One Away
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One Away is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Debuting on December 4, 1984, it is played for a car.
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[edit] Gameplay
The contestant is shown a price for a car, but it is completely false. Each digit in that price is either one number above or one number below the correct digit (e.g., if the shown digit was "3," the correct number was either "2" or "4"). It is up to the contestant to decide how to adjust the numbers. If higher, the digit will be indicated in blue; if lower, it will be indicated in red.
After all five digits in the car's price are played, one-at-a-time style, the contestant asks "Ladies/gentlemen, do I have at least (insert digit) number(s) right?" If nothing happens, it means that the contestant has every number wrong, and he immediately loses. If he hears a car horn, the game continues. The contestant then keeps asking whether he has more numbers correct. This process repeats as long as he keeps hearing car horns, until one of two things happens:
- Hearing a car horn upon asking if all five numbers were correct, thus winning the car.
- Getting no response at any point before all five numbers were right.
Upon the latter case, the contestant is asked to adjust which numbers he believes are still incorrect. The car's price is then revealed; if all five numbers are correct at this point, the contestant wins the car. If even one number is wrong, the game ends as a loss.
[edit] Trivia
- In the early 1990s, One Away was frequently played for luxury cars, such as Cadillacs and Lincolns. Also, early in the game's life -- during the time when four-digit cars were still fairly common -- a four-digit version of this game existed.
- Zeroes and nines are extremely rare in the incorrect price of the car, but they have shown up on occasion. For purposes of this game, zero and nine are considered to be "one away" from each other.
- One of One Away's earliest playings was a complete logistical disaster. The "how many numbers right" routine was completely off, the stagehands revealed each digit prematurely before Bob asked if "another number was right", and Bob kept asking for unnecessary horns throughout the reveal. The contestant won, but not without leaving virtually everyone confused. (video)
- After this incident, for a short period, a series of horns would be played instead; one for each correct digit. Shortly thereafter, the "how many numbers right" routine was perfected to the way we know today.
- One Away's original sign had a logo made of flashing red lights. The current sign was introduced late in Season 28 because the lights were reflecting off of Bob's makeup.
- At least two contestants in One Away's history have gotten all of the numbers wrong on their first guesses -- one with a 4-digit price, and one with a 5-digit price.
- If One Away is the first pricing game of the day (as it was in September 2006), Bob Barker will enter from the back of the audience, as the setup blocks his normal entrance.
[edit] Foreign versions of One Away
One Away is played on versions of The Price Is Right in numerous countries besides the United States, using anywhere from four to six digits and generally holding true to its American rules. The only version known to be significantly different from the original was that found on the 1980s UK version of the show; on that programme, the game was played for prizes with 3-digit prices, and contestants were given only one chance to guess the price.
On most foreign versions of the show, contestants are simply given a series of bells after their first turn to indicate how many numbers they have right. However, Cash en Carlo in the Netherlands does have its contestants ask for bells one at a time, although the question is directed at the announcer instead of the sound effects operator.
