Room for Improvement

[clemon79]

One other small thing: Back in the big sale, winners get a refund of what they spent on bargains in the front. You want them to buy to keep the game close, and this removes a reason not to.

While technically true, I would challenge you to find the contestant who said "You know, if not for the possibility that this $15 might keep me from being able to afford the car (should I win the game and discounting all of the chaos between now and the end of said game, AND the potential extra $250 I can rack up in the endgame), I would totally pull the trigger on this Gucci handbag." I guarantee you 99% of the time the thought process stopped at "should I win the game." That 1% is not worth the extra complication.

[BrandonFG]

I think there is nothing wrong with the rule being "You have five chances to earn as much as you can and buy the most valuable prize you can afford."

Well, when you put it like that...

Playing Armchair Producer: if we go with the 5-day rule, I throw in a bonus game where the day's champ can add on a little cash playing some sort of mini-game. I haven't seen the show since 2008, so I dunno if they already did that, but it sounds familiar. Maybe double the stakes on the fifth day?

I just seem to remember the match would end before the 20-minute mark, and then there was a really long rundown of the prizes...not unlike the early years of the Perry version.

[Neumms]

While technically true, I would challenge you to find the contestant who said "You know, if not for the possibility that this $15 might keep me from being able to afford the car (should I win the game and discounting all of the chaos between now and the end of said game, AND the potential extra $250 I can rack up in the endgame), I would totally pull the trigger on this Gucci handbag."

Yeah, good point.

[TLEberle]

Playing Armchair Producer: if we go with the 5-day rule, I throw in a bonus game where the day's champ can add on a little cash playing some sort of mini-game. I haven't seen the show since 2008, so I dunno if they already did that, but it sounds familiar. Maybe double the stakes on the fifth day?

Super Knock-off allowed the champion to add up to $250 to the shopping account every day; but it was usually unsatisfying and rarely exciting.

I like the idea of five $20 questions each day, and becoming $100 questions on the fifth-day, but you have to say what you're going for and you either reach it or lose that extra money. The problem is that the show's casting and quiz material really precludes anything interesting or difficult.

[CeleTheRef]

Press Your Luck: every question is a toss-up. Who rings in with the correct answer first, gets the spin and plays/passes it immediately. When the spin and all subsequent additional spins are done for, it's time for the next question.  Keep going until the allotted time for the episode is elapsed.

Variations:
-Some questions are "written" like on Second Chance, so that multiple players at once can receive spins.
-Some questions give more than one spin.
-Some questions give a bonus prize in addition to the spin(s). The prize may or may not be guaranteed against Whammies.
-In addition to questions, there could be mini-games for the contestants to play.

[dale_grass]

Press Your Luck: every question is a toss-up. Who rings in with the correct answer first, gets the spin and plays/passes it immediately. When the spin and all subsequent additional spins are done for, it's time for the next question.  Keep going until the allotted time for the episode is elapsed.

Variations:
-Some questions are "written" like on Second Chance, so that multiple players at once can receive spins.
-Some questions give more than one spin.

Ignoring the issue of staging (i.e., the audience is in the background for the whole episode) I really like the idea of rolling the board after every question and having all three players able to write an answer.  It gives a bigger sense of gravitas to the questions and we don't end up with "the third player" sitting there for the last few minutes like a bump on a log because we all know damn well he has little to no chance of winning with his $400 and two Whammies.

[Neumms]

...we don't end up with "the third player" sitting there for the last few minutes like a bump on a log because we all know damn well he has little to no chance of winning with his $400 and two Whammies.

It sucks for them, but if the other two have a close game going, who cares?

[TLEberle]

Maybe they shoul$ have pressed harder.

[Loogaroo]

WRT Nick Arcade, I vaguely remember being told that teams were either directed or just figured out themselves that you weren't supposed to direct Mikey to the goal, because that way you hit more squares on the board over the course of the round. Since they moved him to the goal when time was called anyway, there was no reason to do it yourself.

Anyway, my proposed changes:

High Rollers: If a contestant has an insurance marker and makes a bad roll, they turn the marker in and the turn ends there.

-OR-

High Rollers: If a contestant passes the dice and the other player makes a good roll, the dice immediately pass back to the original player and we keep passing back and forth until the game ends. Either way, there's less incentive to pass at the first sign of danger.

Monopoly: Questions are done in the style of Split Second, Countdown Round. Last correct answer collects each monopoly in sequence. Property collection now gets done in eight questions instead of 22+, and we get to spend more than 90 seconds going around the board.

Friend or Foe/Golden Balls/Any show with the Prisoner's Dilemma gimmick: ditch the "Split/Steal" mechanic. Replace with Rock-Paper-Scissors. Both parties split the pot if the throw is a draw; otherwise resolve as normal.

[parliboy]

Since they moved him to the goal when time was called anyway, there was no reason to do it yourself.

If you did it yourself, the goal question wasn’t a toss-up.

[rjaguar3]

High Rollers: If a contestant passes the dice and the other player makes a good roll, the dice immediately pass back to the original player and we keep passing back and forth until the game ends. Either way, there's less incentive to pass at the first sign of danger.

This has the same problem as your original fix on Luck of the Draw* from way back when: players now have the incentive to tank the question (to force the opponent to roll or pass-with-passback).

*The Luck of the Draw rule was different: if A passed to B and B successfully placed a card, B could force A to complete the entire row.  That rule has more obvious problems than the one discussed for High Rollers.

[TLEberle]

That also means that each game of High Rollers will always start with one toss-up question but no more (unless it deadballs) because at that point the dice go back and forth until someone blows it.

[rjaguar3]

That also means that each game of High Rollers will always start with one toss-up question but no more (unless it deadballs) because at that point the dice go back and forth until someone blows it.

I think I understand Loogaroo's proposal to be that the turn alternates only if the winner of the tossup passes. If the winner of the tossup rolls, the next question will be a tossup.

[Loogaroo]

That also means that each game of High Rollers will always start with one toss-up question but no more (unless it deadballs) because at that point the dice go back and forth until someone blows it.

I think I understand Loogaroo's proposal to be that the turn alternates only if the winner of the tossup passes. If the winner of the tossup rolls, the next question will be a tossup.

Correct. If you roll of own accord and it's a safe roll, we go to another question. It only goes to sudden death if one player passes the dice to the other.

[Neumms]

High Rollers: If a contestant passes the dice and the other player makes a good roll, the dice immediately pass back to the original player and we keep passing back and forth until the game ends. Either way, there's less incentive to pass at the first sign of danger.

What if when the other player makes a good roll, the original player has to roll once but if it's a good roll, it goes to another question. There's the same risk, but then questions don't go out the window.