1978 - Present
Punch-a-Bunch was the first pricing game to offer an all-cash award and still sees frequent play to this date. Most viewers of this classic game don't realize that, early in its existence, the game featured different rules. In the initial setup of the game, the contestants played the 4 small prizes one at a time, guessing if the stated price is higher or lower than the actual price. If the contestant guessed the price right, s/he would punch one of the letters in the word PUNCH BOARD at the top of the game. These letters featured the numbers 1-10 one time each. This number represented the first number(s) in the cash price for the player. The contestant would then punch one of the 50 holes on the bottom of the board, which included 20 slips that said "DOLLARS", 20 slips that said "HUNDRED", and 10 slips that said "THOUSAND". So if a contestant got a 2 from the letters in PUNCH BOARD and then a slip that said "HUNDRED", s/he would have $200. The contestant could then keep that amount or give it back and play one of the remaining small prizes. This rule structure was convoluted and led to the potential unsavory result of "10 hundred".
Shortly after this point, the game rules were restructured to the much more familiar format still played today. The game starts by a contestant bidding on four small items. For each item, the contestant will see a false price and must guess if the actual price is higher or lower. For each correct guess, the contestant earns a punch on the Punch Board. The Punch Board is a board of 50 holes that conceal slips with money amounts on them. Slips ranging from $50 to $10,000 are hidden in the 50 holes. The contestant can still earn up to four punches. After Bob shows the contestant the dollar amount s/he has earned with the first hole, s/he can take it and quit or pass it up for and look at the next hole s/he selected. This continues until all the earned holes are shown. If the contestant passes up on all the earlier slips, s/he is stuck with the last one Bob pulls out.
Four slips on the board are amounts ranging from $50 - $500 with the word "Second Chance." Should a contestant find one of these slips, the contestant punches another hole, and the two slips are added together. The contestant can then take this combined amount or risk it for one of the other holes s/he originally punched. This makes a $10,500 win technically possible. The frequency of slips is shown in one of the pictures below. Only two of the holes contain $10,000 slips.
Perhaps the most noteworthy moment in the history of this game was a 1996 contestant who earned $5000 with his second punch. In a move unheard of on the show, he risked it to try for $10,000 on his next punch. Bob nearly had a heart attack, but the contestant's hunch was right, and he won $10,000 with his next punch.
Confusion over the name of this game exists. The first board (see below) listed the words Punch-a-Bunch along with "PUNCH BOARD" (for the failed first format of the game). When the set changed in 1995, only Punch-a-Bunch was listed at the top of the board. However, Bob always tells contestants that they "can win $10,000 on the Punch Board," so both names are acceptable.
The military nighttime specials in 2002 as well as the $1,000,000 Spectacular Specials from 2003 offered a $25,000 top prize. The 1st $1,000,000 Spectacular Special featured a $25,000 win. In this setup, 2 $25,000 Prizes are on the board, and no Second Chances are in the game.
Set Changes: The Punch-a-Bunch sign was originally green and red and became yellow at some point. The border around the board was originally yellow and blue. In 1995 the border was completely revamped with a hip pink/multi-colored motif. This revamp of the board also included a similar revamp of the podiums containing the small prizes the contestant bids on to earn punches. The novelty $10,000 bill containing Bob's picture has been updated from black and white and once again to reflect the graying of Bob's hair. The slips with the dollars amounts went from white to yellow and blue at some point.
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| A chance to win cash on The Price is Right? Who would've thunk it? | Here's the first Punch-a-Bunch sign. I liked these colors better than the all-yellow version. |
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| In Bob we trust. | Here's the prize podiums from the original set, along with the lovely Holly! |
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| This woman may have gray hair, but she's got one heckuva right hook. If you look close you can see that the Punch-a-Bunch sign is yellow now. | Here's the frequency of the dollar slips on the Punch Board. Only 2 $10,000 slips makes a big win that much more exciting. |
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| This is NOT a big win... | ...but this is! And this woman won this after earning just one punch! The odds are 24:1 against that! |
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| Here's the current Punch-a-Bunch setup. Snazzy! | In Bob we trust, part two. |
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| Here are the current prize podiums, a radical departure from the originals. | This contestant earned a punch by guessing that this paper shredder was not $60. |
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| Wow, another good right hook! | But it only netted her $250. Bob looks truly disappointed here. |
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| The special gigantic $25,000 check, from the Air Force nighttime special in 2002. | What a big win! From the 1st $1,000,000 Spectacular Special in 2003. |