Sale of the Century
1983-1989 version
Host: Jim Perry
Hostess: Sally Julian, Lee Menning, Summer Bartholomew
Announcer: Jay Stewart, Don Morrow
Premise: Three challengers answer general knowledge questions to buy prizes and go for a big honkin' cash jackpot.
Rules: To begin, all three players are given $20 bankrolls. Perry asked the three players a question, and whoever buzzed in could answer. Correct answers earned $5 for the player. Incorrect answers deducted $5, and no other player could try. Part of the genius of the game was that players could buzz in any time after Jim began reading the question. Sometimes it worked to the players' advantage, sometimes not hearing a crucial fact buried at the end of the question would cost the player $5.
Instant Bargain
Three times during the show, the player in the lead was given the one-time chance to buy a luxury item for a portion of his or her winnings. These were smaller prizes than those found at the end of the game, usually up to $2,000 in value. The first Instant Bargain would go for between $5-$8, the second $9-12, and the last $15.
Sometimes if a contestant didn't seem willing to go for it, Jim would either lower the price of the item, or throw in some money to entice the player. Other times, a "Sale Surprise" came up: a cash amount between $300 and $1,000 was attached to the item, but only if the player went for it. This bonus caused several players to buy a prize they might not otherwise have wanted. For a week of shows, the producers added a bonus question, where if a player answered it correctly, they got back the money they spent on the Instant Bargain. A wrong answer meant they didn't get the money back.
The player signaled his intent to purchase the prize by hitting his or her buzzer. If there were two or three players tied for the lead, as soon as the bargain price of the item was read, the first to chime in got the prize.
Instant Cash
The Instant Cash game introduced in late 1986 gave the player in the lead a chance to win a cash jackpot instead of the third Instant Bargain. The player got to buy one of three black metal boxes. Two contained $100 bills, and the third contained the jackpot. The jackpot began at $1000, and had $1,000 added each day it was not won. If there was a tie, the two tying had an auction to see who might buy it, even down to $1. The Instant Cash jackpot climbed to $15,000 on at least one occasion.
Fame Game
Jim asked the players a "Who/What/Where am I?" style question with 10 clues to the identity. Incorrect answers dropped a player from the rest of the question, and the player who answered correctly got their choice of nine numbered panels hiding various items. (Originally, the nine panels bore celebrities' faces, but that was dropped within a few months.) Some had cash, others prizes, and some had "Money Cards," which added that much money to the players' score.
In round one, a $10 card was in play, round two added a $15 card, and round three a $25 card. If uncovered, the money west to the players' score. Early on, a $5 card was also in the mix. After two years, the game changed to have the player press their buzzer to stop the flashing lights around the numbers. "Mystery Money or Try Again" gave the player the chance to play again, with increased odds of hitting a money card, or a money amount from $2.00-$1,500.
Last Chance
After the third Fame Game, the players were asked three more questions, and the player with the highest total won the game. If there was a tie, Jim read a final question. A right answer won $5 and the game. A wrong answer lost $5 and knocked that player out. Within months, like the Fame Game, the three questions gave way to the 60 second "Speed Round", where each question was still worth $5. The winner played one of three very different bonus rounds, depending on the time in the show's run.
The Final Act
At the beginning, the player took whatever money was won in the first part of the game to the eponymous "Sale of the Century". Five items were on display, and on sale for a huge discount. From the premiere week:
On the daytime show, the champion was shown several prizes worth from $3,000 to $20,000 or more, and a luxury automobile worth over $40,000. Such a list might look like this:
Man's watch- Actual price, $1,800, for $48.
Sofa and love seat- $3,500, for $114.
Mink coat- Regularly $5,500, for $181.
A 14-day European tour, $13,316, for $254.
a Sailboat worth $21,686, for $326.
1983 Mercedes-Benz 300SV costing $41,466 for $390.
All of the prizes (plus a white gold keyring worth $1,000) could be purchased for $500.
Obviously, when the champ can only win $70 or $80 in one game, the champ has a dilemma. Should the champion buy that watch and leave the show now, or save up over a few more shows and try for that sailboat, or possibly, that monstrous car? A champion who could win enough games with enough cash to rack up $500 could buy every single prize in the showroom, worth up to $95,000, so that was always in the back of the player's minds. Also worth noting is the fact that once a player lost the game, his bank account was worth only face value, and could not be used to buy prizes. Too bad. Maybe that tour of Europe would have been the right choice after all.
Soon into the run, another step was added between the car and "the lot," and it was a cash jackpot. It began at $50,000, and $1,000 was added to it each day it was not won. After the cash jackpot was the cash jackpot and all the prizes. If the cash amount was more than $70,000 (and it got up over $100,000 at least once) contestants would not risk the cash for all the prizes.
With the addition of the speed round, the cash jackpot could be had for $750, and all of the prizes for $760.
The Syndicated version got it right; the steps went car, all the prizes, all the prizes and the cash jackpot.
Living room set ($3,270; SotC: $85)
Dune Buggy ($5,000; SotC; $160)
Artwork ($8,000; SotC; $260)
Holiday in Switzerland ($10,561; SotC; $335)
Diamond Pendant ($12,000; SotC; $445)
Audi ($28,019, SotC; $530)
All of the prizes could be purchased for $750, and the lot for $860 at the beginning of the run, the last two steps were lowered to $640 and $750.
The $85 prize could be bought by the player if he or she did not have enough money after day one. The prize could be bought for the entire bankroll, and these values are rough estimates, as the prices and prizes changed weekly.
The Winner's Board
The next bonus round, which began in 1985, had the player face a board of 20 numbers. The player called numbers until a prize was matched. Two cards had "WIN" on them, and the player got an instant match on the next number called. Jackpot prizes included a new car, $10,000 and $3000. The "car" and $10,000 spaces only had one card on the board, making it harder to win those, but all the more exciting when it did happen.
After winning all ten prizes, the player could risk them and come back on a 10th day for a $50,000 bonus. If he or she lost, the player lost the car, $13,000 and whatever other prizes were on the big board, totalling over $50,000. Even though it wasn't the same as the shopping, the decision to play that $50,000 game was one of the most nerve wracking in all of game shows.
The Winner's Big Money Game
In the final format, from 1986 on, the champ won a $3000 prize, and played the "Big Money Game." Six clues were read to a puzzle, and the player pressed the plunger to stop the clock and guess. To win the money, the player had to guess four puzzles in :20, or five in :25. One wrong guess was permitted as were unlimited passes, but a second wrong guess ended the game. The first time a player won the game, he or she played the Big Money Game for $5000. Each time the champion won a game, the jackpot for the Big Money Game would increase by $1,000, whether it was won or not, meaning that six victories would be worth $45,000 in cash. On a players' seventh day, the player could win a $20,000 car in the Money Game. After the car, the player could win $50,000 on the eighth day by completing a near-impossible packet of puzzles, but after that, it was all done. This was the only format where the cash jackpot was not guaranteed for someone who got to the end of the road, you still had to earn it.
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