The Price Is Right
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Name: Hole in One (or "Hole in One or Two" since 1987)
Debut: May 9th, 1977

The game is typically played for a car or other vehicle and revolves around putting on a miniature golf-esque hole which consists of a long, flat, straight pathway ending in a circular area contained by a short rail. The hole (larger than a standard golf hole) is in the center of this area. The pathway has six evenly spaced lines, the last of which is where the pathway meets the circular area. The lines represent the possible distances from which the contestant will have to putt for the car.

Six grocery items are used to determine from which line the contestant will putt. The announcer reveals all six prizes, and the contestant is asked to order the items from least to most expensive, with red flags representing the items being placed in the given order at each line on the straightaway, starting with the one farthest from the hole. The prices are then revealed in the order the flags were placed. As long as each item is higher-priced than the previous item, the contestant moves up to that line. Otherwise, the contestant does not advance and the remaining flags are removed. If the contestant orders the grocery items perfectly, they win a $500 bonus and putt from the line next to the hole.

The contestant then has two attempts to sink a putt from the line they have earned to win the car. A putt counts if it is sunk after bouncing off the rail behind or beside the hole. If the contestant fails to sink the ball in the hole on their first attempt the game's sign, featuring the "One" in the "Hole in One" title, flips to reveal the addendum "or Two", revealing the contestant actually gets two chances to sink the putt. If they miss the second putt, the game ends.

Fun Fact: One of the game's best-known features is the "inspiration putt," a practice started by longtime host Bob Barker, in which the host attempts a putt from the furthest line in an attempt to inspire the contestant. At various times, the putt has also been done by the announcer, models, special guests (including golf pros), or members of the production staff.

Labels: games spotlight, hole in one

Name: Magic #
Debut: September 14, 1992

Magic # is a game played for two prizes, both of which are over $1,000 in retail value. The two prizes are shown, and the contestant is told which one is the least expensive of the two. The contestant must then find a "magic number" - a number that falls between the two prices, exact numbers inclusive, in order to win both prizes. To do so, the contestant either raises and lowers a lever attached to the prop that will increase or decrease the number displayed on the readout.

Fun Fact: For the first several years of Magic #'s existence, the game's computer automatically rounded the magic number to the nearest ten every time the lever was released (therefore, no contestant could ever select a value that didn't end in a zero). However, this was never intended to be a feature of the gameplay, and the issue was corrected once the producers realized it was happening.

Labels: games spotlight, magic #

Name: Grocery Game
Debut: September 8, 1972

Grocery Game is typically played for a prize between $3,000 and $10,000, although on special occasions, it has been played for a car or other larger prizes. Five grocery prizes are revealed. The goal of the game is to purchase a number of the shown prizes to spend at least $20 and but no more than $21. To do this, the contestant chooses an item, and a quantity of that item to buy. The price is revealed, multiplied by the quantity purchased, and rung up on a prop cash register operated by one of TPiR's models. If the total is less than $20, they may choose another item and quantity, which is added to their total. This continues until they have spent over $20 or used all five grocery items. The player loses by spending over $21 or by spending less than $20 after using all five items.

Fun Fact: The first four times Grocery Game was played the contestant was awarded supplies of all five groceries regardless of the game's outcome.

Labels: games spotlight, grocery game

Name: Bullseye
Debut: July 1st, 1976

Bullseye is commonly played for a prize usually valued between $3,000 and $10,000, and uses grocery items. The centerpiece of the game is a board which contains an Archery style target with rings ranging from $2 to $12 above five grocery prizes. The contestant who must choose one of the five prizes and then tell the host how many of the chosen prize will total between $10 and $12. If the total price of the guessed amount of product is not in the "bulls-eye," but less than $10 the player receives a marker on the board. The player has three chances to get between $10 and $12, but if they fail, they can still be victorious. One of the five products has a "hidden bullseye". If this is revealed behind a product whose guess "hit the target" (was less than $100), the contestant also wins the game. The other four contain the word "SORRY" and finding only these markers loses the game.

Fun Fact: The current Bullseye should not be confused with the original Bullseye (a car game played only during the show's first two weeks). The old game is often referred to as either "Bullseye I" or "Bullseye '72," with the current version sometimes referred to as either "Bullseye II" or "Bullseye '76."

Labels: bullseye, games spotlight

Name: Switch?
Debut: February 27th, 1992

Switch? is a pricing game typically played for 2 prizes from between $1,000 and $10,000; however, on occasion (during primetime specials) it has been played for two cars. Two prizes are shown with one price tag in front of each prize. The contestant is to decide whether the prices of the prizes should be switched or if they should be left alone. If the contestant makes the correct decision, then he/she wins both prizes.

Fun Fact: The distinctive, "peppy," music for Switch? has been used without fail since it's third playing in 1992-- and is the last few measures of the music used in Switcheroo.

