This is a salute to one of my favorite game shows of all time, Dream House. Seen on NBC in 1983 and 1984, the show gave couples the chance to win a new house! Hosted by Bob Eubanks, the show gave away over $3 million in houses, cash and prizes. Below is a scrapbook of ten couples whose dream houses became a reality!
Couples could win a house one of two ways on the show. One was to win a number of games in a row (5, 6, or 7 during different times of the series). The other way, which was the main draw of the show to me, was by guessing a 3-digit combination to open the Golden Doors at the end of the show.
Rather than explain this, let's see how it's done...
At the start of the bonus round, there are 4 numbers on each line. For every day a couple has won a game, one number is taken off the electronic lock. Then a series of 3 questions are asked, and each right answer takes away one number off one of the rows (the first question, if answered correctly, took the number off the top row. The second question was for a number off the middle row, and the third off the bottom row).
Dawn and Marty just won their first game, so one number was taken off the top row of the lock, and then they answered the first two questions correctly to earn two more removed numbers. So here's what the lock looked like before they tried to guess the combination.
Bob would then say something like: "It takes a 3-number combination to open the Golden Doors to your Dream House... the first number is either the 7 or the 2, which one is it?"
Let's see what Dawn and Marty pick, shall we?
Now, time for the moment of truth... if the winning combination is 786, the Golden Doors will light up and open, and Dawn and Marty will have won their Dream House on their first day!
Dawn presses the time-release bar... GOOD LUCK!
And then...
Click here to hear what happens next!
YES!!! They did it!!!
Debi Bartlett then brings the symbolic key to Dawn and Marty's Dream House. Bob presents it to this lucky couple!
Dawn and Marty weren't the only couple to win their Dream House. How many of these winners do you remember?
Jim and Debi were only the second couple to win their house on the show. They won 5 days in a row, so rather than play the end game, Debi got to press the Golden Circuit Breaker (also known as the "Hotline Switch") and the doors opened automatically!
Len and Gloria won on their 2nd day, with the combination 132. Gloria was ecstatic, as she told of growing up in a 1-room house in Panama.
It took Cesar and Bea four tries to come up with the winning combination of 404!
Carla and Mark won automatically after 6 days... and won a ton of prizes to boot!
Phyllis and Sam were shocked when 015 opened the Golden Doors for them, and they won a one-of-a-kind Christmas present!
Rick and Johanna won with 680... and it was Johanna's birthday too! Talk about a nice surprise gift!
Ann and Will won on their first day with 734...
...and then three days later Tim and Cheryl won with 473!
The show went out in style when Curt and Mary won their Dream House on their 3rd try with, once again, 734, on the show's very last episode.
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