‘The Price Is Right’ Fans Demand Removal of Game That’s ‘Too Hard’ & ‘Not Fun’

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Every episode of The Price is Right features an undisclosed assortment of games, and that variety is part of the appeal. But fans are offering their two cents about the “3 Strikes” game, which they claim is “not fun” after 14 players lost consecutively with no winner in a staggering three years.

For those unfamiliar, “3 Strikes” is a pricing game that debuted on TPIR on February 12, 1976. In it, contestants can win a brand-new luxury car by correctly guessing its price. The contestant is shown eight baseballs: five white ones with non-repeating numbers on them, each representing one of the five numbers in the car’s price. There are also three red “strike” balls with an X on them.

After all eight balls are shuffled into a rotating drum, the contestant blindly draws a ball from the bag. If they pick a numbered ball, they must correctly put it in the right position of the car’s total price. If they’re right, the ball is discarded, and the digit is lit up in the price display. But if they’re wrong, the ball goes back into rotation. However, if the contestant draws a red ball with a strike, a foghorn sounds instead, and an X marker is lit on the board before the ball is discarded. If the contestant draws three strike balls, the game ends.

On Monday, November 18’s episode a player bombed out with zero correct guesses and gave a big thumbs down mid-way (above) looking frustrated. She sarcastically told Drew Carey, “I love your positivity!” as she floundered. After she lost, Carey exclaimed, “That was a rough one” and the audience fell silent.

After it aired, a fan started a discussion in the TPIR Reddit forum, arguing that the segment is “too hard” and others agreed.

“3 Strikes is not a fun game,” the fan titled the post. The user continued, “Every time the contestant pulls a strike Drew says it’s good because there’s one less strike to worry about. That’s specious reasoning and it annoys me so much. Today the contestant even said ‘I love your positivity’ to Drew. I like to think she meant it sarcastically. This game is just way too hard. Sure, it’s played for a very expensive car, but the odds are so low and it’s based mostly on luck. I get annoyed every time it’s played. Does anyone know the winning statistics on this game?”

Another fan replied, “I don’t have the exact stats but there was a period of time where someone only won once in 6 years during a particularly bad drought. I can also say that, even if you play perfectly and guess all 5 digits correctly as you pull them out, your odds of winning that game are 37.5%. So even a perfect play will only win 1/3 of the time. I put ‘3 Strikes,’ ‘That’s Too Much’, and the dollar game in the same grouping as barely winnable games. At least 3 Strikes is always for an expensive vehicle, I guess.”

“I legitimately can’t remember the last time I saw a player get more than 1, maybe 2 numbers before striking out so I’m not a fan of this game either lol,” wrote a third.

“Not much of a spoiler but surprise, she got zero numbers,” wrote a fourth about Monday’s episode.

“As soon as I saw that game, I knew she would lose,” wrote a fifth. “It’s the “F*** you contestant, you’re not getting a car” game.

“I despise 3 strikes. Way too much luck involved,” wrote a sixth.

“It would be nice to be able to buy another chance with a pricing game after 2 strikes and call it a “foul tip” with a successful price,” wrote a seventh.

“And it takes forever to lose. Just a long, annoying, slim chance to win game,” wrote an additional fan.

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