Labels: games spotlight, switch

Name: Money Game
Debut: December 25th, 1972

Money Game is a pricing game that is almost exclusively played for a car (as well as a default nominal cash prize). There are nine different 2-digit numbers shown on a large board. The contestant is provided with the 3rd (middle) number in the price of the vehicle. The contestant must then select the first two numbers and the last two numbers in the price from the nine cards. Each card covers either a dollar sign or the image of half of a car. If the contestant reveals either half of the silhouetted car, they begin to search for the other half. If a dollar sign is revealed, that many dollars are won to keep and the number is placed in one of four slots on the left. If they reveal all four dollar signs before finding the the correct price of the car, they win only the money they earned in the cash column, and do not get any more chances to search for the digits in the car.

Fun Fact: Ever curious as to how the hosts of The Price is Right are always human calculators when it comes to adding up the running cash total in Money Game? During this game, the displays in Contestants' Row are used to keep track of the total amount of money that has been accumulated.

Labels: games spotlight, money game

Name: Bonkers
Debut: October 1st, 2001

Bonkers is played for a 4-digit prize valued between $2,000 and $10,000. The contestant is shown an incorrect price; all of the listed numbers are wrong. The contestant is to determine whether each digit is higher or lower than the given number. To do this, the contestant is provided with 4 paddles and instructed by the host to place each paddle either above (indicating that the actual number is higher) or below (indicating the actual number is lower) the given digit. The contestant has 30 seconds to get the price right and is allowed to make as many changes as he/she can make within the 30 seconds of time in order to get the price correct. After each try, a buzzer sounds if the contestant is wrong; if the contestant gets the price correct, then he/she wins the prize.

Fun Fact: Bonkers' first playing was scheduled to air in mid-September. However, due to CBS's ongoing coverage of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the show was pushed back until October 1st, 2001.

Fun Fact II: Bonkers made an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for a promotional event during an interview with then-new-host Drew Carey.

Labels: bonkers, games spotlight

Name: Coming or Going
Debut: October 2nd, 2003

Coming or Going is played for a four digit prize-- typically ranging in value from between $3,000 and $10,000. The contestant is presented with a string of four digits on a tilting platform which pivots around a central axis, like a see-saw. If the person tilts the platform to the left (also known as 'coming'), the digits string to the left, forming one price, or if the contestant tilts it to the right ('going'), the digits arrange themselves in the reverse order, forming another price (for example, $5,219 vs. $9,125). One of the two prices is the correct price of the prize. The contestant is asked whether he is "coming" or "going" and tilts the platform accordingly. If they are correct, bells and lights go off; if they are incorrect, a buzzer sounds.

Fun Fact: As of the time of this writing, Coming or Going is the only one on the show that does not contain a price reveal, either by game set, model, announcer, or host. The contestant simply knows he or she has won by the winning bells and flashing lights on the main prop, or lost by the buzzer and losing horns.

Labels: coming or going, games spotlight

Name: Dice Game
Debut: June 2nd, 1976

This game is played for a car. There are five digits in the price of the car; all are between 1-6, inclusive. The first digit is always lit up and therefore, given to the contestant. The contestant is then presented with four oversized dice, and must roll each one across a white line on a felt table. If the number rolled matches the second digit, the digit is revealed and shown on both screens (see image below); otherwise, the contestant must decide whether the actual digit is higher or lower than the roll which is then marked by an outline of lights. If the roll is a one or a six it is typically automatically marked higher or lower, respectively, since there are no digits that can be lower than one or higher than six per the game's rules. The die is then placed in the slot with the rolled number facing outwards. The remaining dice are played in the same way for the three remaining digits.

After all the dice have been rolled, the host will ask for reveal of the numbers one by one (which results in the correct digit being lit up above or below each individual die). This is not necessarily done in order that the dice were rolled to maintain suspense for the digits that are most in question.

Fun Fact: Dice Game was originally played for cars with four-digit prices, and the first digit was not given. During the 1980s, when cars under $6,667 were still common, the game was occasionally played for cars with five digit prices. When such cars were offered, the game was known as "Deluxe Dice Game;" which appeared for the first time on April 22, 1983. In these cases, the word "Deluxe" was added to the top of the game board, and an extra (removable) display box was added to for the free digit. On January 8, 1988 the game offered its last four-digit car and the five-digit version of Dice Game became permanent.

Labels: dice game, games spotlight

Name: That's Too Much!
Debut: April 19th, 2001

That's Too Much! is a pricing game that is traditionally played for a car. There is a row of 10 prizes, which are revealed to the contestant in order of increasing value one at a time. The contestant is asked to choose the first price in the row that is over the actual retail price of the car. When the contestant feels that the host has revealed the first price that is more than the actual retail price of the car, he/she says “That’s too much!” Then host asks if the contestant is correct and then the contestant is either buzzed meaning he/she is wrong it is revealed that he/she is correct. In both cases, following the win/lose sound effects, one of the beauties shows the actual retail price to the contestant, and the correct price (at which the contestant was supposed to stop at) is lit up among the ten prizes.

