Unspoken rules on game shows

[TLEberle]

As for Classic Concentration, it would drive me absolutely bonkers when the contestants would jibber jabber or worse, when Alex would jibber jabber for a while during the game.  I even recall once a contestant snapped at Alex semi-playfully when he was asking "Can so and so remember where that match was?  We just say it a moment ago" and she said something like "I could if you'd allow me to just pick already..." or something to that effect.

I suppose there were three logical points though with that going on...

So you claim to understand why the show did things that way (or claim to?) The producers probably grew up with the very quiet version on NBC where players called numbers and the ka-chunk was the loudest thing on the show. I think it is nice when the game board is the focus that we can actually hear more from the players than just positive integers and I bet if enough people wrote in and said "Golly gee whilikers I wish Alex would put a cork in it!" that he probably would do so.

[whewfan]

A few I can think of...

Philip Cousin told me when he was on Wheel, they told him and the others not to look at the wheel upon spinning it. They didn't want anyone trying to finesse the wheel spin to land exactly where they wanted it, and if they suspected you looked at the wheel, they'd make you re-spin.

Randy Amasia told me and a group of game show fans that on Whew!, they were discouraged from saying "I don't know" as a response to a blooper if you didn't know... either make a wild guess or say nothing, not that it was a rule, just something they discouraged.

Not really a rule, but Frank Wayne later had an aversion to potential contestants saying "I don't believe it!" on TPIR. He would discourage the producers from picking contestants that uttered that phrase in line.

[PYLdude]

While I wouldn’t doubt that a guy who won $60k plus on Wheel would be made aware of the rules, how exactly are you not supposed have your eyes on the wheel even for a second? And how easy was it to finesse the wheel?

[TLEberle]

I think the notion is that it would be kinda weird and not great if every time you spin we get a look at not your smiling face but the top of your dome.

[Kevin Prather]

I think the notion is that it would be kinda weird and not great if every time you spin we get a look at not your smiling face but the top of your dome.

I've also heard it said that the producers would rather have you spend that time studying the puzzle.

[Argo]

Not sure if it’s the same person or not but there was a Harry Lorayne who hawked a “Memory Power” on Amazing Discoveries in the early 1990s.

Here's Harry in action on Paul Daniels show from 1980.

[Bob Zager]

Harry Lorayne tried to remember 10, three digit numbers back in 1980, on The Guinness Game.  He was unsuccessful.  His co-author of "The Memory Book," former pro-basketball player Jerry Lucas, was a contestant during season two of $128,000 Question, taking winnings of $16,000, IIRC (no pun intended).

[TLEberle]

Intend your puns! What was the pun? Seemed like a bit of a divergence to drop the tidbit.