Worst playings of pricing games

[pricefan18]

How could I forget...the two (that I know) playings of Hole in One (not "...or Two"; that would have really been disastrous) where the contestant got to the nearest line, and missed the putt.

I wonder if that woulda somehow played into the eventual change to allow for two putts, thereby giving a contestant who managed to miss even from the nearest line, a mulligan. Might be me just reading too deep into it, but I could possibly see that discussion happening at some point.

[jacaya]

I forgot who the contestant was, but there was yet another playing of Clock Game during the Barker Era where the contestant took several seconds at a time giving her bids. Which caused Bob to sit on the steps afterward and slowly recount the contestant's bidding strategy. 

[pricefan18]

I forgot who the contestant was, but there was yet another playing of Clock Game during the Barker Era where the contestant took several seconds at a time giving her bids. Which caused Bob to sit on the steps afterward and slowly recount the contestant's bidding strategy. 

Speaking of, I've mentioned it previously and I'm still hoping to see this again eventually, the "I'm gonna kick you in the ankles" lady from Season 30 would sorta fit here. The contestant (named Carly best I can tell), repeated a bid Bob already had already told her to go lower on from earlier in the game (after a stoppage to clarify that once already too since he mistakenly said higher first). This lead to him yelling that at her, but she did win after it. So it's not the worst exactly, but maybe an honorable mention.

Recap of the show is here for posterity:
http://tpirstats.com/Season30/March/Fri29.html

[ThatDonGuy]

I wonder if that woulda somehow played into the eventual change to allow for two putts, thereby giving a contestant who managed to miss even from the nearest line, a mulligan. Might be me just reading too deep into it, but I could possibly see that discussion happening at some point.

Pardon me for going off on a tangent from the topic...but I think it was more along the lines of, they wanted to give away cheaper cars (remember, in the earliest playings, they played for Golden Road-level prizes like RX-7s and mobile homes) and they wanted to make it a little easier to win, the way that 3 Strikes briefly switched to cheaper cars and giving the contestant the first digit.

[Teddy]

I think it was in 1997 (per a clip that was posted here by Carlos) when a contestant bought 17 eggs in Grocery Game, and the total was $50.83.

[JayC]

I couldn't find video, but on April 19, 1994 there was a Magic # playing for a rocking horse and a motor scooter and the contestant set their magic # at... $110. Here is a recap- http://tpirepguide.com/?p=1813

[MrPlinko]

Two that come to mind are Lucky Seven being lost on the first guess (guessed a 9, second digit was 1) and a no-horn loss in One Away when it was played for a Lincoln.

Oh yea, she guessed "One" for the first number on a Lincoln.  Hard to top "Joy's" playing of "Ten Chances" I can't remember if she pulled out as Bob would call it, "We are in the presence of a miracle" on the last chance and won or if she lost all the way through.  But it was a nightmare to watch!  While I can understand the pressure and the lights, and the cameras, some of these contestants play like they have never seen the show!" "Clock Game" Brian's $89 bid on dinnerware is a classic! "Brian, what kind of a show do you think this is?" Bob hears his last bid as "Eight or nine hundred."  " Brian, for both our sakes, I'm glad our time is up!" LOL!

And I can't spell her name, "Mohini" the lady from Fiji who played "Superball" and could not understand the concept of rolling the ball underhanded. She kept throwing the ball AT the board! LOL Bob goes, "The way you play, somebody could be hurt badly!  Possibly me!" (And when he went to get one of her many "do over" practice balls, he banged his shin on the game!) He also goes "Your pretty and your sweet, you just have no talent" (audience explodes with laughter!) Bob says "For this game, I said for this game!!!"  But no one in the studio heard his last three words!

Joe

[JhayPrice]

Mohini has the record of being the player of the longest playing of Super Ball!! which lasted 8 minutes!

[goodboy16]

The time on Make Your Move when the contestant wouldn't make a decision and Bob had to play the game for her. Looking back on it, I wonder if the lady was unwell.

I think this particular contestant just really didn't get what she was supposed to do, but your post about being unwell reminded me of another contestant.

Does anyone remember Zarie from the May 3, 1976 episode? It was rerun on GSN back in the day and I have the episode in my collection. Anyway, she was an older woman who was called as the very last contestant of the day. She was seated toward the back and took forever to come on down. She had to be nagged for her bid and unfortunately got onstage. She played Poker Game, or rather she just randomly chose prizes (with heavy prompting from Bob) and lost. Thankfully, she didn't make it to the showcase.

Seriously, this lady seemed really out of it. She had a blank expression on her face and seemed like she didn't really totally know where she was. It wasn't really funny or even terribly infuriating, just kinda sad. It legitimately appeared to me like she was in the early stages of dementia. I don't have my DVD handy to watch it again and explain everything, but anyone else who has seen the show can attest that the whole segment is...awkward, to say the least. Sorry to be such a downer, but that immediately came to mind.

As far as bad playings that were entirely within the contestant's control, I'll never forget the infamous Joy who played Ten Chances in 2006. She was far from a joy to watch and really kind of got lucky when she finally won the car.

[MrPlinko]

This doesn't qualify as a bad pricing game, but a lady named Beatrice in 1983 who was shown two cars in her showcase, and had no expression or emotion at all when presented.  Bob even prompted her, "Are you alright? We just showed you two cars and you seem like, "Who Cares?"

How she got chosen to "Come on Down" is mind-boggling!

Joe