Pocket ¢hange is a game similar to Lucky $even except how far the contestant misses a number does not apply here, instead having the starting cost at 25¢ and inflating by that amount with every mistake.
Gameplay
- The contestant is given 25¢, the "selling" price of a car. The contestant is also shown a game board, which has spaces for the five digits in the actual price of the car and six digits lit up in circles above.
- The first digit in the price is revealed for the contestant and removed from the six above. The contestant is asked to select one of the remaining digits as the second digit in the price of the car. If they are correct, the digit is revealed in the price and removed from the six above. The contestant also receives their choice of one of 20 pouches attached to the game board, which contain various amounts of change. If their guess is incorrect, however, the selling price of the car is increased by 25¢ and they must guess again with the same consequences.
- Play continues this way for each of the remaining digits in the actual price. Once the price of the car has been guessed, the contents of the contestant's pouches are revealed one at a time to see if the contestant has earned enough money to buy the car at the final selling price. If the contestant has guessed all five digits correctly without a mistake, the selling price will have remained at the initial 25¢ and the game is automatically won.
- The distribution chart for the different amounts of change, which is displayed at the bottom of the game board, is as follows:
| Amount | Frequency |
|---|---|
| .00 | 2 |
| .05 | 4 |
| .10 | 5 |
| .25 | 4 |
| .50 | 3 |
| .75 | 1 |
| 2.00 | 1 |
- The highest possible selling price for the car would be $2.75, with four incorrect guesses allowed on the second number, three on the third, two on the fourth, and one on the last. If the selling price reaches this amount, it is impossible to win the game without choosing the $2.00 slip. The player would have to choose an envelope that had $2.00 and one that had 75¢ or 50¢ to add the starting point of 25¢ to win the game the hard way. In the case of the first playing, the highest possible selling price is $4.00, with five additional misses.
History
- Pocket ¢hange was created by producer Roger Dobkowitz and debuted on January 10, 2005 (#3121K).
- In the first playing of Pocket ¢hange, the first digit was not given at the outset; the contestant had to select it from the board, just like the other four digits in the car's price. However, the contestant received an additional pouch when they guessed that first digit correctly.
The change distribution was also slightly different, as shown below:
| Amount | Frequency |
|---|---|
| .00 | 3 |
| .05 | 5 |
| .10 | 5 |
| .25 | 4 |
| .50 | 2 |
| 2.00 | 1 |
- From January 17, 2005 (#3131K, the day it was first won) through an unknown point before February 7, 2007 (#3873K), the distribution was as follows:
| Amount | Frequency |
|---|---|
| .00 | 3 |
| .05 | 3 |
| .10 | 6 |
| .25 | 4 |
| .50 | 2 |
| .75 | 1 |
| 2.00 | 1 |
- Under Bob Barker's tenure, the game was played perfectly 3 times (March 4, 2005, #3195K, April 6, 2005, #3233K, and May 30, 2005, #3301K). Under Drew Carey's tenure, the game was played perfectly only once (May 28, 2009, #4774K).
- $2.00 Pouch was found 13 times in this game.
- Pocket Change has been won 74 times. The most recent win was on June 22, 2017 (#7994K).
- Pocket Change was played once on the primetime version of the show, which was the May 14, 2008 (#032SP, aired out of order on May 7) Million Dollar Spectular, but it was lost.
Trivia
- Just like 3 Strikes and sometimes Any Number & Golden Road, there can't be any repeating numbers in this game.
- The most number of times this game was played in any season was 16.
Pictures
Here's a perfect playing of Pocket Change.
Here's another.
Just for kicks, the display put up the 25¢ she got.
And right down here is the display that shows the frequency of the envelopes.
YouTube Videos
Pocket ¢hange premiere (January 10, 2005, #3121K)
Dustie's Pocket Change Comeback (November 21, 2005, #3421K) Note: Start the video at 3:45 & end the video at 7:52.
Perfect Pocket Change From Drew Carey Era (May 28, 2009, #4774K)