Check Game

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Host Bob Barker and a contestant in front of "Check Game"

Check Game (formerly Blank Check) is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Debuting on October 14, 1981, it is played for a four-digit prize (usually worth between $2,000 and $4,000) and a cash bonus.

[edit] Gameplay

After a prize is shown, the contestant is asked to write a check for an amount that they think, when added to the price of the prize, will total between $5,000 and $6,000. If the sum of the two amounts totals within that range, the contestant wins both the prize and the cash.

If the amount falls outside of the desired range (either less than $5,000 or more than $6,000), the prize is lost and the check is voided. Win or lose, the contestant gets to keep the check as a souvenir.

[edit] Trivia

The rules of Check Game often confuse many contestants. Contestants often mangle the game's requirements (when asked to explain the rules), will write in incorrect spaces and otherwise make other mistakes common to check writing. Host Bob Barker often uses this game to test how well his contestant actually knows the show; if the contestant claims to watch every day or be a huge fan, Bob will ask him or her to explain the rules of this game. More often than not, the contestant will not be able to. When the game was still known as Blank Check, Barker once became so frustrated by a contestant's lack of knowledge that he drew a diagram as a help. One contestant even attempted to write on the digital price displays.

The checks used in Check Game are not legal tender; they each have the same number (4620) and have the invalid date of "TODAY, 20NOW" (or "19NOW" on episodes taped prior to 2000). They are given to the players to keep as souvenirs, win or lose (though the word "VOID" is stamped across them if the game is lost).

The original name of Check Game was "Blank Check." The game began using its current name in circa-1987 upon the threat of a copyright infringement lawsuit from Barry & Enright Productions, who had produced a game show called Blank Check.