Author Topic: Drew's First Pricing Games (Read 10404 times)

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #30 on:** July 24, 2007, 01:15:11 PM »

[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'158425\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 12:40 PM\']
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'158423\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 12:26 PM\']
...have Drew throw it to Rich to explain how the game is played and maybe have him join Drew on stage as an assistant during the playing for the first six months or so.
[/quote]
Then you've just totally negated the reason for Drew to be there, if you've got Rich telling him what to do. The host has to know how to do things, not throw it to the guy reading the prize copy.
[/quote]

I was thinking more along the lines of a Groucho-George Fenneman vibe. Fenneman probably could have hosted YBYL alone, but would anyone watch?

tvwxman · « **Reply #31 on:** July 24, 2007, 01:44:07 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'158432\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 01:15 PM\']
I was thinking more along the lines of a Groucho-George Fenneman vibe. Fenneman probably could have hosted YBYL alone, but would anyone watch?
[/quote]
Holy smokes. I thought you were being sarcastic. Please tell me you were being sarcastic. I'm praying you are going to tell me you were being sarcastic.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #32 on:** July 24, 2007, 01:55:42 PM »

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'158437\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 01:44 PM\']
[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'158432\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 01:15 PM\']
I was thinking more along the lines of a Groucho-George Fenneman vibe. Fenneman probably could have hosted YBYL alone, but would anyone watch?
[/quote]
Holy smokes. I thought you were being sarcastic. Please tell me you were being sarcastic. I'm praying you are going to tell me you were being sarcastic.
[/quote]

I'm confident Drew will know all the games he will need to know at the outset and be fully up to speed within a few months.

MikeK · « **Reply #33 on:** July 24, 2007, 02:17:51 PM »

Outside of the suggestions given, I would start Drew out with the games which have a small number of possible outcomes with as little extra game play as possible--Side by Side, Freeze Frame, Five Price Tags, Pass the Buck, Punch a Bunch, Danger Price, etc. (Sorry if any of those games have been previously mentioned.) If he can't handle games with simple rules like the ones I mentioned, how will Drew ever handle more complex games like Pocket Change, Stack the Deck, or even Step Up?

Unrealtor · « **Reply #34 on:** July 24, 2007, 02:44:02 PM »

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'158397\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 01:10 AM\']
I would hope that there's at least enough games to carry through 1-1.5 weeks. Part of the fun of Price is seeing all the different games and the surprise of seeing them at almost any time. Even though the rotation is obviously going to be reduced, it would still be nice to see some variety of games instead of having to watch Plinko for the 3rd time in 8 shows.
[/quote]

The easy way to do that (and the route I figure TPTB will take) is to tape four or five identical shows a week for the first few weeks and air them out of order. That way, there's still variety on the air and Drew doesn't have to learn more than six games a week. Once Drew has the rythm down and knows the most common games, things can go back to the "old" way and he can learn new ones as they come up in the rotation.

chris319 · « **Reply #35 on:** July 24, 2007, 03:08:53 PM »

Quote

I would start Drew out with the games which have a small number of possible outcomes with as little extra game play as possible

Does this translate to less language and business for the emcee? I don't see Drew playing Punch-A-Bunch because he would have to learn how to pull off the reveals suspensefully. With Bonus Game/Shell Game/Five Price Tags, Drew has to come up with four different ways to say "The next prize is a waffle maker. Listen to Rich as he describes it" and "$78 is the wrong price. Is the right price higher or lower?" and make it sound fresh every time.

Add Bargain Game to the list.

davemackey · « **Reply #36 on:** July 24, 2007, 03:13:19 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'158423\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 12:26 PM\']
Tape a bunch of shows in a row with the same basic game lineup and then show them out of taping order.
[/quote]
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'158454\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 02:44 PM\']
The easy way to do that (and the route I figure TPTB will take) is to tape four or five identical shows a week for the first few weeks and air them out of order. That way, there's still variety on the air and Drew doesn't have to learn more than six games a week. Once Drew has the rythm down and knows the most common games, things can go back to the "old" way and he can learn new ones as they come up in the rotation.
[/quote]
HEY! I just came up with something! Why not have Drew tape a bunch of shows with the same pricing games, then show them out of order?

