Balance Game (retired pricing game)
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Balance Game was a pricing game on the American television game show, The Price Is Right. Lasting from April 9, 1984 to December 3, 1985, it was played for a four-digit prize, and used small prizes. It should not be confused with the other Balance Game, a completely different pricing game that debuted in 2006.
[edit] Gameplay
Host Bob Barker gives the contestant five "Barker Silver Dollars," which were specially-minted coins with Barker's face on them.
The contestant was then shown five items with two-digit prices. Each prize had a bucket in front of it with an amount of "Barker Silver Dollars" equal to that item's price (e.g., a $50 item had 50 Barker coins in that bucket). The contestant then was asked to place the item on one side of the scale, then pick another prize to place on the other side of the scale.
If the two sides "balanced out" (that is, had identical prices), the contestant automatically won. If not, one of two scenarios were possible:
- If the items were within $5 of each other, he/she simply placed the appropriate number of Barker Silver Dollars in the lower-priced prize's bucket to balance the scale and win.
- If the difference was more than $5, the contestant chose another prize in an attempt to balance the scales.
The game continued until the contestant balanced the scale (thus winning), or exhausted both the supply of prizes and Barker Silver Dollars (and lost).
[edit] Retirement
The most common explanation for the game's retirement centers on its rules, which critics say were too confusing for most contestants. Barker often had to explain each aspect of the game, short of revealing the prices of each item.[citation needed]
[edit] Trivia
- Contestants were allowed to keep any Barker Silver Dollars that had not been used. Since these coins were not valid currency, Barker Silver Dollars were not accounted for in a contestant's total winnings. However, several sets were offered for sale on eBay. The remaining coins are currently being used in the new Balance Game.
- It was impossible for a contestant to walk away from Balance Game empty-handed, as he or she would automatically win any small prizes used during the course of the game.
