Author Topic: Scrabble questions (Read 5601 times)

Casey · « **on:** October 22, 2005, 09:24:04 PM »

One thing I can't remember that I'm sure the group will be able to tell me is this:

The Sprint round set piece had two podia, each with its own plunger. When was the right side plunger ever used? What I remember of the game structure is after the spelling format, but didn't the game go like this?

Act I - Crossword between champion and a challenger
Act II - Winner of the crossword plays a sprint round against the clock, with the clock counting up from 00.0
Act III - Crossword between two challengers.
Act IV - Winner of the 2nd crossword plays the same four words as in the first round, but the clock goes down to 00.0 from the time set by the first player.

I also vaguely remember early in the series the sprint round contestant was offered a pink or blue envelope to play with? Did this go away at the same point in time that the right plunger was no longer used?

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 22, 2005, 09:25:12 PM »

The format you mention was the last one used...along with a bonus game after...where the contestant could win a jackpot by solving 2 words in 10 seconds.

Check Kris Lane's site for more information.

jmangin · « **Reply #2 on:** October 22, 2005, 09:49:35 PM »

With regards to choosing the pink or blue envelope, that came from an ealier format. Two new contestants would face off in the "main game" with the winner going to the Sprint Round. The winner of the main game stood at the podium on the left with the returning champion on the right.

The winner of the main game chose between pink or blue, with each packet containing three words for them to solve. The clock counted up and set a time for the Champion to complete their packet of words (the color packet discarded by the other player). The winner of this match received an additional $1,500 and became/continued to be the champion. Then two new contestants would play the main game to see who would go to the Sprint Round to face off the new/current champion. (games did straddle over episodes)

The neat wrinkle came in as the Champion was playing for their fifth win; instead of winning an additional $1,500, the champion who won five games had their winnings augmented to $20,000...and continued to play and win an additional $1,500 for their sixth through ninth victories. If they won 10 straight Sprint Rounds, their winnings were augmented to $40,000 and they were retired.

sshuffield70 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 22, 2005, 11:03:39 PM »

[quote name=\'jmangin\' date=\'Oct 22 2005, 08:49 PM\']The neat wrinkle came in as the Champion was playing for their fifth win; instead of winning an additional $1,500, the champion who won five games had their winnings augmented to $20,000...and continued to play and win an additional $1,500 for their sixth through ninth victories. If they won 10 straight Sprint Rounds, their winnings were augmented to $40,000 and they were retired.

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The wrinkle cited was not used on day one. It wasn't until a champion reached $55,500 roughly a few months in that it was changed. Also, ISTR the second player or the champion used the right plunger. As to why the left was used for the bonus, it's probably aestheics.

Casey · « **Reply #4 on:** October 22, 2005, 11:39:59 PM »

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Oct 22 2005, 08:25 PM\']
Check Kris Lane's site for more information.

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Thanks for this link. It answered my left and right podium/plunger question. It looks like the winner of the first crossword played the sprint round at the left podium. The winner of the second played at the right podium, with the left podium (and first round winner) darkened.

Strikerz04 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 23, 2005, 12:20:05 AM »

Can I add-on to this question...as far as that jackpot was concerned, did they win $20,000 for the bonus, or did it just round up to $20,000?

Reason why I asked is because I'm not sure how that format worked...I grew up with the contained format, and this question's always been on my mind.

-Dave

Dbacksfan12 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 23, 2005, 12:27:18 AM »

[quote name=\'Strikerz04\' date=\'Oct 22 2005, 11:20 PM\']Can I add-on to this question...as far as that jackpot was concerned, did they win $20,000 for the bonus, or did it just round up to $20,000?
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As Mr. Mangin stated above, it was augmented to $20,000.

parliboy · « **Reply #7 on:** October 23, 2005, 02:37:52 AM »

[quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Oct 22 2005, 11:27 PM\'][quote name=\'Strikerz04\' date=\'Oct 22 2005, 11:20 PM\']Can I add-on to this question...as far as that jackpot was concerned, did they win $20,000 for the bonus, or did it just round up to $20,000?
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As Mr. Mangin stated above, it was augmented to $20,000.

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But as was correctly pointed out immediately after that, in the first few months, the $20k was a bonus, not an augment.

