1/10/05 - Present
Pocket Change is a car game that mixes elements of Temptation, Lucky Seven, and, of all things, Professor Price. The contestant is given 25 cents at the beginning of the game, which is also the beginning "cost" of the car. The contestant is then shown six numbers, five of which are in the actual price of the car (no digits are repeated). S/he must guess where each digit of the car goes, one at a time, starting with the first digit. If s/he is right, he gets to pick one of 20 envelopes that contains a value as little as 0 cents up to $2.00. Each time s/he is wrong, the "cost" of the car increases by a quarter, up to 50 cents, 75 cents and so on.
After the contestant has placed all the digits in the car, the amount of change earned from the envelopes, in addition to the quarter the contestant starts the game with, is added up. If this amount is equal to or exceeds the final "cost" of the car, the contestant wins. If it less, s/he loses.
With the exception of Professor Price, this is the only game in which the price of the car is revealed before the game is actually over. Pocket Change will probably grow on viewers due to its unique nature, but it has some things working against it, namely its complicated rules and long game length.
The three envelopes that contain the $2.00 amounts seem to really function as instant win cards, since a contestant would have to seriously bungle his way through the game to raise the "cost" of the car over $2.00.
Beginning with the second playing of the game, the first number of the car was given free, and the number of envelope grabs was therefore reduced to 4 from 5.
Pocket Change was the first new game of the 33rd season.
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| Empty out the couch cushions...it's time to play Pocket Change! | The "cost" of the car starts at 25 cents. |
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| Here's a closeup of the Pocket Change board. Five of these numbers are in the car, one of them is not. | He correctly guesses the first number in the car... |
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| But he misses the second one, which raises the cost of the car to 50 cents. | Now he's placed all the numbers in the car, whose cost is up to $1.00. |
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| One of the five envelopes he's picked has a dime... | ...but he totals only 80 cents, which isn't enough to buy the car. |