Unrealtor · « **Reply #37 on:** July 24, 2007, 03:26:21 PM »

[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'158462\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 02:13 PM\']
HEY! I just came up with something! Why not have Drew tape a bunch of shows with the same pricing games, then show them out of order?
[/quote]

D'oh. I got so caught up in the criticism of the second part of that post that I missed the one good idea.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #38 on:** July 24, 2007, 03:51:41 PM »

[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'158468\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 03:26 PM\']
[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'158462\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 02:13 PM\']
HEY! I just came up with something! Why not have Drew tape a bunch of shows with the same pricing games, then show them out of order?
[/quote]

D'oh. I got so caught up in the criticism of the second part of that post that I missed the one good idea.
[/quote]

Great minds think alike, well, at least on the first parts of things.

Neumms · « **Reply #39 on:** July 24, 2007, 05:14:30 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'158460\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 02:08 PM\']
I don't see Drew playing Punch-A-Bunch because he would have to learn how to pull off the reveals suspensefully. With Bonus Game/Shell Game/Five Price Tags, Drew has to come up with four different ways to say "The next prize is a waffle maker. Listen to Rich as he describes it" and "$78 is the wrong price. Is the right price higher or lower?" and make it sound fresh every time.
[/quote]

I'm curious about your take on Punch-a-Bunch. I would think that the suspense of the reveals is something Carey would be instinctively good at, given his long career as an entertainer.

The ones I'd hold back are ones that are drawn out or with quirks in the rules. And most of them nobody'd miss. So here's what I WOULDN'T have him do:
Pocket Change
Pass the Buck
Take Two
Check Out
Hit Me
Joker
Grocery Game--but he should learn it. (And they could make a win $20-$22)
Pathfinder (unless they price the small items first, then go to the grid)
Card Game
Five Price Tags
Half Off
Bullseye
Bonus Game (Shell Game gives him something to futz with, so he's not just standing by a dull board)
Hi-Lo
Now or Then (the segment thing is hard to see)
Step Up
Shopping Spree (Credit Card is the same thing but more intuitive)
Clearance Sale
Secret X
Buy or Sell
Flip Flop (I love the look, but the whole "flop, flip or flip flop" was Bob's thing. And it encourages cheating.)
Master Lock
Stack the Deck, even though I like this one
Balance Game
Barker's Markers

They may not give him Check Game the first week, but I bet they will for sheer comedic value.

MikeK · « **Reply #40 on:** July 24, 2007, 05:34:15 PM »

[quote name=\'chris319\' post=\'158460\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 03:08 PM\']Does this translate to less language and business for the emcee?[/quote]
I wasn't going for that angle, but it's a great one. My thought about using games with a small number of outcomes is that the rules would be more manageable for a rookie host to handle, versus throwing him to the wolves with Pocket Change, Stack the Deck, Temptation, etc. Certainly games with binary outcomes (Double Prices, One Right Price, Coming or Going, Switch?, et al.) should make everything easier for a host. When you throw in "Is $xx,xxx the right price?" and other variations of the wording and reveals into the mix, or side events like placing an X or picking a price, naturally it becomes more challenging.

clemon79 · « **Reply #41 on:** July 24, 2007, 05:52:27 PM »

Ya know, folks, Drew Carey isn't exactly a stupid person.

Is all of this "hosting" stuff automatic? No. But to suggest he needs "binary outcomes" to start with is kinda doing him a disservice.

MikeK · « **Reply #42 on:** July 24, 2007, 06:07:46 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'158489\' date=\'Jul 24 2007, 05:52 PM\']
Ya know, folks, Drew Carey isn't exactly a stupid person.

Is all of this "hosting" stuff automatic? No. But to suggest he needs "binary outcomes" to start with is kinda doing him a disservice.[/quote]
What are the simplest games to host? Situations where either choice A is right or choice B. I wasn't insinuating Drew's a dolt nor did I say that the only games he should get are binary outcomes. I appreciate the words being put in my mouth.

tpirfan28 · « **Reply #43 on:** July 24, 2007, 06:09:29 PM »

Bargain Game / "Drew's Discount Den"
Double Prices
Switch
Hole in One
Five Price Tags
Three Strikes
Plinko (sadly)
Grand Game
Race Game
Make Your Move

MSTieScott · « **Reply #44 on:** July 24, 2007, 06:14:09 PM »

I would also point out that if you start out with nothing but games that require only one or two decisions before the win or loss is announced, while there is less language for the host to learn, that's also less time taken up by rules explanations and contestant decision-making/gameplay. Which puts the episode at risk of being something like 30 to 60 seconds short if the host is more focused on getting the mechanics of gameplay and blocking down and hasn't yet learned the balance of when to use contestant interaction to fill time. Which would be true of nearly any new host.

So you do need to have a couple of semi-complicated games in the initial mix.

--
Scott Robinson