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Jackpot and the Super Jackpot

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Neumms:
How often would you guess the target number was hit? IIRC it was incredibly rare, and with riddle amounts in mere $5 increments, it seems calculated. It was the highlight of the show when Geoff announced that a wallet had the right amount to hit the target. If the riddles were in $20 increments, that would happen more often and make it a better show, with far better suspense than just plopping a Super Jackpot riddle in the mix.

PYLdude:
The point of the show is the build. Sure, it's nice to see a target hit every so often but I think the average viewer isn't really concerned with that. They're just there for the game.

Personally, if you're going to do anything with the Super Jackpot I would figure instead of having it fluctuate in value depending on whatever the determining factor is, just starting out at a set minimum and rolling the pot over after every game like traditional jackpot-employing game shows have is the simplest solution.

Neumms:

--- Quote from: PYLdude on September 21, 2019, 11:22:27 PM ---The point of the show is the build. Sure, it's nice to see a target hit every so often but I think the average viewer isn't really concerned with that. They're just there for the game.

--- End quote ---

Building toward the target number is the point, though. Building the basic jackpot to pretty much $1500 isn't all that interesting on its own. I like the riddles and the contestants, but the game is pretty repetitive, and I think that's why it wasn't a huge success. Risking the jackpot to build it up is cool, but then finding the wallet is anti-climactic. I like your idea of the Super Jackpot being progressive.

narzo:
I remember running the numbers, as a math geek, in high school and I believe once you are within a $200 range of the target, you stand a constant one in thirty chance, assuming the riddles are worth $50 and $200, on each call for a new riddle.  Once over, there is zero chance until you come within a $200 range again.  The odds to not get better or worse as you get closer, as random numbers have no memory.

Someone with better skills is more than welcome to check my math, and the formula I'm using.

TLEberle:

--- Quote from: Neumms on September 21, 2019, 04:08:41 PM ---How often would you guess the target number was hit? IIRC it was incredibly rare, and with riddle amounts in mere $5 increments, it seems calculated. It was the highlight of the show when Geoff announced that a wallet had the right amount to hit the target. If the riddles were in $20 increments, that would happen more often and make it a better show, with far better suspense than just plopping a Super Jackpot riddle in the mix.
--- End quote ---
I was a regular viewer of the USA Network version from the mid-80s even though I wasn't well-equipped to handle the material as a primary schooler. Watching an episode this week I don't think I missed more than one or two--it was like an episode of Who's Still Standing but where the question is "What do you add to a stranger to get a strangler?" and nobody falls into ignominy. Derp.

I don't think the fact that the Super Jackpot was more often than not hit by a special riddle detracted from the show--if you enjoyed the riddles/clues and the treasure hunt then you were already in the tent. Do I think that Jackpot could work with $20 multiples to ease the math and a Super Jackpot from $20,000 to $50,000? I guess it could--it certainly vibes with the "don't ask hard questions!" mentality today, but I think that Hollywood Showdown more or less solved whatever problems were extant in the original article.

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