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Pick a Pair

A quick grocery game played for a large prize.

There are six grocery items consisting of three sets of items, each set with two items that have an identical price. The contestant wins the game if they pick two separate grocery items that have the same price. If they fail on their first try, they can get a second chance keeping one of their mismatched items and finding its pair.

Pick a Pair is simple, quick, and has been frequently played on The Price is Right ever since it was introduced. It’s had two very different sets over the decades, with the first being themed around a giant spinning Ferris Wheel!

A colorful display for the game 'Pick a Pair' featuring six grocery items: toothpicks, cookie dough, pasta, sunflower seeds, pineapple, and gum, arranged on a stage with bright lights.
52nd pricing game to debut
S10, April 12 1982 – Present
Created by Kathy Greco
Strategy
Stats
FAQ
S11, Nov 5 1982
A woman stands proudly in a furnished bedroom set featuring a wooden bed, nightstand, and dresser, with pink bedding and decorative plants in the background.

Mary has a chance to win this $3,392 bedroom group…

…and all she has to do is Pick a Pair! Check out the spinning Ferris wheel!

Six grocery items are placed on this Ferris wheel-like mechanism. To win, the contestant must pick two items that share the same price.

Contestant contemplating her choice while focusing on a package of Jolly Time popcorn priced at 99 cents.

Mary chooses the popcorn. After waiting for it to come around the wheel, it is revealed to be 99 cents.

Bob Barker reveals the price of popcorn, which is 99 cents, during 'Pick a Pair' on The Price is Right.

She just needs to find the other 99 cent item.

Contestant Mary looks intently at a display of cookies labeled 'Soft Sugar' while considering her options for the game 'Pick a Pair'.

Mary seemed pretty confident when she picked the cookies…

A contestant smiles with excitement while revealing a package of Soft Sugar cookies priced at 99 cents.

…and with good reason! She picked a pair!

Bob Barker points to two grocery items, popcorn and cookies, both priced at 99 cents, on the colorful 'Pick a Pair' set on The Price is Right.

She’ll soon be going nighty-nite in splendor with her new bedroom group.

S11, Aug 26 1983
A game show host points to the 'Pick a Pair' game board while a contestant stands nearby, both on a colorful set with various decorative lights and a Ferris Wheel.

Meanwhile, things aren’t going so good for Albert. Not only does he have to deal with a “frozen” 0 on the display the crew has been unable to remove…

A host points to a display showing prices for 'Cleaner' at .69 and 'Shampoo' at .89 on a colorful set.

…he did not match with his picks of the cleaner and the shampoo. However, he has another chance of winning by matching the price of any one of those two products he chooses.

A contestant and the host stand in front of a game board displaying a price of .89 for shampoo, while another display shows '0.'

Albert decides to go with the shampoo at $1.89.

A contestant on a game show examines a can of beef stew priced at .49, featuring a colorful display with bold graphics.

He chooses the beef stew to match. No dice. It’s $1.49.

A hand reveals a pricing card for Golden Griddle syrup, showing the price of .89, on a colorful backdrop.

Had he chose the syrup, he would have been the victor.

S11, Jun 29 1983
Soap actor Michael Damian and a woman interacting on the set of The Price is Right, with colorful backdrops and a Pick a Pair ferris wheel in the background.

Today’s Pick a Pair contains a special bonus. If contestant Janice wins, she’ll also get to have lunch with soap actor Michael Damian at an upscale LA restaurant.

S13, Dec 21 1984
Television host Bob Barker gestures with one finger raised, emphasizing a point while speaking during a game show segment taped around Christmastime.

It is Christmas Week on The Price is Right, and Bob is certainly in the holiday spirit! Our second Albert playing this game is vying for a trip to Japan.

Contestant and host reveal prices of chili and bread during a game on The Price is Right.

Like our previous Albert, he did not pick a pair with his first two picks…

A contestant smiling and pointing to a box of raisins labeled 'Honey' on a game show set.

…however, in Bob’s eagerness to show that he knew the box of raisins was $1.59 because he could see the price as it moved along the wheel, he forgot that Albert still had a second chance!!!

Contestant standing with host at the 'Pick a Pair' game board in a colorful studio setting, with prices displayed.

“I’m gonna make this a Happy New Year for you, Albert!”

Contestant and host at game 'Pick a Pair' on The Price is Right, displaying items priced at .59.

Needless to say, Albert kept the chili at $1.59, chose the raisins and was off to Japan faster than you can say “sayonara” courtesy of “Ol’ Santa Claus Barker”.

Tom Kennedy’s syndicated 1985-96, date unknown
A contestant on Tom Kennedy's Price is Right watches products float down on a giant Ferris Wheel in the Pick a Pair game.

To add to the “carnival” theme of the game, a music track of F.W. Meacham’s “American Patrol” being played on calliope was added to the spinning wheel in February, 1985.

S13, May 31 1985
A game show host standing next to a contestant, both smiling in front of a brightly colored game board that features the title 'Pick a Pair' with illuminated lights.

Within a few months after that, the set got a sky blue motif, which remains the game’s main color to this day.

S16, Oct 15, 1987
A contestant interacts with the host on the set of a game show, with colorful backdrops and a pricing display showing values like .49 and .35.

As festive as the carnival theme was, by 1988 the show could no longer justify the extra time the Ferris wheel set added to the game’s playings. Pick a Pair was removed from the rotation for retooling in October of that year.

S19, Dec 11 1990
A host and a contestant are engaged in a game show called 'Pick a Pair,' featuring colorful set design and illuminated letters.

