| Play the Percentages | |
|---|---|
Title for Play the Percentages, superimposed over the show's original set |
|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Geoff Edwards |
| Judges | Eric Warner, a.k.a. "Judge Von Erik" |
| Narrated by | Jay Stewart Bob Hilton |
| Theme music composer | Hal Hidey |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Ron Greenberg |
| Running time | approx. 22-26 Minutes |
| Production company(s) | Barry & Enright Productions |
| Distributor | Colbert Television Sales |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Syndicated |
| Original run | January 7 – September 12, 1980 |
Play the Percentages is an American game show hosted by Geoff Edwards which aired in syndication from January 7 to September 12, 1980. Bob Hilton became the main announcer after Jay Stewart announced for the first several weeks.
The game changed format several times over its short run, but all forms involved some variation on using questions with percentage answers or percentage statistics.
The show's theme was later re-used on another Barry & Enright show, Nipsey Russell's Juvenile Jury.
Contents |
Two married couples competed. One contestant from each couple would be asked to estimate what percentage of 300 people answered the question correctly. Whoever was closest to the actual percentage, high or low, scored the actual percentage points. If both teams said the same percentage, the contestant on each couple had the option to change the estimate on the same question.
The contestant who scored the points could then either answer the question himself (without conferring with his/her spouse) or challenge his or her opponent to answer. A right answer or a successful challenge added the remaining percentage points to the couple's score. If the contestant with the initial control missed the question, the opponent could steal the points. Originally, a successful challenge also allowed the contestant to answer the question for the same amount of points. Play alternated until a couple reached 300 points, at which point the team doing so won the game and $300.
Originally, if a team guessed the percentage exactly right, they won the game automatically. Later, in addition to the game, a cash jackpot that started at $10,000 was also awarded for an exact guess, and the jackpot increased by $1,000 each game it wasn't won. Any couple who won five consecutive games won a new car.
Two solo contestants competed. Each supplied a category of preference. Either of those two categories, or a third "Pot Luck" category, was randomly chosen for each turn. The challenger then selected a question value worth between 10 to 90 points, in 10-point multiples, representing the percentage of people who missed that question. A right answer added the points to a contestant's score, but a wrong answer allowed their opponent to steal the points. Two questions were played per round. If "Pot Luck" came up as the category, the question was a toss-up and the first contestant to buzz in could answer. During the last two weeks of the series all questions were toss-ups.
The first contestant to reach 250 points won the game, $500, and the chance at the bonus round. If there was no winner after five rounds, a final toss-up question decided the winner, who would then advance to the bonus round.
During the era of the second format, Geoff developed a humorous rapport with judge Eric Warner, whom he referred to as "Judge Von Erik". The judge frequently spoke to the host on all Barry-Enright games of the time if the host erroneously stated that an answer was right or wrong, or if the host asked if an answer given by a contestant was acceptable.
Any contestant who won five consecutive games won a new car.
The couple gave a target percentage that was larger than zero. The host read a question and three possible answers. One answer (usually the correct one) was the most popular and awarded the most points. Another choice was a less popular answer, and the third answer received no response and scored zero points. The couple chose an answer and scored points based on the percentage of the poll that also gave that response.
The bonus round could end in several ways under this format:
Starting in the second week of its run, the second format was similar to the first format except without the jackpot; also, if on any question the couple picked the second-most popular answer, they then had to pick the most popular answer to move on to the next question (the exact percentage of the top answer was then given by the host). The round ended when the couple reached 100 points (winning $2,500), quit at $10 per point or chose an answer worth 0%.
The jackpot in the bonus round was discontinued when the large percentage logo that displayed the target percentage and actual percentage continually malfunctioned.
In format three, one single question was asked based on a 100-person survey.
A question was read and six possible answers were listed. Choosing any of the five most popular answers was worth $10 per percentage point. However, if the couple guessed all five they won $1,000 cash and a prize package worth at least $2,500. If the zero answer was chosen the game ended and the couple won nothing.
This Bonus Round format was used when the main game switched formats and used solo contestants only. The champion was permitted to bring a spouse, other relative, or friend onstage, but only for moral support–the champion was the only person that could select answers.
To ensure that the percentage points in this format always added up to 100%, the points awarded were based on the percentage of the people who responded with that answer in relation to the five most popular answers of that survey, not the number of people who gave that answer overall.
USA Network reran the series from April 27, 1987 to June 23, 1989. After that, it was also aired a few times in one-off appearances on GSN.