Ten Chances

Ten Chances is a pricing game on the American television game show "The Price Is Right". Debuting on July 15, 1975, this game is played for a car and two additional prizes – one worth between $10 and $90, and another worth between $120 and $980.

Gameplay

The contestant is shown three digits, two of which are the digits in the price of the first prize. The contestant writes their guess on the first of ten cards. If they are correct, the price is revealed, and they move on to the next prize. If they are not, they must write another price on the second card, and so on until they are correct.

For the second prize, the contestant is shown four digits, three of which are the digits in the correct price. Play continues as with the first prize until they correctly guess the price. Finally, the contestant is shown five digits, all of which are in the price of the car. Again, they must write down the correct price with whatever chances remain.

The contestant is given ten cards and ten chances to price all three prizes. If they correctly price all three prizes, they win them all. If they run out of chances, they win what prizes they have correctly priced to that point. If the contestant uses up all ten chances and cannot write down the correct price of the first prize, they do not win any of the prizes.Because there are only six possible combinations for a two-digit price using two of three possible digits, the contestant will always win at least the first prize.

An unwritten rule since the early 1980s is that the prices of all prizes end in 0, except in the rare case that 0 is not one of the provided choices, in which case the last number is always 5. Many contestants do not realize or take this rule into account. The game sometimes results in confusion, as contestants (particularly though relying on the audience for advice) sometimes attempt to use the same digit twice, or repeat a previously guessed price. A contestant attempting to do so is usually corrected and allowed to rewrite an acceptable price.

History

Ten Chances has roots dating back to a pitch film taped February 11, 1972. Titled "Cut Price", the object was to arrange the numbers in a price to the correct price. The contestant had the option to walk away before attempting to price the second or third prize, with the stipulation that if the contestant lost on the second or third prize they would lose all prizes won up to that point.

Dennis James (who would host the nighttime show but not play Ten Chances itself) hosted the game while creator Mark Goodson played it, winning all three prizes.

Ten Chances was created by producer Roger Dobkowitz. [http://www.golden-road.net/index.php?topic=6912.0 ] It was originally played for four-digit cars, and five digits were given, with one unused digit.

Ten Chances originally had a 10-second time limit for each guess. While the rule has not actually been enforced since the early 1980's, the game is one in which contestants often take a long time to consult with the audience, and host Bob Barker often chided contestants that they would lose a turn if they did not start writing.