WEEKLY WHINE

Jasmine’s The Price Is Right Strategy Guide: Unwritten rules

Hi there, I’m Jasmine. We continue our look at pricing games on The Price Is Right. Today, we will examine the unwritten rules attached to some other pricing games.

CLIFF HANGERS

In this game, you are given three small items and must guess the prices of each. If your total error is US$25 or less, you win a bonus prize.

If you’re not sure, just guess US$20 on the first item, then $30, and then $40. That will earn you a win just about every time.

MONEY GAME

In this game, you are given nine pairs of digits, and you must find the first two digits and the last two digits in the price of the car. Four incorrect guesses end the game.

There are always three choices for the first two digits. They are always three consecutive numbers, such as 19, 20, and 21. Once you have found the first two digits, don’t select another one of those numbers. The last two digits are never one of those choices.

Of the other six, there are two numbers to avoid: the one that starts with a 9, and the one that is equal to the season number. [The Price Is Right is currently airing season 46. So if you attend a taping for next season, avoid the 47.] Last season, in 27 playings of this game, the number in the 90s was correct only once, and the 45 was correct only once.

Conversely, if you see a number that is less than the choices for the first two digits, choose it. If there is such an El Cheapo, it is almost always correct.

GOLDEN ROAD

In this game, you are given two choices for the first digit of a three digit prize. If you are correct, you win the prize, and the three digits in that prize are the choices for the second digit of a four digit prize. If you win that prize, the four digits in that prize are the choices for the hundreds digit of a super awesome prize.

If you’re not sure, avoid the digit that was correct in the previous price, and avoid any digits that are already in the price. The correct digit in one price is usually [but not always] not the correct digit in the next price, and the prices usually [but not always] have no repeating digits.

NOW OR THEN

In this game, you are given six grocery items and must guess whether the shown price is the correct price for the present day, or the item’s price from a previous year. A row of three correct wins a bonus prize.

If you’re not sure, just guess Now. There are always four Nows and two Thens.

PUSH OVER

In this game, you are given a string of nine blocks, each with a digit. Somewhere in the string, the correct price of the bonus prize [either four or five digits] is hidden. You must push the blocks until the correct digits are within a window.

If you’re not sure, avoid the ends. The correct price is never at the end of the string, and it is at the beginning of the string only about once per season.

FIVE PRICE TAGS

In this game, you are given four small items and must guess whether the shown price is true or false. Each correct guess earns one guess at the five choices for the price of the car.

If you’re not sure on a small item, just guess true. Usually, three of the four prices are true.

MAGIC NUMBER

In this game, you are given two prizes, and you must set a magic number somewhere between the prices of the two.

If you’re not sure, just guess US$3,000. That amount would have won every playing of this game over the last six seasons.