Fun & Fortune

Fun & Fortune
Created by Sande Stewart
Missouri Lottery
Presented by Geoff Edwards (pilot)
Rick Tamblyn
Penny Greene
Narrated by Penny Greene
Country of origin  United States
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Sande Stewart Television
Missouri Lottery
Broadcast
Original channel Syndicated (Missouri only)
Picture format NTSC
Original run 1996 – 2002

Fun & Fortune was a game show that was part of the Missouri Lottery. The show was broadcast from the 1990s until late 2002. (The Missouri Lottery began in 1986, and still operates). Its studios are located in Kansas City, Missouri.

To be eligible to appear on Fun & Fortune, potential contestants purchased a certain scratch-game ticket. The hosts were Rick Tamblyn and Penny Greene; (better-known Geoff Edwards hosted the pilot, according to an interview on Blog Talk Radio). Fun & Fortune was created by Sande Stewart, son of game show legend Bob Stewart.[1]

Overview

Fame & Fortune consisted of a computerized game board boxes numbered 1 through 30. Three contestants were called on stage (a la The Price Is Right) before being interviewed by Tamblyn. There were two games.

The first format had three rounds, which were called "Top This!", and the fourth was the "$50,000 Challenge." All games were played for cash, and the podiums contained displays of the cash amount and a little box on top showing how many "strikes" were remaining. Each podium also had a large blue "L" that lit up to indicate the current player's turn.

In later episodes, different games were introduced, and the players simply stood at their podiums.

Format #1

Top This!

Each player began the game with $500 and 3 strikes; the eventual champ won whatever was spelled out on the money line. Beginning with the first player, each player, in turn, called out a numbered box, hoping that it would contain a concealed number bigger than the previous one. The base number was established to begin with. If the player guessed correctly, he/she would win money based on the numbers revealed, and the last number revealed became the base for the next guess.

The player could then elect to guess again or pass to the next player in hopes of the next player guessing a number equal to or lower than the base number. If that happened, the player lost his/her turn and the strike indicator counted down from 3 to 2. When the indicator displayed 0, the player was out of the round. For the purposes of the game, 0 was low, and 9 was high. All three players got to keep any cash they earned.

After the game finished, either by two players earning three strikes or by concealing the last box to be a higher number (which also meant a win), three new players were called on down, and another "Top This!" was played (or another different game).

The $50,000 Challenge

The three "Top This!" winners returned to play for $50,000. They each were given 3 strikes and $5 to start with. Behind the 30 numbered boxes were X's and O's. Again beginning with the first player, each player, in turn, called out a numbered box. The catch this time was that the player was looking for O's. Each time a player found an O, a zero was added to their score, thus creating a sequence of $5, $50, $500, $5,000, and finally $50,000. They could elect to guess again or pass to the next player after finding an O.

If the player found an X, they lost their turn and were issued a strike with the indicator again counting 3, 2, 1, 0 - with 0 eliminating the player from the game. Since the X's and O's were distributed according to the odds on each guess, it was possible for all three players to strike out.

The winner was the first player to reach $50,000 (or whoever was the player in first place when all three struck out). Whoever won this game also won a bonus prize.

Format #2

9 Ball

Each player began with 3 strikes and $500. 19 boxes hid each of nine billiard balls, strikes (X's), and a four-leaf clover, worth a bonus prize plus $100. The computer began by randomly arranging the 9 balls into a triangle. Players took turns to select boxes. If it was a strike, their strike indicator counted down from 3 to 2, then, 1, and 0. Play passed to the next player. If it was the four-leaf clover, they won the bonus prize and $100. If it was a ball numbered 1-9, they won $100 and the ball was pocketed. After a successful choice, the player could take another turn or pass it over.

Play continued until all 3 players struck out (at which point the highest total won the game), or a line was completed, winning the amount it made up. (Example: one triangle line would earn $2,186, reading left to right. Going up on the right side, it read $6,784, and going down on the left side, it read $4,952.) It was possible to complete more than one line; if that happened, the winner got the combined total of the two lines.

All players kept whatever they earned.

Crazy 8's

This game later carried over to Powerball Instant Millionaire. The computer put a 4 of each suit on the money line. Each player began with $500 chose a card (between ace and 8) in turn in the hopes it would be higher than the current amount. If it was; they earned $100, and the choice of playing on or passing over. If it wasn't, they'd get a strike, and the lower number would replace the last one. If an 8 was found, it froze the suit, meaning all other numbers couldn't replace it (and earn a strike). A bonus prize was given to the first player to find an 8. Finding the "lucky logo" won $300 worth of scratchers' tickets.

Play continued until two people struck out, awarding the last player whatever was on the money line, or until all four 8's were found, thus giving that player who found the last 8 a bonus of $8,888.

$10,000 Championship

Introdced later in the run; this pitted the two previous winners against the returning champion, and played similar to The $50,000 Challenge. The winner of this game became the champ and could opt to quit with the money won or risk it for a possible $100,000.

There were 13 boxes to choose from; some hid X's, and some hid O's. Finding an X meant a strike, and 3 strikes meant elimination. Finding an O increased the jackpot ($1, $10, $100, $1,000, and $10,000). The winner was the first player to reah $10,000, or whoever was in first place if all 3 struck out.

The Multiplier

Player after The $10,000 Championship if the contestant elected to gamble their winnings, and only their winnings from the last round (The $10,000 Championship) were put at risk. The letters of the word "Missouri" hid the numbers 2-7 and two fractions labeled 1/2. The player chose two letters in the word, and after the letters not chosen were revealed, the player chose one of the two letters to multiply. The lowest possible win was $5,000 (if the letter had a 1/2), and the highest was $70,000 (if the letter had a 7). If both chosen letters revealed a half, the player won $100,000.

Regardless of outcome, the winner returned as defending champ on the next show.

Location

The show was taped in St. Louis.

Sounds

The "boop" used to select an option carried over from the "time's up" from Hollywood Showdown. The "strike" sound was done by a marimba glissando downward. The "correct" sound was a B-flat electronic pitch, and a correct choice to mark a win resulted in a repeated series of said electronic pitches.

The Missouri Multiplier used a different sound to reveal the numbers 2-7 or the fraction 1/2 behind the letters in the word "MISSOURI."

Stations

References

  1. ↑ "Official Sande Stewart Television Website"