Pricing game changes that improved those games?

[TPIRfan#9821]

Any game that deals with a range that was changed due to inflation.

It seems like there is some confusion on whether the question deals with a set design made the gameplay more lively, or a rule change that made that changed the difficulty of the game. So, top 3 from me.

Set Design:
#3- Golden Road. Honestly, changing the very first thing you see helps to give the impression that you are playing for something massive. That old sign was tacky.

#2- Bullseye II. It may be a bit too early for me to say that a recent change is my second favorite overhaul, but we had this set design change in the same season we thought giving Double Prices a major overhaul was a good idea. However, the touchscreens streamline the game, and the arrows really do help with the impression that you want to hit the target, as opposed to poker chips.

#1- Card Game. If there was a way to make it so it didn't face the audience, there would be no reason against it.

Rule Changes:
#3- Temptation. Honestly, having the option to change all four digits if I wanted to gives me a little more incentive not to be tempted by the prizes, which is something that is happening a bit too often nowadays. It doesn't help that you are playing for sub-$20k cars and offered $6k of stuff to bailout.

#2- 3 Strikes. Keep it with the 3 chips and play it for expensive cars. Also, if you have long segments, don't edit them out.

#1 - Time I$ Money. Best rule change ever, without dispute. Now, time is actually money.

[blozier2006]

Also, if you have long segments, don't edit them out.

Then tell CBS to not air as many commercials.

Seriously, the show has gotten shorter over the years...
The November 3, 1975 show (the first permanent hour-long show), as taken from the DVD set, times out at 44:56.
The September 18, 2006 show (the Season 35 premiere), as taken from a studio master copy online, times out at 40:38.
The January 6, 2015 show (the episode accidentally posted as a studio master by the show on YT), times out at 38:41.

[gamesurf]

I prefer Gas Money with the current rules; initially, you had to select what you thought was the ARP of the car and then try to eliminate the other four prices. At least with the current rules, you wouldn't be as screwed up if you eliminated what turned out to be the ARP as you would have been under the original rules.

It’s kind of fun to goad the viewer though... if nothing else, it makes it more interesting to watch.

As soon as the contestant makes their choice, the viewer has to instantly judge if it was the “right” or “wrong” choice, and it colors how you see the rest of the game. You watch the whole rest of the game judging all the contestant’s actions in that light. “Will they recognize they screwed up and stop the game in time?” is a fun little redemption story.
And if they back their choice to the end, it really feels like they earned the car if they win. If they press on and they’re wrong, the viewer feels a little schadenfreude from their overconfidence.

“Pick one that ISN’T the price” is easy to learn, but it just doesn’t have the same suspense IMO.

[bigblue999]

Clock Game - Adding in a bonus prize instead of a flat $1,000 cash makes the game look reasonable instead of cheap.

Shell Game - Making the value of the prize a cash bonus if the contestant gets all 4 shells instead of just $500.

[Flerbert419]

I'm going to go with eliminating the use of 0's in Lucky $even. It makes the game too difficult if they are included and confusing if you make the argument that 0 comes after 9.

Punch a Bunch changing its top prize to $25,000 made it that much more exciting when it's won also.

I think this was a pretty bad change considering they decreased the number of winning slips from 2 to 1 at the same time.

[Ton80]

The original version of Dice Game had car prices that could include any number 0 through 9.  I would definitely say that changing it to have numbers only 1 - 6 was a huge improvement.

Pick-a-Pair's improvement was with it's set design.  The new set made the game play much better because you didn't have that silly ferris wheel.

Some purists may balk at the idea, but I like that they don't make the contestant write out a full check in Check Game like they used to. 

I'm going to go with eliminating the use of 0's in Lucky $even. It makes the game too difficult if they are included and confusing if you make the argument that 0 comes after 9.

Except that Drew occasionally slips up and tells a contestant to pick a number "0 through 9", especially on the last number when the contestant has only a single dollar left and needs to get it exactly right.

[SteveGavazzi]

Except that Drew occasionally slips up and tells a contestant to pick a number "0 through 9", especially on the last number when the contestant has only a single dollar left and needs to get it exactly right.