Fun Fact: The game is actually quite opposite to many pricing games on the show; instead of being closest to the actual retail price without going over, to win the game, the contestant is supposed to be closest to the actual retail price while going over.

Labels: games spotlight, that's too much

Name: Line em Up
Debut: March 10th, 1998

Line em Up is a pricing game played for a car plus three additional prizes; one worth between $10 and $98, and two worth between $300 and $1,000. The 1st and last numbers of the car are given in a yellow, vertical frame. The prices of the other 3 items are lined up vertically between the first and last numbers of the car. The contestant must slide these prices horizontally so that the digits in the price of the car line up in the frame. The first and third prizes always have three-digit prices, while the second has a two-digit price. If the contestant correctly lines up the prizes on the first try, he/she wins the car and all the prizes; if not, the number of correct digits in the car (out of 3) are displayed (but not the location of the correct/incorrect digits) and the contestant is allowed to adjust accordingly. If the price is still not correct the second time, the game ends.

Fun Fact: The game concept was developed by then associate producer (and future sole producer) Kathy Greco.

Labels: games spotlight, line em up

Name: Race Game
Debut: August 14th, 1974

A stalwart of The Price is Right, Race Game is typically played for four prizes, each worth between roughly $400 and $4,000. The contestant is presented with four price tags, each representing the price of one of four prizes. They are given 45 seconds to place the tags on hooks in front of the correct prizes. After placing all four tags, the contestant returns to the display to the audience's left and pulls a lever; this causes the display to show the number of tags which have been correctly placed. If anything less than four is displayed, the contestant must rearrange the tags and pull the lever again. They may continue to do this as many times as they can within the time limit.

If at any point the contestant pulls the lever and has all four tags correct, the game ends and they win all four prizes-- otherwise, they win whatever prizes they have correctly tagged when the 45 second time limit expires. In the event the contestant is in the middle of a switch when time expires, they are usually allowed to complete it and pull the lever a final time. The contestant is not allowed to pull the lever unless all of the price tags have been placed at a prize. The only way to win nothing in Race Game is to get no correct prices for all four prizes after the time runs out.

Fun Fact: It is impossible for a contestant to win exactly three of the prizes, as any three prizes being correctly tagged would necessitate the fourth tag being with the correct prize. For this reason, the display that shows the number of correct prizes cannot light up the number "3".

Labels: games spotlight, race game

Name: Flip Flop
Debut: February 25th, 2000

There is a 4-digit prize offered in this game. The contestant is shown 2 sets of 2-digit numbers lined up next to each other. The price that the numbers make before any changes are made is incorrect and the contestant has a choice to either "Flip" (invert the first pair of numbers), "Flop" (invert the second pair of numbers), or "Flip Flop" (change both pairs of numbers). Example: If the displayed price is $3825, the contestant can change the 38 to 83 by "flipping", change the 25 to 52 by "flopping", or change 3825 to 8352 by "flip flopping". If the price is correct after changes are made, then the contestant wins the prize.

Fun Fact: On April 4, 2005, rather than flipping/flopping the panels, a contestant accidentally just pushed the button which reveals the actual the price of the prize. An annoyed Bob Barker awarded the prize to the contestant rather than stopping tape and replaying or replacing the game.

Labels: flip flop, games spotlight

Name: Hi Lo
Debut: April 9th, 1973

Hi-Lo is a game typically played for a prize that varies between $2,000 and $10,000. Six grocery items are shown. The contestant is asked to choose the 3 highest priced items. Then, the remaining 3 items must have a lower price than the lowest price in the "HI" row in order to win. For example, if the lowest priced item in the "HI" row is $4.79, the remaining items (not chosen by the contestant) must all be less than $4.79 in order to win.

Historical Fact: There have been three Hi Lo sets. The first one was orange colored and lasted five years. The second one was white and clear and was introduced in 1978. The third set, introduced on October 26, 1990, is blue colored and is currently still in use.

Fun Fact: Hi Lo was the first pricing game ever to display its name on the game's prop.

Labels: games spotlight, hi lo

Name: Triple Play
Debut: October 2, 2000

Debuting on the season premiere of the 29th season of The Price is Right, Triple Play is played for 3 cars. Three cars are revealed in order of expense. The first car is detailed, then 2 price tags are shown and the contestant is to choose which price is closest to the actual retail price of the car without going over. If correct, then the contestant moves onto the second car. There are 3 price tags to choose from for the 2nd car. Again, the contestant must pick the price closes to the actual retain price of the second vehicle without going over. If he/she is correct again, then the contestant moves onto the third car. For this car, there are now 4 price tags; same rules apply-- the one closest to the ARP without going over must be selected. If the contestant chooses correctly yet again, then he/she wins all 3 cars. If at any point during the game the contestant chooses incorrectly, then the game is over and they win no cars. The contestant is not permitted to stop at any time, so the game is an all-or-nothing proposition.

