As of late, it's questionable whether or not this game has been retired... during season 28, it was only played one time--December 10, 1999. Thankfully, it is still active, though only played 4 times during season 29.
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| BACK | ||||||||||||
| O SHELL GAME O | ||||||||||||
| This game is played on the turntable. In this game, there are 4 shells. The contestant wins if s/he puts a chip by the shell that has the ball under it. There are 4 small prizes in this game. They use the HIGHER/LOWER format (i.e. the wrong price is shown; if the contestant feels the price is higher, s/he says higher; if s/he feels the price is lower, s/he says lower). If the contestant guesses correctly whether or not the actual price is higher or lower, s/he wins a chip to put by one of the shells, the one s/he thinks has the ball under it. So the more small prizes the contesant wins, the more chips s/he gets, and the more likely s/he is to win the main prize. Once all 4 small prizes have been shown, Bob looks under the shells to see which one the ball is under. If the ball is under a shell with a chip by it, the contestant wins; otherwise, s/he loses. Of course, the contestant automatically wins if s/he gets all 4 small prizes, thus having a chip by every shell. When this happens (which isn't very often), the contestant can win an additional $500 if s/he can guess exactly which of the shells the ball is under. | ||||||||||||
| HOW TO WIN | ||||||||||||
| This game is NOT very hard. It uses the same format for winning chips as Punch a Bunch uses for winning punches, yet most contestants get all 4 punches in Punch a Bunch; most people in Shell Game get only 2 or 3 chips (I guess a chance at $10,000 really motivates people to think). Maybe if you think you're playing Punch a Bunch you can get all 4 chips. Anyway, unless the small prize is Speed 2 (at the absurd price of $91), they're not hard to figure out whether their prices are higher or lower than the prices listed. Just use some common sense. They usually make it obvious which is right. Also, if the given price is over $100, the correct price is often, though not always, lower. I have yet to see it be higher in this situation. As for picking shells, it doesn't seem to be completely random. The shell that seems to have the ball the MOST is the 4th shell, and the shell that seems to have the ball the LEAST is the 2nd shell. Just to note, unlike most games with a "cash bonus," the $500 isn't a trap--it really is a true bonus (unlike Hole in One or Two and Barker's Markers). As of late, it's questionable whether or not this game has been retired... during season 28, it was only played one time--December 10, 1999. Thankfully, it is still active, though only played 4 times during season 29. |
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