Nearly two years later in September 1990, Pick a Pair (now Pick-a-Pair) made its triumphant return with a new table set that allowed all six grocery items to be shown at once.

Game board for Pick-a-Pair featuring grocery items and their prices.

The table uses rising platforms to reveal the prices. Bertha chose the dessert first, which was $2.99.

A colorful game show set displaying the title 'Pick-a-Pair' with a selection of grocery items and their prices, including .99 for dessert.

She then chose the detergent, which was…

Colorful game set for 'Pick-a-Pair' featuring grocery items with their prices displayed, including dessert and gravies.

…$2.99! Quick and easy! It didn’t take long for Pick-a-Pair to become a dependable game for the staff whenever they needed a fast grocery game to fill out a lineup.

S22, Jan 11 1994
Colorful display of the 'Pick-a-Pair' game featuring grocery items: Soap, Candy, Laundry, Honey, and Raisins with their respective prices.

The design was simplified not too long after, removing some light bulbs and white bordering. Here, Shawn will need his second chance.

A contestant enthusiastically gestures while playing Pick-a-Pair on The Price is Right, wearing a black and white checkered shirt.

He decides to forgo the lotion and stick with the drink mix.

Display showing grocery items and their prices for the game 'Pick a Pair'. Items include 'Soap' priced at .89, 'Candy', and 'Drink Mix' priced at .39.

No soap. A pair was not picked.

Game setup for 'Pick-a-Pair' featuring items like soap, candy, honey, and lotion, with prices displayed.

Turns out the drink mix was mates with the dates.

S37, May 6 2009
A contestant and the host standing in front of the Pick a Pair game set on The Price is Right, featuring colorful signage and grocery items displayed.

Martin is a dance instructor, and his friends from his studio are in the audience, so Drew makes a bet with him. “If you win, we’ll have some of your folks come up here and dance with you, OK?”

A group of dancers onstage dancing with each other on the set of The Price is Right after winning Pick a Pair.

Promises made, promises kept!

S38, Feb 12 2010
A game show host stands on stage in a red dress, with a colorful backdrop, while a screen displays 'HERSHEY PENNSYLVANIA' alongside a family at a dining table.

Pick-a-Pair became a sweet Valentine’s day favorite. Gisette and Joseph can win a couple’s retreat to Hershey Park!

A colorful game setup for 'Pick-a-Pair' featuring various grocery items including candy and syrup, with the highlighted price of peanut butter at .99.

Naturally, all the products used in the game were Hershey products.

S41, Dec 18 2012
A contestant and host interact in front of the colorful 'Pick a Pair' game setup featuring various grocery items with prices listed.

For the High Definition Era, Pick-a-Pair’s set got a little extra trimming in December 2012.

S42, Feb 14 2014
The Pick-a-Pair game set featuring colorful hearts and grocery item labels including cereal, soup, candy, relish, soda, and foil pans.

Awwww! For today’s Valentine’s Day Engaged Couples special episode, candy heart graphics were added to the set. The game also used romance-themed grocery products.

S48, Oct 3 2019
A contestant and host stand in front of the Pick a Pair game set featuring grocery items like Texas Toast, Lemonade, Baking Spray, Candle, Bisque, and Bubble Gum, with a colorful sign above.

One running gag Drew developed to explain the game is to point out game producer Chris Donnan and tell the contestant to imagine him in a grocery store.

Producer Chris Donnan wearing headphones smiles while playing the Pick a Pair game on a colorful set with a green backdrop.

“He found a pair of two items with the exact same price… and then he found a second pair… and then a third pair…”

S48, Jan 22 2020
Alana Haim and her sisters celebrate in front of a display showing 'PORTUGAL' with a scenic image, while wearing stylish outfits.

Today’s guest on Music Week are the sisters from the band HAIM. They’ll be cheering Amour on as he plays for a trip to Portugal.

A colorful game display for 'Pick-a-Pair' featuring various grocery items with their prices. Items include pizza, rice chips, hot cereal, cleaner, coffee pods, and chicken nuggets, all participating in a pricing game.

Licorice Pizza? No, it was coffee pods & pizza!

S51, Apr 11 2023
A contestant celebrating a win with the host on the game show 'The Price is Right' during the 'Pick a Pair' segment, featuring grocery items displayed with their prices.

$12.99 is among the most expensive pairs ever picked.

S40, Mar 21 2012
Two contestants express excitement while playing a game on a brightly colored set.

Pick-a-Pair has become the go-to game to play for Twin Days, from Amy and Charleen winning a pair of Scion IQs…

S50, Apr 18 2022
Two contestants celebrate while a host presents the Pick-a-Pair game setup on The Price is Right, featuring grocery items and their prices displayed.

…to Ashlyn and Kayden splitting $10,000…

S51, Sept 30 2022
Two cars, one blue and one red, are displayed on a game show set with a smiling host in a sparkling dress, while contestants prepare to participate.

…to Maximilian and Nicholas winning a pair of Kia Fortes!

S53, Mar 7 2025
Models celebrate in front of a large display featuring the prize amount of ,000 on The Price is Right set.

Pick-a-Pair also became a popular game to be played on 2025’s “Payday Fridays”, because it was relatively quick and could easily be adapted for cash prizes.

Game board for Pick-a-Pair featuring grocery items: Pickled Beets, Candy, Muffin Mix, Hair Dye, Beef Stew, and Soap, with prices displayed for matching.

Muffin Mix + Beef Stew = $15,000!

Page by Alfonzo & Gamesurf