Punch a Bunch

Encyclopedia : P : PU : PUN : Punch a Bunch

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Punch a Bunch (also occasionally, if incorrectly, known as Punchboard) is a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. It is played for a cash prize of up to $10,000, and uses small prizes.

Gameplay

This game is played in two parts.

In the first part, the contestant is shown four small prizes, one at a time. Each prize has an incorrect price with it; he had to determine whether the correct price is higher or lower. A right answer wins the prize and earns the player one punch on a 50-hole punchboard.

After all four prize questions are played, the contestant punches out the number of holes in the Punchboard that he earned. Each hole contains a slip with a money amount written on it.

One at a time, host Bob Barker removes each slip from its hole (in the order they were punched) and reveals to the contestant what is written on it; that amount is what he has provisionally won. The contestant then decides whether to keep that cash amount or give it back and see what the next slip contains; usually, the contestant will decide on the latter option if it is a smaller cash prize.

Should the contestant pass up the cash amounts on any previous holes, he automatically receives the amount stated on the last slip drawn.

The values on the Punchboard, and their distribution, are as follows:

• $50 (10 holes).
• $100 (10 holes).
• $250 (10 holes).
• $500 (10 holes).
• $1,000 (5 holes).
• $5,000 (3 holes).
• $10,000 (2 holes).

The idea is to win the $10,000, although plenty of contestants are satisfied winning $5,000. The only way to win nothing in this game is to be incorrect about all four prize questions (since they would not have earned any punches).

Four slips – one each of the lowest four values ($50, $100, $250, and $500) – also have the words "Second Chance" written on them, entitling the contestant to punch out another hole. The amount on the slip from the new hole is combined with the "Second Chance" slip, and the player can then risk this combined total to look in the next hole. This means that a win of more than $10,000 is possible, as has happened several times (last on March 24, 2004, when a contestant won $10,050). The most money won by a contestant in this game was $10,500.

Rule changes

Original 1978 rules

Punch a Bunch was first played in 1978, and had somewhat different rules in its earliest playings.

After each small prize question was played, the contestant punched out two holes, as thus:

• One hole in the top row, which spelled out the word "PUNCHBOARD." Each hole contained slips with the numbers "1" through "10" written on them.
• One hole in the big field of 50 holes, whose slips revealed a multiplier. Those slips could say "Dollars" (20 holes), "Hundred" (20 holes), or "Thousand" (10 holes).

The two amounts were multiplied and became the contestant's winnings (e.g., a "5" slip and a "Hundred" multiplier slip meant the contestant won $500). The contestant could keep the cash prize, or give it back and play another prize question with one of the three remaining gifts. The contestant had to keep what was shown on the last draw, that is unless he opted for a fourth draw and incorrectly answered the prize question, in which case he won nothing.

Primetime specials

As of Season 30's Military Specials, Punch a Bunch's top prize in primetime is $25,000. The "Second Chance" slips are not used, and the frequency is thus:

• $100 (15 holes).
• $500 (15 holes).
• $1,000 (15 holes).
• $5,000 (3 holes).
• $25,000 (2 holes).

Despite not having been played many times on the recent specials, Punch a Bunch has been won on them.

Trivia

• The original "PUNCHBOARD" holes that were part of the original Punch a Bunch set remained in place until the current set was unveiled in 1996, even though they no longer had any purpose after the original format was abandoned. The "PUNCHBOARD" holes were more prominent on camera than the game's actual logo (which, due to its size, was nearly always slightly out of frame); this, combined with Bob not always referring to the game by name, led many viewers to believe that the game was actually called "Punchboard." The game is still occasionally called this in some fan circles; however, its official name is and always has been Punch a Bunch.

• Even though the announced grand prize is $10,000, the largest possible payout is $10,900. This can be accomplished by the contestant punching out a "Second Chance" slip, immediately punching the three remaining "Second Chance" slips, and then a $10,000 slip right after the last one. The odds of this happening, depending on the number and order of punches, are anywhere from 3,834,847:1 - 5,262,900:1. Several contestants over the years have actually won more than $10,000, although no one has ever found multiple "Second Chance" slips before finding the big prize. The most won is $10,500.

• The most celebrated win in Punch a Bunch's history came in 1996 (before the set change). A contestant named Bryan had won three punches, and the second slip drawn was $5,000. Instead of taking the prize, which virtually any other contestant would do, he decided to give back the prize and go for broke. Bob drew the slip and played the moment for all it was worth before showing the contestant the prize of $10,000.

• On one occasion, a contestant punched out a hole only to discover that there was no slip in it. As there was no way to quickly determine what amount it was supposed to contain, Bob simply awarded her $10,000.[link]

See also

• The Price Is Right
  
• List of The Price Is Right pricing games

 

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