I wouldn't exactly call that "slipping up" -- the contestants are allowed to guess 0.  (That doesn't mean it isn't stupid, but it's allowed.)

[mechamind]

I'll agree that the original Gas Money rules were way too confusing. It's easier to just knock out the prices that are wrong.

Punch a Bunch was just begging to be retired with the early 1-10 and "Dollar" "Hundred" "Thousand" format. The current format actually makes sense.

[priac]

I wouldn't exactly call that "slipping up" -- the contestants are allowed to guess 0.  (That doesn't mean it isn't stupid, but it's allowed.)

Regarding Lucky Seven, is it a fact (rule) that zero cannot be a digit in the price of the car? If it is then Drew should not instruct the contestant to pick a number "0 thru 9".  I believe a long time ago, zeros were occasionally shown to be a digit.  Somewhere along the line, did the rule change? Or did they simply stop using zeros?  If the rule changed, then the contestant should be told.

[BillyGr]

I think this was a pretty bad change considering they decreased the number of winning slips from 2 to 1 at the same time.

Could be good and bad.  It does make it harder to win the highest offered prize (with only the 1-$25,000 slip) but at the same time it gave you a slightly better chance of winning at least as much as you could previously (since instead of 2-$10,000 you now have 1-$25,000 and 2-$10,000, for a total of 3 chances in 50 of getting $10,000+).

[ooboh]

Regarding Lucky Seven, is it a fact (rule) that zero cannot be a digit in the price of the car? If it is then Drew should not instruct the contestant to pick a number "0 thru 9".  I believe a long time ago, zeros were occasionally shown to be a digit.  Somewhere along the line, did the rule change? Or did they simply stop using zeros?  If the rule changed, then the contestant should be told.

I’ve been alive since Season 29 and I’ve never seen zeroes. It’s an unwritten rule, but a rule nonetheless

[gamesurf]

Could be good and bad.  It does make it harder to win the highest offered prize (with only the 1-$25,000 slip) but at the same time it gave you a slightly better chance of winning at least as much as you could previously (since instead of 2-$10,000 you now have 1-$25,000 and 2-$10,000, for a total of 3 chances in 50 of getting $10,000+).

The boost in lower prizes was sorely needed, and it's nice for a contestant to be able to win "more", sure... but there's a difference between a big prize, and winning the big prize. It's easier to remember whether a certain game was "won" or "lost" than it is to remember what was won. If you announce a big prize at the beginning of the game, you have to live up to that every so often.

Like how primetime Weakest Link "offered" more money, but it became transparently obvious after a few episodes that hardly anyone would ever complete a perfect chain and win $125,000 in a round. Whenever they pimped the top prize, you knew the contestants were chasing a white whale that would never be hit, and you adjusted your expectations accordingly.

Syndie Weakest Link was more exciting. It had a smaller budget, but there was a chance of a perfect chain actually happening, and the producers were able to set it up for a win every once in a while. Since you knew that the top dollar was attainable, it really felt like anything was possible.

I wouldn't mind seeing PaB played less in exchange for a second $25K slot, just so it could be "won" more frequently. That being said, no Punch-a-Bunch distribution has ever been perfect, and the current distribution is probably the best the game's ever had. Even when the top prize was $10K there was the problem of 40 boring prizes from $50-$500. The extra $1,000/$2,500/$5,000 slots make the game SO much better.

[SteveGavazzi]

Regarding Lucky Seven, is it a fact (rule) that zero cannot be a digit in the price of the car? If it is then Drew should not instruct the contestant to pick a number "0 thru 9".  I believe a long time ago, zeros were occasionally shown to be a digit.  Somewhere along the line, did the rule change? Or did they simply stop using zeros?  If the rule changed, then the contestant should be told.

Zeros theoretically can appear in Lucky $even.  Scott's even confirmed that they exist if they ever need to be used.  They just don't.

[Chrisrails]

Shell Game - Making the value of the prize a cash bonus if the contestant gets all 4 shells instead of just $500.

Shell Game - Agreed, that's what I was going to say.

The new version of Time is Money.  Love watching that game.

[JayC]

Personally I feel the Shell Game bonus the way it is now is quite unnecessary and just feels like a gimmick. It could've been raised to $1,000 and that would've been completely satisfactory.