More Concentration!

[narzo]

There must have been some sort of offstage signal for Jack indicating the puzzle had been solved, or else he was briefed on it before the show started (which seems less likely). He obviously doesn't have a card showing the answer to the main game puzzles (which would be very easy for contestants to catch a glimpse); I'm kind of surprised he does have them for the Double Play round.

There was one show this week, I believe it was Tuesday nights episode, where at one point they cut to the contestants and Jack, and you could see him putting a pice of paper into the breast pocket of his suit.  I assumed he was refreshing himself on the puzzle answer. 

[DjohnsonCB]

They knew that the board noise was an iconic part of the show, so they're miking the board, right? Because the sound is too clear for it to be something that's picked up by the contestant microphones on the other side of the stage. (Also, if we could hear it that clearly over the contestant microphones, then that would mean it's so loud, everybody in the studio should have permanent hearing damage by the end of the tape day.)

I wonder how far away and partitioned Johnny's podium is. We can't hear the board at all during the head start plugs.

Speaking of the board noise, we've all seen how the squares in the Narz version turn around faster than they did in the old NBC version, and they sound differently as well.  Anyone got an idea as to what they did to the board to make this happen?  I know its been mentioned before here what it was in the NBC original, so I take it this was an improvement of sorts.

[KrisW73]

They knew that the board noise was an iconic part of the show, so they're miking the board, right? Because the sound is too clear for it to be something that's picked up by the contestant microphones on the other side of the stage. (Also, if we could hear it that clearly over the contestant microphones, then that would mean it's so loud, everybody in the studio should have permanent hearing damage by the end of the tape day.)

I wonder how far away and partitioned Johnny's podium is. We can't hear the board at all during the head start plugs.

Speaking of the board noise, we've all seen how the squares in the Narz version turn around faster than they did in the old NBC version, and they sound differently as well.  Anyone got an idea as to what they did to the board to make this happen?  I know its been mentioned before here what it was in the NBC original, so I take it this was an improvement of sorts.

http://www.gameshowforum.org/index.php/topic,7.msg285581.html#msg285581


When the show moved to California two new boards were built using the same idea as the original board from New York - my guess is the motors worked better and sounded differently.

[Sodboy13]

My thought was they want people to get that first Double Play puzzle, then the 2nd is a "you get it immediately or you're not going to get it" type.

Based on tonight's episode, if a car is won after the first game, both of the Double Play puzzles following the second game could be "you get it immediately or you're not going to get it."

Yeah, I was wondering how they'd play it when there was a chance to win two cars, and was disappointed to see the answer was "Well, they're not going to win two cars." If that's how you're gonna play it, then make the second trip to Double Play worth $100 for the first puzzle, and a cash amount less than you paid for the car for the second one. In a game where cash is as scarce as this one, offering up $1,000 would still be a very alluring prize, I think.

[TLEberle]

Yeah, I was wondering how they'd play it when there was a chance to win two cars, and was disappointed to see the answer was "Well, they're not going to win two cars." If that's how you're gonna play it, then make the second trip to Double Play worth $100 for the first puzzle, and a cash amount less than you paid for the car for the second one. In a game where cash is as scarce as this one, offering up $1,000 would still be a very alluring prize, I think.

I had this same thought down to the same cash prize.

[whewfan]

At some point in the run, they had a mini game before playing the bonus game with 9 numbers, and whichever prize was matched first was the prize played for in the bonus game, so it wasn't always the car. I think there was a way to win more than one prize but I'm not sure how that was done.

[MikeK]

At some point in the run, they had a mini game before playing the bonus game with 9 numbers, and whichever prize was matched first was the prize played for in the bonus game, so it wasn't always the car. I think there was a way to win more than one prize but I'm not sure how that was done.

Pick multiple prizes then the Wild Card without making a natural match.

[colonial]

This is the first time I've fully watched a series hosted by Jack Narz (I've only seen one-off episodes on YT as well as various clips, including a montage at a Game Show Congress that he attended), so getting the opportunity to watch Narz in action on "Concentration" is a treat. A definite solid host who takes the game seriously but is open to having a little fun from time to time. I do agree that his hosting the format is better than Trebek, whose style on CC was a tad too loose at times.

The Double Play bonus round is not perfect (given the mechanics of the times, doing something similar to the CC car game would be impossible), but it's definitely a challenge. And I like the use of what's essentially trivia as answers for the second half of the round.


JD

[TimK2003]

Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play.  At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".

Any guesses as to what he was referring to?

[Blanquepage]

Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play.  At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".

Any guesses as to what he was referring to?

"Call 3."
Clip from tonight's episode with this change:

[KrisW73]

Interesting that Jack mentioned a couple of times on Thursday's (4/2) episode of a "new twist" to the game play.  At first, he thought it was in Game 2, but then when he came back from commercial, he mentioned that it will premiere "on a future episode".

Any guesses as to what he was referring to?

Probably three numbers called in the second game.

[chrisholland03]

I'm enjoying these episodes, but watching the contestants stroll across the studio at the opening is just so hokey.  It feels like they should be holding hands and skipping to their podia.

[MSTieScott]

It's a tough balancing act. Most of the Concentration contestants we've seen so far haven't had much chance to demonstrate any personality, but they're good at keeping the game moving. On the other hand, we get a better chance to know the contestants on Classic Concentration, but a lot of them (especially in the episodes Buzzr is currently airing) are getting too chatty. Their mini-monologues before every pick really slow the game down.

("Let's try to find a match for the bicycles or a wild card..." Oh, is THAT your strategy?)

[tyshaun1]

It's a tough balancing act. Most of the Concentration contestants we've seen so far haven't had much chance to demonstrate any personality, but they're good at keeping the game moving. On the other hand, we get a better chance to know the contestants on Classic Concentration, but a lot of them (especially in the episodes Buzzr is currently airing) are getting too chatty. Their mini-monologues before every pick really slow the game down.

("Let's try to find a match for the bicycles or a wild card..." Oh, is THAT your strategy?)

Yeah, I've found myself getting slightly annoyed by the constant banter that goes on during the main game, especially Alex. He brings the game to a dead halt at times with his constant off hand comments (A PLUSH carpet! Let me riff on it for 30 seconds!), like he's trying to over compensate for his reputation (at the time) as a stiff host on Jeopardy! I don't know if they kept the monitor on during the banter or not, it would seem to give the opposing player he's not talking to an advantage, no?

[calliaume]

We get a better chance to know the contestants on Classic Concentration, but a lot of them (especially in the episodes Buzzr is currently airing) are getting too chatty. Their mini-monologues before every pick really slow the game down.

("Let's try to find a match for the bicycles or a wild card..." Oh, is THAT your strategy?)

Yeah, I've found myself getting slightly annoyed by the constant banter that goes on during the main game, especially Alex. He brings the game to a dead halt at times with his constant off hand comments (A PLUSH carpet! Let me riff on it for 30 seconds!), like he's trying to over compensate for his reputation (at the time) as a stiff host on Jeopardy!

I'm going to guess that the contestants were urged to blabber on to make sure there was enough program to fill the half hour (on the second program that reran today, for example, the solves were fairly quick). I'm guessing if a show ran long (i.e. tiebreaker), some of the extraneous chit chat would have been edited out.