Range Game
One of the “quick” games introduced late in the first season of The Price is Right, and still played frequently to this day.
A prize is shown, along with a scale representing $600 of potential prices. At the bottom of the scale is a $150 red translucent window called the “range finder”. After the host’s cue, the $150 range finder begins slowly moving up the scale. When the contestant believes the red area is covering the price, they hit a button to stop the range’s movement. If the price is within the $150 range, they win!
S1, April 3 1973 – Present
Likely created by Ted Cooper
…playing the debut of Range Game! Today’s scale starts at $200 and ends at $800.
When the game debuted, the range was initially only $50!
The audience begins shouting advice as the range slowly creeps up, and Judi can’t handle the pressure!
And STOP!
If the washer/dryer is between $397 and $447, Judi’s a winner. Actual Price…
…$668. Judi stopped it much too early, unfortunately.
S1, May 8 1973
Winning with a $50 range proved to be faaaar too difficult for most contestants, so the range was quickly increased to $100.
Lucy explains she was going to wait until $450, but the audience spooked her into pressing the button early at $307-$407.
S1, Jun 8 1973
The $100 range was abandoned just as quickly for a $150 range, where it remains today.
Don says STOP…
…and finally, we have a winner!
This three-way splitscreen shot was added to show contestants looking to their friends in the audience. The crowd always gets more and more restless as the range climbs!
Dennis James S5, Dec 1976 (primetime syndicated) and S5, Mar 3 1977
The Range Game set went from blue to green shortly after expansion to an hour, and it’s remained that way for nearly 50 years!
S14, Sep 12 1985
to , with a highlighted green price of 53 on the right.” class=”wp-image-5376″ style=”object-fit:cover” />They’re playing for a car… and Lisa BARELY won! Bob usually makes the final ruling in edge cases like this.
S13, Apr 25 1985
Yikes! The range came off as it was going up! Bob will usually joke that once rangefinder has been stopped, it cannot be started for 37 hours.
Doug Davidson S1, Sep 28 1994 (primetime syndicated)
Rather than use a traditional showcase round, Doug Davidson’s syndicated version had a contestant play a modified Range Game for a single showcase.
The contestant randomly determined a range from $4,000 to $10,000. On close calls Doug had to “guesstimate” whether the ARP was within the range.
S40, Jan 2, 2012
Snoop Dogg is dropping by the show today to give contestant Sidney advice. If Sidney can win the game, Snoop gets an equivalent amount donated to his charity.
Snoop suggests the range for the Harley should travel higher, “around fifteen two…”
Snoop’s patented Range Game strategy: “Stop it in the mizzle!”
Sidney gets a Harley, and the Snoop Youth Football League gets $15,170! Who knew Snoop Dogg knew so much about the Range Game?
S45, Oct 27 2016
A one-time mini range was added for Big Money Week 2016. If the contestant could get the price within $50 orange range, they won a $10,000 bonus.
S48, Dec 31 2019
For New Years Eve 2019, the game was played in reverse! The range started at the top and slowly descended, just like the ball dropping in Times Square,
- Spend 37 hours studying the Golden-Road FAQ article on Range Game
- See how other quick Season 1 games like Clock Game, Double Prices, and Most Expensive scale up
- Explore years in the range of 1973 in the Tiny Timeline
- Return to “Golden Game Gallery“
Golden-Gallery.net 