Thoughts about Plinko...

[tpirfansince1972]

This idea occurred to me this morning and I wanted to share it with you all.

While Plinko seems to be the most beloved pricing game on the show by many, I know several of us here have a certain amount of disdain for the game.

On at least one occasion I seem to recall an older woman won all 5 chips, having played the pricing portion of the game perfectly, and all five chips ended up in the 0 slot.  That was quite an unfortunate incident.  I seem to recall too that after the break, Bob joked by saying something like he wanted to give the woman a Plinko chip as a souvenir but she ended up throwing it at him instead.  It's a fuzzy memory at best and I could be wrong, but I seem to recall something like that happening.

I can understand the allure of the game as the chip goes down the board and when it flirts with the center space how that can prove rather exciting.  That said, I came up with the following idea to make a $50,000 win possible.

My idea, which I know will never happen, and will no doubt be unpopular here, is to have the center slot be progressive.

For example, if a player wins all 5 chips, before the first chip is dropped, the center spot is $10,000.

If the first chip lands in it, it stays at $10,000.  If it lands in anything other than the center spot, the center spot would increase to $20,000 for chip #2, and if the center spot is not hit then it increases to $30,000 for chip #3 and so on...

During the past couple of years in my life, I have begun to experience some mobility issues with respect to steps, curbs and other inclines that are not a ramp, and it got me to thinking, if I ever appeared on the show and Plinko was the game, I don't know if I'd be able to make it up those stairs too easily.

Has the show considered possibly making Plinko a bit more user friendly in the future?  Also I often wondered if somebody has vertigo or a fear of heights and Plinko came up and the contestant would be unable to go to the top of the board for those reasons, would the show and/or CBS Standards & Practices allow the contestant to have a proxy?

[C8]

My idea, which I know will never happen, and will no doubt be unpopular here, is to have the center slot be progressive.

...I actually kind of like that idea.

[JayC]

I could see the progressive center slot value idea as a one-time thing for a special episode or in primetime. It would've been better instead of the all Plinko show to celebrate the game's 30th anniversary.

As far as people with mobility issues, they would wait until after the game or another game requiring mobility (like Race Game) is played to call this person down if selected. I can't imagine they would ever drastically alter the game so that the stairs weren't required. If it ever did happen that someone who couldn't climb the stairs or had vertigo or a debilitating fear of heights were to come on stage when Plinko was played, I suppose they would either stop tape and use a different game or they would allow the contestant to have someone else drop the chips (either someone they came with or the model on stage for the game).

[Flerbert419]

I can understand the allure of the game as the chip goes down the board and when it flirts with the center space how that can prove rather exciting.  That said, I came up with the following idea to make a $50,000 win possible.

Fun idea, but unfortunately this also changes the maximum amount to $54,000 so even a center slot hit wouldn't count as a win.

[gamesurf]

For example, if a player wins all 5 chips, before the first chip is dropped, the center spot is $10,000.

If the first chip lands in it, it stays at $10,000.  If it lands in anything other than the center spot, the center spot would increase to $20,000 for chip #2, and if the center spot is not hit then it increases to $30,000 for chip #3 and so on...

I’m not too wild about the idea. It has the effect of making people root against hitting the center slot early on in favor of building a big jackpot.

More money doesn’t always translate to more exciting TV. See Shell Game.

During the past couple of years in my life, I have begun to experience some mobility issues with respect to steps, curbs and other inclines that are not a ramp, and it got me to thinking, if I ever appeared on the show and Plinko was the game, I don't know if I'd be able to make it up those stairs too easily.

Has the show considered possibly making Plinko a bit more user friendly in the future?  Also I often wondered if somebody has vertigo or a fear of heights and Plinko came up and the contestant would be unable to go to the top of the board for those reasons, would the show and/or CBS Standards & Practices allow the contestant to have a proxy?

I am sure accommodations could be made. Maybe a model could drop the chip according to the contestant’s instructions. “Move it to the left… no, your left… right a bit… THERE. Drop it!”

[illustriousrocket]

I am sure accommodations could be made. Maybe a model could drop the chip according to the contestant’s instructions. “Move it to the left… no, your left… right a bit… THERE. Drop it!”

I agree with this. The show's found ways to adapt on short notice when needed with other games, so there wouldn't be any issue here.

[JT]

I don't think back in 1983, they were thinking about how the game would hold up in 2024.  It's just an oddity that we need to live with that the most popular game on the show has never been "won."   I've thought about the progressive idea as well and too bad they didn't do that to kick off Season 50 -it would have been the most perfectly themed gimmick!

[JayC]

Fun idea, but unfortunately this also changes the maximum amount to $54,000 so even a center slot hit wouldn't count as a win.

To remedy this, make it that if the center slot is hit with the last chip then the contestant wins a flat $50,000, not that plus what he/she won to that point.

[PimpinJC]

The problem I have with a progressive slot is that the powers that be could just as easily make 1 or more small prizes virtually impossible to guess correctly, effectively making the top prize still unable to win.  You would still need to win all 5 chips to have a shot with a progressive slot (and even that isn’t guaranteed based on many playings I’ve seen with the current method of SP pricing).

The reason why we haven’t seen a full win is primarily due to the contestant’s ability to drop a chip in any starting position.  The game has been covered many times in mathematics and follows a normal distribution upon where the starting chip is placed.  (It’s basically a Galton board.). To give the greatest chance of a full win, the contestant has to place each starting chip in the exact center.  Quite frequently, even if someone does win all 5 chips, they’ll start dropping them on the sides (or even more cringeworthy, ask the audience on where they should drop the chip).  It’s no wonder then why we haven’t gotten a win…statistically, we wouldn’t have a win).  It’s also why we have very few high dollar wins.  We haven’t gotten a single 4 chip center hit since Drew took over (and what, only 2 3-center hits?).

[tpirfansince1972]

To the person who talked about a $54,000 win, I was remiss in not explaining that the total prize would be augmented to whatever the center spot's value was at the moment if hit.  So if a person had 4 chips, and got $500, $100 and $1,000 on his first 3 for $1,600 total and chip 4 landed in the center, the player's total would increase up to $40,000 rather than an additional $40,000, not unlike Clark's $25,000 CBS Pyramid a $10K win for the bonus round then the same player winning the bonus again for a total of $25,000 ($15,000 more not $25,000 more).