Let 'em Roll

Let 'em Roll is a pricing game on the American television game show "The Price Is Right". Played for a car, it debuted on the Season 28 premiere on September 20, 1999. This game uses grocery items. The game is roughly analogous to the dice game Yahtzee.

Gameplay

Let 'em Roll involves five dice, each marked with an image of a car on three sides and cash values ($500, $1,000, and $1,500) on the other three sides. The contestant is given one roll of the dice and can earn more by using three grocery items. The price for the first item is given, and the contestant must determine whether the price of the next item in the line is higher or lower than the one preceding it. The contestant can win up to two additional rolls.

In order to win the car, the contestant must roll an image of a car on all five dice. The contestant moves behind the dice table, and the five dice are placed in a container which the contestant dumps down a ramp onto the table surface. If the contestant has won additional rolls, they may return all dice which show cash to the container and roll them again, or they may elect to stop and accept whatever cash is showing on the dice. If they haven't won the car on their final roll, they still win the cash showing on the dice. Contestants will win at least $500 if they do not win the car. Contestants are not allowed to keep cash dice and re-roll dice showing cars.

The theoretical probability of rolling a car on one die is 1 in 2 (50%); in two rolls of the same die, it is 3 in 4 (75%); and in three rolls, it is 7 in 8 (87.5%). The theoretical probability of rolling five cars in one roll of the dice is 1 in 32 (3.125%).

History

Let 'em Roll was created by then-host Bob Barker. [http://www.golden-road.net/index.php?topic=6912.0 ]

In May 2003, Let 'em Roll's original table was replaced by a much larger one with a much longer ramp. This larger set had previously been on a $1,000,000 Spectacular weeks before it made its daytime debut. A Plexiglas barrier was added around the table on March 9, 2005 to combat a recurring problem of dice flying onto the floor.

The dice were originally made of Styrofoam, but were not durable enough. The dice were later remade out of wood.

On the episode aired June 7, 2007, a contestant became the first to play the grocery portion perfectly and roll a car on each die on the first roll.

Foreign versions

The grocery portion of Let 'em Roll has been adapted on Joe Pasquale's UK version of "The Price Is Right" as a pricing game called "Walk the Line". The player is shown "five" items and must make all four guesses correctly to win a prize.

Most foreign versions of the show model their Let 'em Roll props on the game's original set. While the game is usually played for cars, it is sometimes played for other prizes on Portugal's "O Preço Certo em Euros".