Since it's currently Priceless Summer, I thought now would be as good a time as any to post this hypothetical that's been rattling my brain for a while. (Mods, if this makes more sense in OILF, please feel free to move it)
Now, from the early years of the show, we see that the show could work with only 5-6 games. Even when the show moved to an hour long, they were still a ways off from all the games they have now.
Imagine, for reasons beyond anyone's control, the show had to majorly cut down the number of pricing games in rotation. Obviously, the show could theoretically continue with only 6 games, but that would get REALLY bland real fast.
So my conundrum was, in this day and age, how many of the 77 games could the show keep in rotation without becoming too bland and what games would they be. A lot of different factors could come into such a decision (timings, conflicts, versatility, fan appeal, variety) and I just wonder what games would win out. I put below what I would do in such a situation with some reasoning behind it. Please feel free to critique mine, put your own choices, etc.
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Must Haves-Plinko
-Golden Road
-Double Prices
-Squeeze Play
-Push Over
-Balance Game
*I feel like Plinko would be the last game to be gone, but not necessarily because it's gameplay. At this point, TPiR and Plinko are linked so closely that the average viewer would notice it being gone. Golden Road might not be as well-known, but still has the "big prize at the end of the road" motif that no other game (except maybe 3X) has going for it. The other 4 are the 1-prize necessary evils that could be played for almost anything.
Cash Games-Grand Game
-Time Is Money
-1/2 Off
*Along with Plinko, the four cash games would then become weekly games and one day wouldn't have a cash game. With these four, they would all be able to have their grand prize be adjusted for special shows and weeks
Multi-Prizers-Switch
-Safe Crackers
-Magic #
-Do The Math
-Most Expensive
-Easy as 123
-Take Two
-Danger Price
-Race Game
*I feel that all of these games have rules that are different enough to avoid too many conflicts. Evenmore, all of these game have small or no restrictions on the prizes that can be played with.
Car Games-Money Game
-Any Number
-Pass The Buck
-Rat Race
-Lucky Seven
-That's Too Much
-Card Game
-Five Price Tags
-Pathfinder
-Stack The Deck
*The list is order somewhat coinciding with how the games would be used in the new rotation. At the top, you would still have Money Game and Any Number set up how they are now. But now with less car games, harder games like Pathfinder and Stack the Deck could be played for nicer cars. Also, non-car games for a car would become a much more common occurance (biweekly?)
Others- Check Out
- Cliff Hangers
*The SP-only and GP-only games would have to be the first to go due to having multiple cash and car games that use those, but I would keep these two around.
Notable Omissions*
3 Strikes: I love 3X, but Golden Road can have the same excitement plus can be player for more than just high end cars
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Punch-a-Bunch: Too luck-based. I know that Plinko is also heavily luck based, but the show simply isn't the same without it. The same can't be said about Punch.
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Grocery Game: It was between this and Check-Out in the end. It just seems that the game is "broken" for lack of a better term. Contestants seem to just go all out on their first turn, go over and that's it. A waste of 3-4 minutes. At least with Check-Out, there is a possibility of reprieve if a mistake is made early.