Press Your Luck

Three contestants one a returning champion competed in this game of strategy. The game consisted of two rounds, each with two parts. In the first part of each round, host Tomarken read a toss-up question; the first to signal is given a chance to answer. That response, plus two other possible answers are then listed, with the other two contestant then given a chance to choose from the three listed answers. A correct answer earned the first contestant three spins and his/her opponents one spin each. Four such questions were played; the players used the spins to accumulate cash and prizes on an 18-space board. One contestant at a time is in control of the board; he/she stopped a randomly-flashing cursor by pressing his signal device (and usually the scream "STOP!"). The contestant wins whatever appears in the lit space a cash amount, a prize, perhaps an extra spin or other action space ... or it could be a Whammy, which caused the contestant to lose all he/she had accumulated in that game. The Whammy was an animated devil who starred in the sequences, which played when a contestant lost his winnings. As long as a contestant is in control of the board, he/she can continue to press their luck and possibly lose their accumulated winnings on the next spin or elect to pass his/her remaining spins to an opponent (the leader or the player in second place, depending on who passes), meaning he/she must use those spins. Any player who lands on four whammies is eliminated from the game; the high scorer after two rounds is the winner and returns. Only the winner keeps what he/she had won; a player continued until winning five shows, until defeated or winning $25,000 (later $50,000, then the winnings limit at CBS). The most famous contestant on "Press Your Luck" was Michael Larson, who memorized the flashing patterns of the gameboard cursor. Putting his knowledge to use, he racked $110,000 in cash and prizes during his 1984 appearance on the show (which was broken into a two-part show); the game was soon redesigned by the producers to prevent future fortune-hunting gameplay. For years, "Press Your Luck" reruns aired on the USA Network; Game Show Network was scheduled to begin airing reruns of the show starting in September 2001. "Press Your Luck" was based on the 1977 game show, "Second Chance," which was largely identical to the later game show.