But your bonus round...

[Jeremy Nelson]

Also, we try to put it out of our minds, but the Press Your Luck bonus round may be the worst of them all.

Eh, PYL with a bonus round gives you incentive to play the main game with more strategy as opposed to just plain greed when you don't have a returning champion.

But there's no real jeopardy involved here. They don't add any Whammies to the board, which would up the risk factor significantly. They also don't need to make the round become the entire second half of the show either; surviving a certain amount of spins without Whammying out is fine.

It's a limited summer series. What theyre not trying to do is force a bunch of players to either whammy out or walk away from the endgame with $20,000.

Fulld disclosure- I'm also fully in the camp of people who actually like the endgame.

[tyshaun1]

Also, we try to put it out of our minds, but the Press Your Luck bonus round may be the worst of them all.

Eh, PYL with a bonus round gives you incentive to play the main game with more strategy as opposed to just plain greed when you don't have a returning champion.

But there's no real jeopardy involved here. They don't add any Whammies to the board, which would up the risk factor significantly. They also don't need to make the round become the entire second half of the show either; surviving a certain amount of spins without Whammying out is fine.

They do add Whammies though. There are 14 by time you get to the final round.

[PYLdude]

It's a limited summer series. What theyre not trying to do is force a bunch of players to either whammy out or walk away from the endgame with $20,000.

Fulld disclosure- I'm also fully in the camp of people who actually like the endgame.

Okay, fair enough, but couldn't they just as easily make up for that by either a) having lots of high level prizes from the get go considering money doesn't appear to be an issue for them, or b) double/triple/whatever the winner's bonus cash total is? Would accomplish the same goal in less time IMO.

[Jeremy Nelson]

It's a limited summer series. What theyre not trying to do is force a bunch of players to either whammy out or walk away from the endgame with $20,000.

Fulld disclosure- I'm also fully in the camp of people who actually like the endgame.

Okay, fair enough, but couldn't they just as easily make up for that by either a) having lots of high level prizes from the get go considering money doesn't appear to be an issue for them, or b) double/triple/whatever the winner's bonus cash total is? Would accomplish the same goal in less time IMO.

Because B is a cop out reserved for lottery shows, and A has other consequences- let me explain.

Last summer, a contestant won the game by passing his final spin to his opponent, who whammied and lost $53,000 in the process. The studio audience was so distraught, they'd failed to cheer for the guy who actually won. They were too busy awwing and showing displeasure at the idea that someone could win the game that way.

By pushing all of the endgame cash into the main game, you're basically asking for that to happen, but worse. Press Your Luck is already a game of chance, but people naturally get invested in contestants, and so now you're leaving people on a sour note when their contestant gets "wronged" in that situation (because remember, there's no bonus round in your scenario, so no chance for them to get invested in the champion).

If this were a 5-a-week scenario, it's just going to happen like that from time to time- the volume of contestants guarantees it. But you only have eight chances during the summer to keep people invested and filled with enough endorphins that they keep watching the Fun and Games lineup for more winners.

[Unrealtor]

Last summer, a contestant won the game by passing his final spin to his opponent, who whammied and lost $53,000 in the process. The studio audience was so distraught, they'd failed to cheer for the guy who actually won. They were too busy awwing and showing displeasure at the idea that someone could win the game that way.

By pushing all of the endgame cash into the main game, you're basically asking for that to happen, but worse. Press Your Luck is already a game of chance, but people naturally get invested in contestants, and so now you're leaving people on a sour note when their contestant gets "wronged" in that situation (because remember, there's no bonus round in your scenario, so no chance for them to get invested in the champion).

I attribute that moment having all the excitement of the Hindenburg disaster in part to how the show handled it. 80s PYL did have at least some cases where a player lost big on a whammy on a passed spin to end the game, and the answer was to play the win cue, crank up the audience sweetening, and keep the camera on the winner's reaction. It might still have been a bummer, but, by only focusing on the positive, the production drags you along with it.

[PYLdude]

I would like to note that I did not say I wanted to increase anything in the main game, nor did I eschew the bonus round in my hypothetical.

[tyshaun1]

Last summer, a contestant won the game by passing his final spin to his opponent, who whammied and lost $53,000 in the process. The studio audience was so distraught, they'd failed to cheer for the guy who actually won. They were too busy awwing and showing displeasure at the idea that someone could win the game that way.

By pushing all of the endgame cash into the main game, you're basically asking for that to happen, but worse. Press Your Luck is already a game of chance, but people naturally get invested in contestants, and so now you're leaving people on a sour note when their contestant gets "wronged" in that situation (because remember, there's no bonus round in your scenario, so no chance for them to get invested in the champion).

I attribute that moment having all the excitement of the Hindenburg disaster in part to how the show handled it. 80s PYL did have at least some cases where a player lost big on a whammy on a passed spin to end the game, and the answer was to play the win cue, crank up the audience sweetening, and keep the camera on the winner's reaction. It might still have been a bummer, but, by only focusing on the positive, the production drags you along with it.

