The Phone Home Game
The first, and so far, only co-operative game on The Price is Right that was played for a shared $15,000. Not to be confused with the previously retired Telephone Game.
A studio contestant is shown seven grocery items while an at-home contestant (playing via telephone) has a list of those products plus the price. The at-home contestant gives a price and the studio contestant must match the item with the price to win the money amount attached to the item. After three turns both contestants evenly split any money that was won.
The producers of the show had high hopes for the game, but it didn’t catch on as well as the other cash games in the rotation and was eventually retired.
S12, September 12 1983 – S18, November 3 1989
Likely created by Frank Wayne
CBS Plug for The Price is Right (1), Sept 1983
In what was a first for The Price is Right, a pricing game was advertised and shown before its debut! To generate excitement (and postcard entries) for the new game a commercial plug was aired before its first playing.
In this plug Bob mentions the game will be only played in the first half of the show. This was done to ensure that the contestant playing at home didn’t have to wait too long a time on the line to play the game… and, naturally, to help boost viewership for the first half hour.
CBS Plug for The Price is Right (2), Sept 1983
Here, a week before the season premiere, Bob tells viewers to watch its debut Monday, September 12th.
S12, Sept 12 1983
Sure enough, on that day Debra won her Item Up for Bids, and Bob announced that she’ll be the first to play The Phone Home Game…
…for a chance to share up to $15,000!!!
Bob walks Debra backstage to the Phone Home phone, where she’ll meet her at-home partner whose postcard was randomly selected before the show, Violet Lawless of Detroit, MI.
Bob has Debra and Violet talk to each other, and the two partners are already getting cordial, even discussing the weather!
Bob shows Debra the main board, which shows seven grocery products. To the left are blue doors the have the prices of each product behind them. To the right are red doors with various amounts behind them ranging from $200 to $10,000.
He then explains that Violet will give Debra a price of a product from a list the producers gave her before the show. Debra will need to match the product with Violet’s price in order to win a cash amount connected to the product. This will go for a total of three rounds.
Before they start, Bob wanted to reiterate to Violet that she was told not to give the name of a product, or that turn will be lost.
Violet challenges Debra to match the price of 89 cents, and Debra chooses the candy.
No, it was $1.07.
It was the stuffing mix that was 89 cents. Debra’s wrong answer removes both items from play.
Things aren’t going well with the second item, either. Violet says $3.00, and Debra guesses the capsules which are $2.50. The cleaner is $3.00 and it and the capsules are also now out of play.
The situation is dire, and Holly is crossing her fingers that the game isn’t completely blanked on its first playing after so much build-up!
For her last price, Violet says $1.59, and Debra guesses the pizza mix. Fortunately, she’s right and the game is saved!
Bob opens the red door next to the pizza mix to show that Debra and Violet will share…
…$1,000, giving them each $500. Not a bad way to kick off a game.
Debra and Violet are both very satisfied.
To show how times have changed, here’s the information viewers had to send to the production company on a postcard…including their social security number! (Licensed reruns edited parts of the original broadcast that explained the complete rules.)
S12, Sept 19 1983
The day before the Phone Home Game was to be played, Bob reminded viewers to tune in tomorrow in the first half because “YOU may have a chance to participate!” Of course, this was a little white lie; the episode had been taped weeks in advance and the phone call had already been made.
S12, Sept 16 1983
Christine and Ben fared much better. They made all three matches, and split $6,000!
The board hid two $200 prizes, two $1,000 prizes, and one each of $2,000, $3,000, and $10,000.
S12, Oct 20, 1983
Jeanette’s at-home partner, Hazel, made a critical error for her second item: She said “Borateem” instead of giving a price. They lose their second turn, and the brightner is eliminated from play. Let’s hope the $10,000 wasn’t with it!
They ended up winning two items. With the gum they receive…
$3,000, the second highest money amount in the game! Now let’s see what’s behind the popcorn…
Ten thousand dollars!!!
They split $13,000 and finish with $6,500 apiece!
All is forgiven, Hazel!
They’ve correctly matched all three items…
…and won max money! FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!
They are the first two contestants to take the full $7,500 apiece!
Leslie and Penny are VERY happy for each other!
S14, Apr 17, 1986
Carol and her at-home partner Ruby also won it all. They are serenaded with a graphic to show their complete win.
S16, Jun 2 1988
While Bob is explaining the rules to Micah’s at-home partner, Anita, he asks her if she knew the highest denomination prize on the board. Anita thought he said “price” and says $9.99, but Bob meant the $10,000. No harm, no foul since she didn’t say a product.
In fact, she uses $9.99 for her second item, but Micah incorrectly guesses the lotion. It was actually the artificial nails.
The duo end with two items, and splitting $5,000 in cash.
Bob checks the artificial nails to see if they could have won an additional $10,000 and…AGONY!!!
Micah and Anita were just short of perfection!
S11, Nov 14 1983
The Phone Home Game was not the first–or only–contest offering viewers a chance to win from home. A “Home Viewer Showcase” was also offered at various points in Bob’s first 18 seasons, inviting contestants to mail in postcards with bids on a lavish showcase to be awarded to the closest without going over. The Phone Home Game would go on hiatus when these contests were offered.
Bill Cullen’s Price is Right, S5, Apr 26 1961 (primetime)
The practice originated on the original Price is Right with Bill Cullen, which attracted so many postcards that “hundreds of housewives in Queens” had to be employed to go through them all!
S15, Jan 14 1987
Another contest from the late 80’s was “Play Along”, where a designated pricing game or Showcase Showdown would award prizes to a home viewer and the onstage contestant if won. To avoid confusion The Phone Home Game was never used for Play Along.
At least we get to see a rare shot of the table that holds the seven grocery items.
What’s even rarer? A $15,000 win! David and his at-home partner, Margaret, are each getting $7,500! Proof positive it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish!
S17, May 18 1989
By the end of the 1980s, The Phone Home Game was about to hit a busy signal. The popularity of the game had waned compared to the other cash games, and the extra time it took didn’t help matters.
But the biggest knock against The Phone Home Game was that aside from the one being called, it simply wasn’t exciting enough for most viewers to merit the resources it required.
S18, Apr 23 1990
The Phone Home Game was disconnected after November 1989. It was around this time that TPIR also ceased their Home Viewer Showcase (May 1990) and Play Along (March 1988) games; perhaps they felt that the effort to process thousands of postcards was no longer worthwhile.
S14, Apr 24, 1986
Did these giveaways succeed in boosting viewership? The Price is Right did become the #1 daytime game show by the end of the 80s… however, the first half hour’s ratings never quite saw the boost they wanted, and there isn’t much evidence these “win at home” contests were what affected the ratings.
- Call back to the year 1983 at the Tiny Timeline
- Dial into The Price is Right’s other, less successful game about making a phone call, Telephone Game
- Make a connection with other games played for cash like Plinko, Punch a Bunch, and It’s In The Bag
- Free entry for the Golden-Road FAQ article on The Phone Home Game… no purchase necessary, no postcard required!
- Return to “Golden Game Gallery“
Golden-Gallery.net 