Odds Of Winning: If you randomly select from the price tags displayed, you have a 1 in 24 chance of winning all three cars.

Labels: games spotlight, triple play

Name: Five Price Tags
Debut: September 26th, 1972

Five Price Tags is played for a car and uses four small prizes. The contestant is presented with four prizes (one at a time) and must choose whether the given price of an item (such as a mop, board game, etc.) is true or false. If the contestant chooses correctly, they get one "choice" to be used later. If they are incorrect, they do not get a "choice" for that given prize and you move onto the next one. If the contestant fails to get any of the true/false prices correct, then the game is over. After the contestant has gone through the four small prizes, a board is wheeled out which contains five price tags, each of which has a value on them which could be the price of the car. The contestant gets to choose as many price tags as he/she won by correctly identifying the small prize prices, and they are pulled off the board one by one, revealing either a "NO" or a "WIN!"

The game ends when the contestant chooses the price of the car (resulting in a win) or exhausts all of their choices they have earned without revealing a "WIN!" behind a price tag (resulting in a loss).

Labels: five price tags, games spotlight

Name: Secret "X"
Debut: September 14th, 1977

The set for this game is a large, yellow, square tic-tac-toe board. There is a "hidden X" in the middle, vertical row, and the contestant has a chance to use UP TO three X's to make a tic-tac-toe with the middle squares. The game is won if the contestant can make three in a row using their X's and the mystery X. The mystery X has to be used to win! Contestants are given a free X to place in any of the six squares not in the middle column and then are presented with the opportunity to win two more. Two small prizes are given; and each has two prices. The contestant must correctly guess which price is correct for each individual small prize; if the contestant is correct; they win an additional X to place on the board, if they are incorrect, the do not win the X for that prize. In the event the contestant gets NEITHER of the additional prizes correct (and therefore does not win any additional X's) the game is over, since there is no way to make three in a row. As long as at least one X is one, the contestant places it on the board in a position where three in a row can be made, and the middle column spins around to reveal the location of the mystery X.

Game Strategy: Contestants are discouraged by either the host or the crowd if they attempt to place an X in the middle row, because this placement can only win with one possible secret X position (the center). Therefore, the placement of the three X's that offers the best odds of winning are in one corner in one of the empty columns, and the two corners in the opposite column (three X's can be made horizontally or diagonally).

Labels: games spotlight, secret x

Name: Eazy Az 1-2-3
Debut: April 25th, 1996

The contestant is shown 3 different prizes. Then, 3 blocks are brought out to the contestant and the contestant is to arrange the blocks on the prizes from least expensive to most expensive (1 being the least expensive, 2 being the next least expensive, and 3 being the most expensive). If the blocks are on the correct prizes, then the contestant wins all of the prizes.

Historical Fact: Eazy az 1-2-3 on the American version of TPiR was created by then-host and executive producer Bob Barker.

Labels: eazy az 1-2-3, games spotlight

Here at TPiR Blog, we strive to find something that keeps readers coming back. A lot of questions we receive via e-mail involve pricing games, their rules, and the different scenarios in which they can be won or lost. Therefore, we've decided to run a "Games Spotlight" series. Every few days, we'll post a TPiR pricing game and an in-depth description of how to play, along with any relevant history, strategy, or fun facts. Check back often and look for YOUR favorite game!

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Name: Pathfinder
Debut: April 7th, 1987

Pathfinder is typically played for a car and uses three small prizes that are involved in the gameplay. A contestant stands on the center square on a five by five grid with a digit in each square (25 digits). This digit is the first number in the price of the vehicle, and is lit up on a board at the rear of the game's set. The contestant is to attempt to move to the next number of the car. The next number is either the number in front of the contestant, the number in back, the number to the left, or the number to the right. The contestant keeps moving the same way (without using the same number twice) until he/she gets a number wrong. In the event the contestant picks an incorrect number, he/she returns to the previous space and must try to win another chance to move by guessing the price of 1 of 3 different small (2-digit) prizes such as a boom box, kitchen mop, or cookie jar (et cetera). If the contestant manages to step on all 5 of the numbers in the price of the car, then he/she wins the car. The game is lost if the contestant makes an incorrect step with no small prizes left or guesses the final small prize incorrectly after having already made an incorrect step.

Historical Fact: When Pathfinder debuted in 1987, the price of some cars was less than $10,000. In this case, the center space where the contestant began was an asterisk, the first window in the overhead display was a dollar sign, and the contestant needed to light up all four digits in the car's price.

Labels: games spotlight, pathfinder