Don Howard · « **Reply #8 on:** October 23, 2005, 08:05:12 AM »

[quote name=\'parliboy\' date=\'Oct 23 2005, 01:37 AM\'][quote name=\'Modor\' date=\'Oct 22 2005, 11:27 PM\'][quote name=\'Strikerz04\' date=\'Oct 22 2005, 11:20 PM\']Can I add-on to this question...as far as that jackpot was concerned, did they win $20,000 for the bonus, or did it just round up to $20,000?
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As Mr. Mangin stated above, it was augmented to $20,000.

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But as was correctly pointed out immediately after that, in the first few months, the $20k was a bonus, not an augment.

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Plus, during the first week, the money earned in the main game was from a pot which increased as each letter was placed into a word--with the blue and pink squares doubling and tripling the word value. Those winnings were then tripled and awarded to the winner of the Sprint. I liked that rule, but it probably reaked havoc upon the budget.
Do remember that a champion just had to play one front game then. He or she would only play the Sprint round after that to hang onto the championship and win more money.

zachhoran · « **Reply #9 on:** October 23, 2005, 09:45:45 PM »

[quote name=\'Don Howard\' date=\'Oct 23 2005, 07:05 AM\']Plus, during the first week, the money earned in the main game was from a pot which increased as each letter was placed into a word--with the blue and pink squares doubling and tripling the word value. Those winnings were then tripled and awarded to the winner of the Sprint. I liked that rule, but it probably reaked havoc upon the budget.

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Not a whole heck of a lot. Jack Archer won the $20K on the THursday or Friday of the first week and his winnings after five Sprint victories were $28,900. When they went to a flat $500 per maingame and dropped the pot in week two, a five time Sprint champion won $28K(before they changed to augmented the total to $20K on a fifth win). I suspect the change was made in the second week to make the game sound less confusing. Also, under the first format, the faster a word was solved, the less money in the pot for the winner of the game. It rewarded people who took longer to solve a word.

rebelwrest · « **Reply #10 on:** October 23, 2005, 11:09:50 PM »

I'm an accountant, and I have never seen the format before 1988 (the contained format). How could a person reach $28,900 in five days. Did they have a bonus game similiar to the one at the end of the first run?

From what I read, you could earn $6,500 without bonuses in four games and win the fifth and go up to $20,000.

Also, I know during the spelling format that if you filled in the letters correctly the pot gained $50 for every white space, $100 for the blue, and $500 for the pink or red. However, I do not know if that went into the jackpot or to the contestant and winning a word.

Don Howard · « **Reply #11 on:** October 24, 2005, 11:45:12 AM »

[quote name=\'rebelwrest\' date=\'Oct 23 2005, 10:09 PM\']I'm an accountant, and I have never seen the format before 1988 (the contained format). How could a person reach $28,900 in five days?

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In the following manner:
GAME 1: The pot for winning the game + triple that pot for winning the Sprint
GAME 2: For winning the Sprint, triple the pot the winner of the most recent game won
GAME 3: Ibid Game 2
GAME 4: Ibid Games 3 & 4
GAME 5: $20000 for winning his 5th Sprint

zachhoran · « **Reply #12 on:** October 24, 2005, 06:48:55 PM »

[quote name=\'rebelwrest\' date=\'Oct 23 2005, 10:09 PM\']

Also, I know during the spelling format that if you filled in the letters correctly the pot gained $50 for every white space, $100 for the blue, and $500 for the pink or red. However, I do not know if that went into the jackpot or to the contestant and winning a word.

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It was $200 for the pinks for the early weeks of the Spelling format, soon raised to $500. The money went into a jackpot, which went to the winner of the crossword. There was no chance for a contestant to win bonus money during this format, as was usually the case in the 80s run.

ChuckNet · « **Reply #13 on:** October 24, 2005, 11:01:26 PM »

Quote

But as was correctly pointed out immediately after that, in the first few months, the $20k was a bonus, not an augment.

In fact, it was actually changed to an augment the same wk they changed the Sprint Round format so that both players got the same 3 words, which was around Mar. 1985, IIRC.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

jmangin · « **Reply #14 on:** October 25, 2005, 12:17:45 AM »

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Oct 24 2005, 11:01 PM\']In fact, it was actually changed to an augment the same wk they changed the Sprint Round format so that both players got the same 3 words, which was around Mar. 1985, IIRC.

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Both players did not receive the same words until the show went to a contained format (as no contestant was seen wearing headphones or leaving the stage); during the "$20k augment" phase players played 3 different words each. When it went to the contained format players played the same four words during the Sprint Round.