Loved $ale also...I remember at the time that the introduction of the winner's board had somewhat neutered the temptation element and the suspense it created, BUT...I've been watching the show on GSN while off this week. These games have the board and what I underestimated was the fact that the board brought the instant bargains back into play. How many times would you have a champion (Alice being the obvious example but there were others) that just wouldn't buy an instant bargain because they had their eyes (rightfully) on the big picture? That was the only negative of the original format and while the board removed some of the suspense it made the gameplay more enjoyable generally, imo.
