The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Card Shark on May 01, 2025, 07:53:52 PM
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So, on the current incarnation of Pyramid, in the case of a tie during the main round, the team with the shorter amount of time wins. Why don't they actually display the time it takes for each team to reach completion? It's not that I don't believe Strahan, but wouldn't it be good to be able to see the running of time of each time as they play?
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wouldn't it be good to be able to see the running of time of each time as they play?
This specifically, no. If you already see the horse race as they're playing, there's no reveal if the game gets to a tie. One of the things I like about the new tiebreaker is that pregnant pause as the teams wait to see which one of them has won.
There are ways to integrate total time into that presentation, but given the whole tiebreaker was created to save them some seconds, you'd have to be judicious about how you do it without taking too long and/or distracting from the winning celebration that's going on. And I say this as somebody who thinks a few seconds isn't a big deal, but it's crucial to others who are always looking for places to trim so they can keep all the other non-game "moments."
-Jason
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You have an excellent point, Jason. Thanks for the insight.
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I will say we did debate Vin on at least revealing the actual number of seconds on both teams' scoreboards to show proof of performance and, in some cases, how close it actually was. What I am told they learned was that those that saw run-throughs found the actual numbers to be both disappointing. A 21-21 tiebreaker can be interesting, but, for example, a 16-16 game usually means maybe only one of six rounds produced a "7", so seeing a team "win" 87-90 kinda reinforced how "meh" the players were. Plus if you weren't paying rapt attention (as if often the case in a multi-screen viewing world), seeing a lower score flash for a win was confusing.
I suppose someone can forensically look back at the series, since I believe GSN is still playing most of the episodes, to see how this pans out in what is now a decent sample size of episodes. From the 40 I helped shepherd with what we thought at the time was an ambitious way to reward perfect scores, and seeing how few $20,000 and $25,000 jackpots we even hit, I suspect the end result will prove Vin's choice of the pregnant pause to be preferable.
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for example, a 16-16 game usually means maybe only one of six rounds produced a "7", so seeing a team "win" 87-90 kinda reinforced how "meh" the players were.
Maybe I misunderstood how the tiebreaker is calculated. If neither team reaches a 7, then it's a tie, because everyone took 90 seconds. I thought the way around that was to count from the last correct answer in each round.
This brings another question. If Player A answers the sixth word with 5 seconds remaining and doesn't answer the seventh, but if Player B gives an illegal clue and finishes six correct with 5 seconds, then is that scored that A took 30 seconds and B took 25?
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Maybe I misunderstood how the tiebreaker is calculated. If neither team reaches a 7, then it's a tie, because everyone took 90 seconds. I thought the way around that was to count from the last correct answer in each round.
It's the total amount of time you worked on correct answers -- at least by the time I saw a show bible, which was season 4 or 5. That means time for answers you didn't score on doesn't count against you. Illustrated (without tenths of a second, so it's easy to see):
Answer 1 -- 3 seconds
Answer 2 -- 3 seconds
Answer 3 -- 4 seconds
Answer 4 -- 5 seconds
Answer 5 -- passed
Answer 6 -- 3 seconds
Answer 7 -- time runs out
The total time for this player so far would be 18 seconds.
-Jason
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So that's how the time is calculated. Thanks for filling us in.
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It's the total amount of time you worked on correct answers -- at least by the time I saw a show bible, which was season 4 or 5. That means time for answers you didn't score on doesn't count against you.
That's more granular than I expected. I'm genuinely surprised (positive?) at that choice.
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Jason, that's actually an evolution from what I was privy to, which was between seasons 1 and 2. Whoever developed that should be commended. That's far fairer than the original concept and also eliminates any possibility of a true tie if no one got 7 in any category. Which, as we saw in 2012, was absolutely a possibility, especially if a Turturro was involved.
Mucho thanks for that insight, sir.
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Which, as we saw in 2012, was absolutely a possibility, especially if a Turturro was involved.
Thanks, Jason. I’ve wondered that since the start. Steve, what would they have done in a tie?