This game is the direct opposite of Credit Card.
Gameplay
- The contestant is given a specified amount - usually between $3,000 and $5,000 - and is shown four prizes. One at a time, they must select the three items whose prices will total more than the given amount to win all four prizes.
- Shopping Spree is the logical antithesis of Credit Card, as the object is to spend at least the given amount. Furthermore, the simplified objective of the game is to choose the three most expensive items (whereas in Credit Card, the goal is to choose the three least expensive items). Shopping Spree also bears similarity to Danger Price in which one prize out of four is to be avoided—in Shopping Spree, it's the least expensive item; in Danger Price, it's the item that matches the danger price.
History
- Originally, the minimum total required to win was displayed on an orange lighted seven-segment display, and the larger green seven-segment display showed how much money had been spent. On the game's third playing, on February 16, 1996 (#9855D, aired out of order on February 15), the orange display for the goal has been replaced with a black-on-orange placard, and the green display now shows how much money is left to spend. If the game is won, though, the green readout will display the winning total of the three prizes chosen. The fact is it was hardly shown onscreen.
- On April 8, 1996 (#9931D), the game's 10th playing, an error was made when the game was impossible to lose.
- On November 25, 2008 (#4522K, aired out of order on November 18, 2008), the game had been taken out of the rotation, but returned on October 13, 2009 (#4862K).
- On March 7, 2013 (#6254K), a contestant named Vivianna Ceballos Riviera won a $20,000 bonus for being the first person on stage to win their pricing game during PCH week. It was played in the first slot.
- The losing horns were not played on June 5, 2014 (#6774K, aired out of order on June 12).
- On January 3, 2017 (#7752K), contestant Chelsea Woerle won a $20,000 bonus for being the first person on stage to win their pricing game during Publishers Clearing House week. It was played in the first slot.
- The game has not been played since October 2, 2017 (#8031K, aired out of order on October 23 after most of the show was pre-empted in the East Coast due to the coverage of the Las Vegas shooting).
Trivia
- 3 of the 4 prizes are over $1,000 with the one remaining being below $1,000.
- 3 of the 4 prizes has to be over $1,000.
- 1 of the 4 prizes in this game has to be less than $1,000.
- More than 90% of the time, there are indeed 3 prizes priced over $1,000. Sometimes, there were only 2 prizes that are over $1,000 and the other 2 being less than $1,000, making winning the game a little more difficult.
- The most number of times this game was played in any season was 17.
Gallery
The short-lived orange vane display from 1996.
The Shopping Spree set as it looks today.