Author Topic: Pricing game changes that improved those games?  (Read 10868 times)

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Offline gamesurf

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #30 on: May 08, 2018, 05:04:13 PM »
Yeah, that's exhibit #2 of "It's not what you give away, it's how you do it". The Shell Game bonus overshadows the actual prize, and it often means that a nearly perfect game ends on a low note.
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Offline rowlande

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #31 on: May 08, 2018, 07:27:02 PM »
I have to say buy or sell with the cash bonus

Offline dmaingame

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #32 on: May 15, 2018, 11:57:13 PM »
Noticed responses-- thanks! One other that, IMO, made one better is Hole in One, or Two. Before, you only had one shot at the putt, and if you muffed it in any way, you were out of luck. The way it is now (which, IINM, began in '86), you have two chances at your putt (which helps with difficult putts where you don't move but one or two steps in the setup phase [arrangement of grocery prices from lowest to highest]); there is, also, that neat change where Bob/Drew presses the button on the title sign to change the title whenever the second chance is needed.

Remember how initially before the set had the spinning golf ball that indicated "Hole In One or Two" they had an "or two" stake that was added to the side of the original Hole In One sign??  I agree that adding the second putt was a great way to make Hole In One better as not all contestants are avid golfers and putting under the lights and in front of a studio audience could even make a good golfer miss a putt. 

Offline PIRfanSince72

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #33 on: May 16, 2018, 05:40:47 PM »
Gas Money - Eliminating the wrong prices and trying to leave the right one for last rather than picking the right one at the beginning of the game.

Pocket Change - Giving the first digit of the car for free, and starting the player off with 25 cents pocket change rather than having to guess all 5 digits in the car and having nothing in pocket change to begin.  (On a side note, since the contestant eventually ends up picking 4 envelopes off of the board, as a time saver I'd like to see the contestant just pick all 4 off right away to start the game.)

Half Off - Giving a $1,000 bonus for getting all 3 half off items correct.

Time Is Money - The revamped game, while more exciting than the original concept, still makes it very difficult for audience members (both at home and in the studio) to play along with.

Pass The Buck - Going from 8 numbers with 3 "Lose Everything" cards down to 6 numbers and only 2 "Lose Everything" cards, as well as only having to pass the buck twice instead of 3 times during the game, and in doing so earning 1 free pick.

Make Your Move - When they reverted back to the 2-3-4 formula rather than the overlapping digit they did for a brief time.

Hole In One - Adding the second putt although I would amend the rule whereby if a player goofed right away on the pricing portion, and had to putt from the line farthest away from the hole, they only get one chance.  To me, they should have to get at least one pricing decision right to earn a second putt.

Dice Game - Going from cars using any digits to digits only appearing on the dice.

Cliff Hangers - For a very brief time when the game began, if I recall correctly, there were 4 small prizes to guess instead of 3.  Cutting it down to 3 was much better.

Ten Chances - The unspoken rule of all prices ending in zero.

Lucky Seven - The unspoken rule of no zeroes appearing in the price, although I know they did in the earlier years.

Hi Lo - Having to pick the 3 highest priced products is better than the original version where a player saw the price and had to place it in the Hi or Lo row, and the game continued that way until it was evident that they lost.

Range Game - Increasing the original range from $50 to $150!

Grocery Game - Ditching the $100 bonus if a player quit the game or used up all 5 products before reaching the $6.75 minimum amount required to win.


Offline Alfonzo

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #34 on: May 16, 2018, 05:46:14 PM »
Shell Game - Making the value of the prize a cash bonus if the contestant gets all 4 shells instead of just $500.

There is such thing as "Too much awesome." The main prize should never be outshined by a supplementary bonus. That just makes for bad television if the contestant loses. Plus, it will be absolutely ludicrous if Shell Game gets played for a $20,000 car, the contestant gets all four prizes and loses a $20,000 bonus. Awkward much?
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Bryan, the Punchboard player who gave up $5,000 for a chance at $10,000 and won

Offline Superballer

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #35 on: May 16, 2018, 08:39:33 PM »
Ten Chances - The unspoken rule of all prices ending in zero.

Lucky Seven - The unspoken rule of no zeroes appearing in the price, although I know they did in the earlier years.


Similarly, having Safe Crackers operate in this manner as well can be considered an improvement than simply taking educated guesses for all 3 numbers. 

Offline pannoni1

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #36 on: May 17, 2018, 08:21:24 AM »
Including three retired or revamped games, these all had their rules change early in their life.

Bullseye: Allowing any item that hit the target to allow for the Hidden Bullseye to give the contestant a win
Hot Seat (presumably): Allowing the contestant to see which item would be revealed next before deciding to bail.
It's Optional: Allowing a contestant to pick one option at a time
Time Is Money (2003): Eliminating the $500 voucher, adding five seconds to each run, and knowing how many products you have right after the first guess. Not much better, but by 2003, $500 was hardly a tempting amount to bail on.
Walk of Fame: Reducing the number of autograph books that could give you a second chance from three to two and increasing the range on the first prize.

