I like how in the original version, it was a two-story set, with the bottom level (presumably) for the endgame.
That's correct; the lower level was where the endgame took place. Though it wasn't really a "game" per se, because by that point, the game on the show had already been won. The host walked the contestant down the stairs, and (at least as far as I remember) they were shown 3 or 4 different prizes. Sometimes you could see part of the audience applauding next to the displayed prize, suggesting that space was tight there. The only decision the contestant had to make was to pick which prize they wanted. They were given "...30 seconds, to make up your mind". We then heard this crazy rhythmic "think music", and every second a different prize was cued onscreen, in time with the music. (Someone posted a link to a clip of this same music in this very group, though that one only lasted 10 seconds.) It seemed like every time, they picked the trip as their prize -- which confused me as a tyke; I'd have rather had "something" than to just travel somewhere and back, especially when one of the prizes included a model train set. But I think they had to win the following episode to collect the prize they chose. Hence the catchphrase: "You
must come back and you
must win."
When there was a champion on the show, I think they sat in the podium to the far right. At the start of the show, the champ had a circular label displaying their previous days winnings over the right side of their name light; the host always asked them to "put it down" (think of a mailbox flag) out of sight, before gameplay started.
About halfway through each show, there was a short game which I think involved 3 studio audience members. You had 3 people behind podiums similar to the ones the regular players used. The announcer would introduce each one followed by "today on it's contestants" (at least that's what I thought I heard him say ). Details are sketchy, but my best recollection is that they got to bid on a prize, TPiR style, because the host specifically said "without going over". It was not clear to me where on the stage this whole sequence took place. Temporary podiums downstairs, perhaps?
