Make Your Mark (The Price Is Right)
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Make Your Mark (known from 1994-2007 as Barker's Marker$) was a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Played from the Season 23 premiere on September 12, 1994 to the October 16, 2008 show (aired out of sequence on October 9) , it was played for three prizes (usually valued between $1,000 and $3,000) and a possible $500 bonus.
Gameplay
The contestant was given $500 and shown four prices on the game board. Three of the prices corresponded with the three prizes; the fourth was an extra price that did not match any of the prizes.
The contestant was asked to place markers beside the three prices that corresponded with the prizes. The contestant was not required to specifically match prices to their prizes; they were only required to choose the three prices that were correct.
The correctly marked prices of two of the prizes were revealed, leaving the third prize and two possible prices. The contestant was then given the option to return the $500 in order to move their marker to the unselected price if they believed their initial choice was wrong.
If the marker was correctly placed, the contestant won all three prizes, plus the $500 if they had not returned it. If they were incorrect, however, they did not win anything.
History
The game's original name, "Barker's Marker$", referred to former Price Is Right host Bob Barker. The prop was also repainted after Drew Carey began hosting. The game was also referred to as "Make Your Mark" during its one appearance on the 1994 syndicated The New Price Is Right.
The game's three prizes had a different staging during early playings of the game. Instead of resting on risers, they were placed on the stage floor and the displays that light up their prices were on individual podiums. The original staging caused confusion when price displays were placed between prizes. The second staging debuted on March 24, 1995.
On the UK's Bruce's Price Is Right, the game was renamed "Price Tags".
Retirement
During the game's only playing during Season 37, Drew incorrectly stated that the contestant would not forfeit the $500 if he was wrong, but decided not to switch the marker. To avoid embarrassing Drew, this was declared a "new rule" for this playing only, after which the game was never played again.[1] At the end of Season 37, the production team (including Carey) decided to retire the game, as Carey was simply "tired of" it; a replacement game is in the works.[2][3]
References
- ^ "Fan message board thread referencing final playing". www.golden-road.net. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
- ^ "Twitter / Drew Carey". @TPiRhost. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ "Twitter / Drew Carey". @TPiRhost. Retrieved 19 September 2009.