There were many times where the show would get a few shots of the contestant after a big loss, along with Peter's reaction (who was often focusing on the grief of the loser) to what just happened. They usually did not gloss over it.

[jcs290]

The new PYL or Whammy! might've had a possible good bonus round in the Big Bank concept. Land on the square, the round itself becomes part of your account.  Anyone is eligible and the space is always available like the Big Bucks square.  You win the game and you still have the Big Bank in your account, you go on to the bonus round.  You can put your winnings on the line to answer one of those 1/4-1/2-3/4 survey questions for everything the Whammies took in Round 2 plus $20K.  It's quick enough to fit in the half-hour window of a normal show, and it's lucrative enough to make up for a low-stakes winner.

[TLEberle]

What do you do in the overwhelming likelihood that it isn’t won? You can’t really play another full game.

[Neumms]

Eh, PYL with a bonus round gives you incentive to play the main game with more strategy as opposed to just plain greed when you don't have a returning champion.

The great thing about PYL is that there IS strategy behind your passing or pressing. The bonus round is plain greed.

[Jeremy Nelson]

What do you do in the overwhelming likelihood that it isn’t won? You can’t really play another full game.

It sounds like he's saying the bonus round would just be a Big Bank-style question to increase winnings.

Eh, PYL with a bonus round gives you incentive to play the main game with more strategy as opposed to just plain greed when you don't have a returning champion.

The great thing about PYL is that there IS strategy behind your passing or pressing. The bonus round is plain greed.

The concept of greed is kinda on brand for this particular show though, isn't it?

[TLEberle]

The new PYL or Whammy! might've had a possible good bonus round in the Big Bank concept. Land on the square, the round itself becomes part of your account.  Anyone is eligible and the space is always available like the Big Bucks square.  You win the game and you still have the Big Bank in your account, you go on to the bonus round.  You can put your winnings on the line to answer one of those 1/4-1/2-3/4 survey questions for everything the Whammies took in Round 2 plus $20K.  It's quick enough to fit in the half-hour window of a normal show, and it's lucrative enough to make up for a low-stakes winner.

I wouldn't even bother to make it a prize space, I'd just have that as the end game for everyone. Given that the main game is lasting longer than a half-hour of air time I would start the Big Bank at $25,000 and have it play like the Ultimate Challenge.

I realize that having the dream prizes on the end game board makes up most of what is notable, but the world would not end were we deprived of someone having the opportunity to win Spaghetti-Os for life.

[PYLdude]

Eh, PYL with a bonus round gives you incentive to play the main game with more strategy as opposed to just plain greed when you don't have a returning champion.

The great thing about PYL is that there IS strategy behind your passing or pressing. The bonus round is plain greed.

The concept of greed is kinda on brand for this particular show though, isn't it?

Find me a show that focuses more on it than Press Your Luck. There aren't too many.

That's why the show's called what it is after all. Strategy does play a factor, sure, but pitting one's avariciousness versus their risk aversion is the main plot point.

[Neumms]

Find me a show that focuses more on it than Press Your Luck. There aren't too many.

The thing that makes PYL unique is that it's not pure greed. To win anything, you have to beat other players. Sure, it's not chess, but there's strategy. The bonus game is pure greed. It's how much is enough.

Deal or No Deal is interesting because, while it's luck and greed, there's the strategy of making a good deal. That's why people will bet $200K on opening a case. They made a game of it.

LMAD is pure greed. Card Sharks Money Cards is pure greed. The TPIR Punchboard is pure greed. The standard Barry-Enright endgame is second-rate pure greed.

[Jeremy Nelson]

Find me a show that focuses more on it than Press Your Luck. There aren't too many.

The thing that makes PYL unique is that it's not pure greed. To win anything, you have to beat other players. Sure, it's not chess, but there's strategy. The bonus game is pure greed. It's how much is enough.

Deal or No Deal is interesting because, while it's luck and greed, there's the strategy of making a good deal. That's why people will bet $200K on opening a case. They made a game of it.

LMAD is pure greed. Card Sharks Money Cards is pure greed. The TPIR Punchboard is pure greed. The standard Barry-Enright endgame is second-rate pure greed.

LMAD and the Punchboard share a lot of the same basic mechanics with Deal or No Deal, so either they're all pure greed or not.

The Money Cards is forced greed. If someone gives you $4,000 and a card you 100% can't lose on, there's absolutely no reason for you not to bet it all. Unlike other shows, there are times when you're home free and aren't trying to avoid a landmine.

The difference with Press Your Luck, versus almost every other show outside of DoND, is that you watch players go on winning streaks for an extended period of time, then suddenly get burned because of their greed. How often do players contemplate whether to play or pass, then make up their mind to go one more? If anything, you've kinda made the point that Deal and Press are basically 1 and 2 when it comes to greed.