1980 - Present
Now...and Then is a game played with grocery items. A contestant is shown six grocery items and is asked to identify whether the given price for the item is the current price of the item or rather the price of the item at a specific time in the past. If the contestant can correctly identify three adjoining items on the circular board, s/he wins a bonus prize. If incorrect answers make three in a row impossible, the game is over. A contestant can technically miss three items and still win the game; however, depending on the location of the item the contestant chooses, two incorrect answers often doom a contestant. The specific time in the past that the contestant is given as the "THEN" period is a month and year, usually 3-6 years prior to tape date.
One obvious strategy that fails some contestants is that at least one of the items on the board didn't exist back in the "THEN" period. In fact, this product (or products) will often have the word "NEW" emblazoned somewhere on the box. That's definitely a sign that it's a "NOW" choice.
Name Change: Probably the pickiest name change ever. Some viewer probably sent the show a letter, informing the staff that the contestants are technically making a choice between "NOW" or "THEN" instead of "NOW" and "THEN." For whatever reason, the name was changed in 1986.
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| It's the premiere of Now...and Then back in 1980. | Our contestant must decide whether these products have current prices or April, 1977 prices. |
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| Do you notice that this Cortaid is a NEW product? Could it be "Now"? | Of course it is! Our contestant here was sharp enough to figure that out. |
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| She also knew that the 95 cent price on this Borateem was a "Then" price. She nailed all three in a row and won the bonus prize. | Thank God they changed the name of the game. I was starting to get worried. Honestly, did anyone care if it was "and" or "or"? |