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Not a match, board goes back...

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Matt Ottinger:
Keeping in mind I'm talking exclusively of the *original* version, not the Narz.


--- Quote ---* How many puzzles did they typically play during a show? Since they had no bonus game to deal with, or later, a very quick one, could they play three or four games in a half hour?
--- End quote ---
No.  The original game was played very slowly and deliberately.  There were more squares and the rebusses were typically trickier than the ones on "Classic".  Between my memories and the handful of shows we still have, I'd say that they probably averaged slightly under two games per show.  But it's hard to measure that because...

--- Quote ---* What happened when time ran out? Would they throw out that puzzle and start fresh, do a buzz-in type of thing, pick up from that exact point next time? Did they edit the show so time ran out just as a puzzle was solved?
--- End quote ---
Well, they didn't edit.  For most of the run, the show was done live.  They also didn't have a speed-up round, so shows frequently ended mid-game.

I have two memories that may have been from different eras of the show.  I'm remembering they would replace the old rebus with a new one, so the next episode would start with the same squares revealed, but a new rebus underneath.  But I'm also remembering an explanation from Downs (or maybe Clayton) after the show had gone to tape that they would be finishing the game immediately and we viewers would see the conclusion at the beginning of the next show.  Some of our even older members (or those my age with better memories) might be able to confirm or deny any of this.


--- Quote ---* What were some of the 'fun' squares on the board, besides the "Gimme" and "Lose" pairs. Two I know of are the Cash Wheel and The Envelope.
--- End quote ---
More precicely "Take 1 Gift" and "Forfeit 1 Gift".  There would also be "gag" prizes (usually three pairs per board).  Not only were they good for a laugh, but they contributed to the strategy of the game, as did the Takes and especially the Forfeits.

I don't remember any special prizes except for the Cash Wheel and The Envelope.  There were probably others over the years, but those two were the most popular.  As Chris says above, the Cash Wheel and The Envelope weren't regular features, so it was always a big deal to see them come up.


--- Quote ---* What was that deal with the picking two squares, then a third if the first two didn't match? Only for the Syndicated Narz run?
--- End quote ---
Probably.  I never got to see the Narz version, and that doesn't ring any bells.

Michael Brandenburg:
In response to the following from Matt Ottinger in this thread:


--- Quote ---I have two memories that may have been from different eras [Concentration]. I'm remembering they would replace the old rebus with a new one, so the next episode would start with the same squares revealed, but a new rebus underneath. But I'm also remembering an explanation from Downs (or maybe Clayton) after the show had gone to tape that they would be finishing the game immediately and we viewers would see the conclusion at the beginning of the next show. Some of our even older members (or those my age with better memories) might be able to confirm or deny any of this.
--- End quote ---

   I do recall during the 1960s when I watched the show when I was home from school that when a program ended in the middle of a game, they would reveal the game's entire puzzle for the home and studio audiences, then bring the contestants back on the next day's show with the following conditions present for their "resumed" game.

   1. A new rebus puzzle would replace they were playing before.

   2. All prizes (if any) on their respective prize boards would be retained for their "resumed" game.

   3. The "resumed" game would start with the same puzzle squares revealed as had been revealed on the previous show.  (For example, if the puzzle pieces in squares 8, 17, 22, and 27 were showing at the end of the previous show, the "resumed" game would start with the pieces of the new puzzle revealed in those squares.)

   4. The prize/"Forfeit"/"Take"/"Wild" cards that were still on the board at the end of the previous show would be retained for the new game, but would be reshuffled so that they would generally end up in new locations.

   If they ever went to completing an interrupted game with the same puzzle in the manner described, it must have happened after I entered the workforce and didn't see the show as much any more.  However, I do recall that on Double Exposure (a "reveal the puzzle" game that aired on CBS in 1962), the host acknowledged that when this otherwise "live" show ended in the middle of a game, they would first close the program, then record the completion of the game in progress on videotape and play back the tape at the beginning of the next show after announcing to the viewing audience that what they would be seeing would be on tape, and not live.

   Nowdays, of course, the entire show gets taped (and acknowledged as such with a "This program was pre-recorded" disclaimer in its closing credits).  Still, I recall during the daytime run of Break the Bank on ABC in 1976 that when of their programs ended in the middle of a game, they would take the contestants offstage for a change of their clothes for "tomorrow's" program, and while they were offstage, the show's stage crew would re-arrange "portions of the undisclosed area of the game board" (according to host Tom Kennedy) so that previously unexposed "cash amount"/"money bags"/"wild"/"blank" boxes would be in different places than they were before.


   Michael Brandenburg
   (Of course, that would be difficult to do, since the "cash amount" boxes of the same amount -- $100, $200, or $300 -- had to be grouped together so they would touch along their sides, and the "blank" boxes had to be located so that no two of them would touch along their sides.)

Neumms:
[quote name=\'Michael Brandenburg\' date=\'Oct 25 2003, 09:33 AM\'] Still, I recall during the daytime run of Break the Bank on ABC in 1976 that when of their programs ended in the middle of a game, they would take the contestants offstage for a change of their clothes for "tomorrow's" program, and while they were offstage, the show's stage crew would re-arrange "portions of the undisclosed area of the game board" (according to host Tom Kennedy) so that previously unexposed "cash amount"/"money bags"/"wild"/"blank" boxes would be in different places than they were before.

 [/quote]
 Why would they have to do that? Memory wasn't involved on "Break the Bank," was it?

clemon79:
[quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'Oct 25 2003, 07:33 PM\'] Why would they have to do that? Memory wasn't involved on "Break the Bank," was it? [/quote]
 Absolutely it was, in fact, it was critical. If you found a money bag, you could either bank it for yourself and pass your turn, or you could turn it back over and pick again. Most players would elect to turn it back over, the idea being that if they could find the locations of three money bags, they could pluck them all off in a row and Break The Bank that way.

Neumms:
[quote name=\'clemon79\' date=\'Oct 25 2003, 10:02 PM\'] [quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'Oct 25 2003, 07:33 PM\'] Why would they have to do that? Memory wasn't involved on "Break the Bank," was it? [/quote]
Absolutely it was, in fact, it was critical. If you found a money bag, you could either bank it for yourself and pass your turn, or you could turn it back over and pick again. Most players would elect to turn it back over, the idea being that if they could find the locations of three money bags, they could pluck them all off in a row and Break The Bank that way. [/quote]
I didn't realize that. If you have to pass your turn to claim a money bag, though, how could you turn over three in a turn?

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