Rules Changes to Make a Show Easier

[TimK2003]

In the Ruta Lee edition of High Rollers, insurance markers for rolling doubles was only offered in the Big Numbers round.  In the later incarnations, any double earned an insurance marker for good rolls in regular matches as well as a free roll if the double was a bad number.

And between the CBS daytime run to the end of the syndicated series of The Jokers Wild, questions went from Jeopardy caliber-level to multiple choice and/or "The Father of our country is George Who??" level questions.

[WilliamPorygon]

Idiot Savants increased the time limit for the Grand Savant Round from 45 seconds to 60 during its brief run.

[JakeT]

And between the CBS daytime run to the end of the syndicated series, questions went from Jeopardy caliber-level to multiple choice and/or "The Father of our country is George Who??" level questions.

Do I gather you were referring to "The Joker's Wild" here?

JakeT

[TimK2003]

And between the CBS daytime run to the end of the syndicated series, questions went from Jeopardy caliber-level to multiple choice and/or "The Father of our country is George Who??" level questions.

Do I gather you were referring to "The Joker's Wild" here?

JakeT

Yes. Fixed. Thanks.

[jimlangefan]

Push rule in the Money Cards.  Also changing one card anywhere on a line from CS '86.

Minor quibble here, but couldn't it be argued that it possibly made it more difficult? It changed to one card per line briefly after you could change a card anywhere multiple times, if you had enough changes to do it. 

[Jeremy Nelson]

General observation: any rule change that applies to both players equally might make the game faster / higher scoring / etc., but does not make it easier to win.

I thought about adding this disclaimer when I first posted, but figured people would post what they were going to post anyway. The items that really fit the subject fall in line with bonus round and pricing game rules.

Push rule in the Money Cards.  Also changing one card anywhere on a line from CS '86.

Minor quibble here, but couldn't it be argued that it possibly made it more difficult? It changed to one card per line briefly after you could change a card anywhere multiple times, if you had enough changes to do it.

You could definitely argue that, but considering how player friendly even those rules were compared to the Perry run, I’m sure there weren’t a ton of quibbles.

[TimK2003]

Bullseye:  In the earlier episodes out on "Bonus Island", one could elect NOT to freeze the Bullseyes in any window and continue to spin for more money with a greater chance of hitting the lightning.  By the end of the run, Bullseyes were frozen automatically.

[SRIV94]

The option changing on P+.  If you didn't solve the puzzle on the fourth clue, you were likely screwed because your opponent was going to get the option on the fifth clue.

[That Don Guy]

If it's limited to "winning the big money," here's an obscure one; the initial number of points needed to earn the bonus "moneyball" (which earned $1 a point) on The Magnificent Marble Machine was reduced from 15,000 to 13,000.

On Catch-21, they added an extra chance to pass a card in the bonus round when the show got a sponsor.

[KrisW73]

BtB '76 - awarding the box to the opponent with a wrong answer (except in the case of a win)

[SamJ93]

BtB '76 - awarding the box to the opponent with a wrong answer (except in the case of a win)

Did this actually make the game easier, though, or just faster?

[KrisW73]

BtB '76 - awarding the box to the opponent with a wrong answer (except in the case of a win)

Did this actually make the game easier, though, or just faster?

I would say both. Example - I control a single $100 box and then lose control of the board. My opponent then locates another $100 box and answers incorrectly - I now just have to find the last $100 box.

Speeds up the game, and makes it easier for me to win (only need one correct answer now as opposed to two).

[Kevin Prather]

BtB '76 - awarding the box to the opponent with a wrong answer (except in the case of a win)

Did this actually make the game easier, though, or just faster?

I would say both. Example - I control a single $100 box and then lose control of the board. My opponent then locates another $100 box and answers incorrectly - I now just have to find the last $100 box.

Speeds up the game, and makes it easier for me to win (only need one correct answer now as opposed to two).

But if the roles are reversed, it's easier for your opponent to win. The effect is net zero.

[Jeremy Nelson]

And this is what Chris was referring to earlier in the thread- main game rule changes don’t really count because the rule change applies to you and your opponents.

[clemon79]

'Zackly. What it does is make the front game more susceptible to the whims of chance. Which I suppose in a game of skill makes it easier to win if you're an idiot, but otherwise all players are playing under the same set of rules.