Shows With Guaranteed Payouts -- Super Password As An Example

[TimK2003]

I've been recently watching a lot of the Super Password episodes on Amazon Prime, and one thing about this show intrigued me:

Super Password was one of the few, if only, games where pretty much everything offered (in this case, cash) was won sooner or later.  Regardless of who won or who lost, it cost Mark Goodson a minimum of $6500 for each match played -- $5000 for the Super Password round, $1000 for the Ca$hword, and anywhere from $500-1200 in monies won in the match between the players.

Now the Ca$hword nor the Super Password Jackpots were not always won each time, but Goodson didn't save any money when it wasn't won.  In fact, it actually cost him more money ifor each Super Password loss, since instead of only giving away the original $5,000 (x # of times not won) earmarked for the match, he had to throw in an extra $100-$900 for the words answered correctly.

What other game shows, more or less, gave away everything they offered on their program?

[SuperMatch93]

Other than the Chuck Bucks, Scrabble was like that also with the accumulating jackpots in the later format.

[Dbacksfan12]

I believe later P+ episodes used the same formula as SP, only on a smaller scale.

[Sodboy13]

When P+ went to the rolling jackpot, I think that if someone gave an illegal clue and the player won, then the payout got docked 20% and the jackpot went back down to $5,000 for the next game. Obviously, there are people better informed on this than myself on this board, but there's at least the potential for a few thousand whittled off the ledger here and there.

Would Squares in the Secret Square Jackpot era qualify?

[chrisholland03]

The P+ Bible

http://www.gameshowforum.org/index.php/topic,31288.0.html

mentions that the Endgame was capped at $50k when they instituted the jackpot.  It states indirectly that a win with an illegal clue is still considered a win.

I'd be willing the wager that SP also had a cap.

[calliaume]

I'd be willing the wager that SP also had a cap.

If so, I doubt they ever hit it - the largest Alphabetics win was (I think) $55,000, which would be an odd cap amount.

It sure made budgeting easier knowing you were definitely giving between $6,600 and $7,000 each game, no matter what.  (Maybe that's why Bert didn't speed through the game.)

[Bryce L.]

I'd be willing the wager that SP also had a cap.

If so, I doubt they ever hit it - the largest Alphabetics win was (I think) $55,000, which would be an odd cap amount.

Correct, there were at least two separate $55,000 wins (one of which was Kerry Ketchem/"Patrick Quinn").

[nowhammies10]

I'd be willing the wager that SP also had a cap.

If so, I doubt they ever hit it - the largest Alphabetics win was (I think) $55,000, which would be an odd cap amount.

FWIW, the board was built to accommodate only five digits.  Not saying that would stop 'em, but the way the game works I don't think they ever anticipated 19 straight endgame losses.  Maybe they'd have taken a page out of Wheel's book and written a 1 on a cue card to be taped to the sign.

[Trisscope]

Some of the British quizzers do this. Pointless and Eggheads add 1000 pounds to the jackpot everyday, so eventually all those days will pay out, even if it takes a few weeks to drain it.

[Kevin Prather]

It sure made budgeting easier knowing you were definitely giving between $6,600 and $7,000 each game, no matter what.  (Maybe that's why Bert didn't speed through the game.)

I always figured that was exactly why there was so much dawdling on SP. That was the only way to save money.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Other than the Chuck Bucks, Scrabble was like that also with the accumulating jackpots in the later format.

Scrabble was a little different because the format only allowed the jackpot to go up $1,000 a loss. Unlike SP, they weren't guaranteeing that their budget would take a $5,000 hit for every match played. So if a jackpot reset on Monday and wasn't won again until Friday, Scrabble paid out $9,000. SP paid out $25k.

[Neumms]

Tattletales was $1,750 a show. (Except in the rare instance they added a question because that day's panelists were boring and answered too fast.)

Chuck Henry's Now You See It offered $1000 to the winner and the $5000 a day jackpot.

[Strikerz04]

Tattletales was $1,750 a show. (Except in the rare instance they added a question because that day's panelists were boring and answered too fast.)

Chuck Henry's Now You See It offered $1000 to the winner and the $5000 a day jackpot.

Re: NYSI89 - was there a cap on this version?

[Bryce L.]

Chuck Henry's Now You See It offered $1000 to the winner and the $5000 a day jackpot.

Re: NYSI89 - was there a cap on this version?

Can't prove it, but I'd assume $100,000, since IIRC that was CBS' overall cap at that time.

[PYLdude]

Chuck Henry's Now You See It offered $1000 to the winner and the $5000 a day jackpot.

Re: NYSI89 - was there a cap on this version?

Can't prove it, but I'd assume $100,000, since IIRC that was CBS' overall cap at that time.

I thought the cap was gone by 89.

Millionaire during the shuffle fornat qualifies, right? Because I can't think of a lot of examples where someone started the show with a fresh game and couldn't finish it before the show ended and they basically were paying a $1000 appearance fee at that point.