come on Down. During the show, she came on down, made it to the row, and Stan looked at his clipboard to see what was next. In a panic he realized he slipped up—the next game was Bonkers. Their only options at that point were to either pray she didn’t win her IUFB, or to stop tape for 30 minutes and swap out Bonkers for something more suitable. (Lucky for Stan, she didn’t win that IUFB.)

But Bonkers and Race Game tends to frequently played 4th-6th these days, so who knows what they do now—although I certainly hope the answer is not “don’t pick any elderly contestants on days when those games are played”, I can’t recall any in recent memory.
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Offline MSTieScott

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #246 on: May 15, 2020, 05:14:41 PM »
One day when I was there, Stan interviewed an audience member who was deaf who he wanted to choose as a contestant. As it happened, Clock Game was scheduled to be the sixth game in that episode (and it would put a contestant at a disadvantage if they tried to play Clock Game through an interpreter). The deaf audience member was seventh on the contestant list, and we moved Clock Game to be third and the third pricing game to be sixth.
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Offline Alfonzo

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #247 on: May 15, 2020, 06:06:02 PM »
I recall a playing of Race Game in which a pregnant woman was a contestant. Bob offered to let Janice play in her place but the lady insisted on playing herself, and she did.
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Offline Counterpoint

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #248 on: May 17, 2020, 03:58:00 PM »
Is the Bonus Game bonus randomly placed, or could they put it behind a hard product to guess (if in budget mode) or an easy product to guess (if they want a win)?


Offline gamesurf

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #249 on: May 17, 2020, 04:20:57 PM »
Is the Bonus Game bonus randomly placed, or could they put it behind a hard product to guess (if in budget mode) or an easy product to guess (if they want a win)?

Non-random. You are correct, they can engineer wins or losses that way.

You can also engineer it so it looks like the contestant has a 3/4 shot of winning but it was a heartbreaking loss, or that they beat the odds and won with only one window, but in reality it isn’t so. The producers know beforehand 3 which SPs are totally irrelevant.

For most games, if something “random” is not obviously randomly generated onstage (Plinko chips dropping, 3 Strikes draws, etc), it’s probably not random and placed with a purpose. Placement of Punch a Bunch prize slips, Spelling Bee & Pass the Buck cards, etc. are all intentional.
Quote from: Bill Todman
"The sign of a good game, is when you don't have to explain it every day. The key is not simplicity, but apparent simplicity. Password looks like any idiot could have made it up, but we have 14 of our people working on that show. There is a great complexity behind the screen. It requires great work to keep it simple."

Offline Counterpoint

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #250 on: May 17, 2020, 06:03:25 PM »
Non-random. You are correct, they can engineer wins or losses that way.

You can also engineer it so it looks like the contestant has a 3/4 shot of winning but it was a heartbreaking loss, or that they beat the odds and won with only one window, but in reality it isn’t so. The producers know beforehand 3 which SPs are totally irrelevant.

For most games, if something “random” is not obviously randomly generated onstage (Plinko chips dropping, 3 Strikes draws, etc), it’s probably not random and placed with a purpose. Placement of Punch a Bunch prize slips, Spelling Bee & Pass the Buck cards, etc. are all intentional.
Fascinating!  And thank you!  What are the places they think you're least likely to punch/pick?  The corners? (for future reference, so I can win the $25,000/car) :) 

Offline Casey

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #251 on: May 17, 2020, 06:08:58 PM »
I recall a playing of Race Game in which a pregnant woman was a contestant. Bob offered to let Janice play in her place but the lady insisted on playing herself, and she did.
By sheer coincidence, I watched this very episode yesterday on the YouTube.

Offline gamesurf

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #252 on: May 17, 2020, 06:32:32 PM »
Fascinating!  And thank you!  What are the places they think you're least likely to punch/pick?  The corners? (for future reference, so I can win the $25,000/car) :)

Nine and seven years ago (that long, wow) TPIRighteous did a pair of analysis threads tracking each spot. We can only track the spots that get punched, obviously, but the spots most likely to be punched are the corners & the upper-middle part of the board. Least likely are the bottom row.

I’ve always suspected they like to hide the big money in the bottom row, for the same reason grocery stores put the name-brand items at eye level and the cheaper generics at the bottom row.

My personal recommendation would be to try one punch in the top right corner (in case it’s an easy setup) and the others somewhere on the bottom row (in case it isn’t).
Quote from: Bill Todman
"The sign of a good game, is when you don't have to explain it every day. The key is not simplicity, but apparent simplicity. Password looks like any idiot could have made it up, but we have 14 of our people working on that show. There is a great complexity behind the screen. It requires great work to keep it simple."

Offline newesttpirfan

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #253 on: May 17, 2020, 11:32:28 PM »
By sheer coincidence, I watched this very episode yesterday on the YouTube.

what episode is that?

Offline pricefan18

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Re: Simple Questions & Answers Thread
« Reply #254 on: May 20, 2020, 03:43:22 PM »
what episode is that?

I was wondering the same lol. I wanted to see it myself when I saw Alfonzo mention it before.