Pocket ¢hange
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Pocket ¢hange is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Debuting on January 10, 2005, it is played for a car.
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[edit] Gameplay
The contestant is spotted 25 cents, which is the beginning cost of a car. He is shown a board containing six digits and five spaces for the car's price; five of the digits belong in the car's price, one is an extra.
After the first digit of the car is placed in the car's price, the contestant is asked to select the second number in the price from the remaining digits. If he is correct, he may choose one of 20 pouches on the gameboard, and play proceeds to the third digit (with only the remaining selections still in play). However, if he/she is incorrect, the asking price of the car increases by 25 cents. Play continues in like manner until all five numbers in the car's price are displayed. If the contestant guesses the entire price without making a mistake, he/she immediately wins the car; otherwise, the game moves on to the second part.
Each of the envelopes on the board contains a certain amount of "change;" 17 of them contain various amounts, between 5 cents and $2.00, while three contain no money at all (i.e., ".00"). Host Bob Barker reveals the contents of each envelope, one at a time. If the cumulative total of the four drawn envelopes plus the contestant's 25-cent envelope equals or surpasses the car's current asking price, he/she wins the car. The distribution chart for the different amounts of change, which is virtually impossible to read on TV, is as follows:
- (2) .00
- (4) .05
- (5) .10
- (4) .25
- (3) .50
- (1) .75
- (1) 2.00
[edit] Rule changes
- On the first playing only of Pocket ¢hange, the first digit was not given at the outset; the contestant had to select it from the board, just like the other four digits in the car's price. This was changed on the second playing to make the game move more quickly, but it also inadvertently made the game harder to win, as on the first playing, the contestant finished with five envelopes plus the starting 25 cents. The change distribution was also slightly different, as shown below:
- (3) .00
- (5) .05
- (5) .10
- (4) .25
- (2) .50
- (1) 2.00
From January 17, 2005 through an unknown point before February 7, 2007, the distribution was as follows:
-
- (3) .00
- (3) .05
- (6) .10
- (4) .25
- (2) .50
- (1) .75
- (1) 2.00
[edit] Trivia
- Pocket ¢hange was the only new game to debut in the 33rd season.
- If Pocket ¢hange is the first pricing game of the day, Bob will enter from the audience, since the setup blocks Door #2.
- Three contestants have won Pocket ¢hange without making a mistake.
- Those three perfect wins occurred relatively early in the game's history. Believing that the game might have been too easy, the game is now played for slightly more expensive cars to increase the difficulty.
- With the exception of the retired games Professor Price and On the Nose, Pocket ¢hange is the only car game that reveals the price before the game is over.
- The highest possible purchase price for the car is $2.75, if the contestant misses the digit every time up to the last possible number. If this price is achieved, it is not possible to win without picking the $2.00 tag.
- With the original rules, the highest possible price was $4.00, since the first digit had to be guessed just like the others; the contestant on the only playing to use those rules finished with a price of $1.00.
- The highest price ever achieved is $2.25.
- A single playing of Pocket ¢hange in October, 2005 had an envelope holder to store the contestant's change envelopes. For reasons unknown, it was never used again after that episode.
- On one playing of Pocket ¢hange, a contestant was down to her last number (a 1), and the car price was $1.00. She guessed 5, which wasn't even there. (Video)