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Offline jimme

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #37 on: May 27, 2018, 09:17:00 AM »
1.) I remember when Bob said, "Now we're not going to use the clock today.  Instead you will get three chances..." in explaining Split Decision.  I thought this was good because we won't see some dolt looking out the audience as the clock keeps ticking down.
2.) Punch-A-Bunch was made better by the simplified way they play now - your money prize is in the slot.  In the original format, you selected a letter from "PUNCHBOARD" which was hundred or thousand, then multiplied it by a number below in one of the holes.




Offline dmaingame

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #38 on: June 05, 2018, 03:36:19 AM »
Funny. I actually prefer the grating, monotone buzzer over the foghorn. I actually think that the harsh buzzer combined with the new Carey-era losing horns is one of the most satisfying sounds on the show, despite the fact that it denotes a loss.
Another thing to note that years ago, the grating monotone buzzer wasn't as grating.  Though it did have a flurry of different pitches.  From 1972-78, it was about a half step lower than it is today, 1978-late 1982 it was about a key lower in pitch.  late 1982-mid 1985 it was about three keys deeper.  From mid 1985-March 1991 it had the same pitch as today's buzzer, but was not as harsh.  The current buzzer debuted in April 1991 when the first episodes for Season 20 were recorded. 

Offline ooboh

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #39 on: June 05, 2018, 11:37:22 AM »
Another thing to note that years ago, the grating monotone buzzer wasn't as grating.  Though it did have a flurry of different pitches.  From 1972-78, it was about a half step lower than it is today, 1978-late 1982 it was about a key lower in pitch.  late 1982-mid 1985 it was about three keys deeper.  From mid 1985-March 1991 it had the same pitch as today's buzzer, but was not as harsh.  The current buzzer debuted in April 1991 when the first episodes for Season 20 were recorded.

It’s almost as if they layered one buzzer over another buzzer, and thus, the current buzzer was formed.

Offline someguy23475

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #40 on: June 06, 2018, 09:08:45 AM »
Probably because the buzzer was an actual mechanical device that needed to be replaced, so the sound changed over time. It has long since been converted to a digital file.

Offline Teddy

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #41 on: June 06, 2018, 10:55:54 AM »
Another thing to note that years ago, the grating monotone buzzer wasn't as grating.  Though it did have a flurry of different pitches.  From 1972-78, it was about a half step lower than it is today, 1978-late 1982 it was about a key lower in pitch.  late 1982-mid 1985 it was about three keys deeper.  From mid 1985-March 1991 it had the same pitch as today's buzzer, but was not as harsh.  The current buzzer debuted in April 1991 when the first episodes for Season 20 were recorded.
Compared to those buzzers, at least the ding and foghorn have been more consistent, with the C and A-sharp pitches respectively. In the show's early years, the ding was sounded repeatedly at a slow rate when a prize/game was won, but soon this was sped up to the rapid succession of dings that have been in place for many years. In the first few months, the foghorn had a very flat sound, then it was changed to a duller, more grating undertone. From 1975-80, it was more muffled, and from 1980-87 the undertone returned, though not as dull or grating as the early 70s version. The current sound was introduced in late 1986-early 1987 during the midway point of Season 15. Also, the original clangers that had a pronounced undertone and are still heard in Pathfinder debuted in 1977 (when the $100 bonus for a perfect bid was first instituted), and they served as the perfect bid bells until 1991, when the current monotone clangs were introduced.

Offline dmaingame

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #42 on: June 07, 2018, 01:00:38 AM »
I"d forgotten how different the foghorn used to sound until I heard it as the time's up sound on Body Language (which aired in 1984-85).  The main buzzer also was featured on Body Language but in a double stab succession when a contestant took too long to guess the word puzzle.  Although today's grating buzzer isn't the most appealing sound, it's nowhere near as bad as the original buzzer from Wheel of Fortune or the similarly sounding original time's up buzzer from Double Dare.  It literally sounded like a newborn baby screaming and was so harsh i used to race to the television to turn the volume down whenever the clock on a physical challenge counted down inside 5 seconds.

Offline CaptainPrice

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #43 on: June 07, 2018, 03:16:19 AM »
The older buzzers did sound a bit grating at times, depending on which season.  I’m so used to the light buzzer that debuted either late Season 19(?)/beginning of Season 20.

On the subject of sound effects, the wheel beeping noise got better over the years. Originally, it was a simple beep, then the 1977-1979 beep was high pitched, then the 1979-1990 beep was similar to the current one except quieter, then the more clear wheel beep we’re familiar with debuted in I think late Season 18.

Offline dmaingame

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Re: Pricing game changes that improved those games?
« Reply #44 on: June 08, 2018, 12:53:27 AM »
The current beeping sound may have debuted as early as late season 16.  I can remember an episode from March or April of 1988 (just before the face panels on the big wheel were updated with the Superball pattern dollar signs) when the beeper broke and the audience supplied the beeps.