Race Game (pricing game)
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Race Game is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Debuting on August 14, 1974, it is played for four prizes, each worth between $400 and $3,000.
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[edit] Gameplay
In this game loosely based on the board game Mastermind (with a time limit), the contestant is presented with four price tags, each representing a price of one of the four prizes. He is given a 45 second time limit to place each price card with the correct prize.
After, and only after, all four price cards are in place, he pulls a lever on a readout which displays how many tags are in their correct places. If that number is anything less than four (4), he goes back and rearranges what he believes are the incorrectly placed tags.
The game ends in one of two ways:
- If the contestant has all four price tags placed correctly before expiration of the 45 second time limit, in which case he wins everything.
- Upon the 45-second time limit expiring. The contestant wins whatever prizes he/she correctly priced at that moment (which can be nothing; or perhaps one, two or all four prizes; it is impossible to win exactly three prizes). If the player is in the middle of making a switch, Bob usually allows him/her to finish making their change.
[edit] Trivia
- Race Game has been played for season ticket packages to the four Los Angeles sports teams. On the post-2003 "Million Dollar Spectacular" primetime specials, four trips have been offered; Race Game remains the only game to have offered four trips.
- At least once, the timer has accidentally counted upwards (past 46 seconds). It got up to 63 seconds and started to count down from there.
- Race Game uses "saloon music" while the contestant is running. The current song, heard in the game since 1992, is not used in any other pricing game, but it has on rare occasions been used for prize descriptions and showcases.
- During one playing in 1991, the contestant joked that he didn't "need" the prizes. Bob then proceeded to wrestle the tags out of the contestant's hands for 15 seconds.
- Race Game is the oldest pricing game that still uses its original set and color scheme.
- It is impossible for a contestant to win 3 of the 4 prizes. If a contestant gets 3 of the prizes right, the fourth therefore must be correct. Because of this, the scoreboard that displays the number of correct guesses can't light up the number "3".
[edit] Records
- On the daytime show, the record for the fastest win is seven seconds (38 seconds left), set in the 31st season.
- The overall record is six seconds (39 seconds remaining), set at the stage show The Price Is Right LIVE in 2004.
