Finish Line (pricing game)

Finish Line was a pricing game on the American television game show, "The Price Is Right". Played from February 21 to September 25, 1978, it was played for a large prize worth more than $1,000, and used small prizes.

Gameplay

The centerpiece of Finish Line was a gameboard depicting a horse racing track with a horse and a finish line, both of which could move down the track but began at the starting line. The track was marked with a scale representing dollars.

The contestant was shown three pairs of small prizes, one at a time, and had to pick the prize of the pair which was more expensive. The prices of the rejected prizes were revealed as the contestant selected, and the finish line moved down the track one step for each dollar in the prices of the prizes, such that the finish line settled at the total of the prices of the rejected items.

Once all three selections were made, the race began. The horse moved one step for each dollar in the prices of the chosen prizes. If the horse crossed the finish line, the contestant won the large prize. In order words, if the total of the prices of the selected prizes was larger than the total of prices of the the rejected prizes, the contestant won.

In this way, the game had an identical goal to Give or Keep — a much longer-standing pricing game with which was essentially replaced by Finish Line for much of 1978. The goal of Finish Line was also very similar to that of Trader Bob, and opposite to that of Hurdles; however, the contestant's choices were not totalled in those games, and the contestant had to make all three selections correctly. The game also had a similar theme to Hurdles.

Retirement

On September 25, 1978, Finish Line was officially retired because its set suffered recurring mechanical problems. For instance, the "finish line" failed to operate correctly.