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Budgeting Question on Luck-Based Shows

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Dbacksfan12:
Just curious--
How do you "control" the budget on a show such as Card Sharks?  Obviously, for a show like Family Feud, you can stack the questions to where there's only a couple of routes to a win.

TLEberle:
In the early weeks there weren’t lots of ways to help a contestsnt—change just the first card and pushes Are losses. Press Your Luck had smaller money slides. Once the show is successful and the budget expands then those tight elements are loosened,

SamJ93:
While it certainly wouldn't be 100% predictable, they could cast contestants whom they believe are more risk-averse and less likely to make huge wagers in the Money Cards.

TimK2003:
IIRC, in the early months of The Magnificent Marble Machine, in order to reach the Gold Ball/All Cash Round, you had to meet or exceed the point goal.

This is one of the few (if not only) shows in which if the goal was not met, the goal would be reduced by 1000 points each time thereafter until someone reached the goal.

Unlike a bonus game like the Classic Concentration car game, where you get more seconds for each trip to the end game, the MMM method was a more unconventional way to keep the budget in check.

Jeremy Nelson:

--- Quote from: Dbacksfan12 on September 29, 2025, 12:52:50 AM ---Just curious--
How do you "control" the budget on a show such as Card Sharks?  Obviously, for a show like Family Feud, you can stack the questions to where there's only a couple of routes to a win.

--- End quote ---
I guess my follow-up to anyone who has an eye to this- have game shows ever hired mathematicians to calculate average expected wins in the same way a hopeful casino game developer would publish the math on house edge? Either that, or there's been enough run throughs to calculate budget.

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