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3 Strikes is the pricing game with a baseball-like setup played for an expensive car. From 1985 until 1994, it was also briefly known as 3 Strikes + when four or five digit cars were offered in tandem.

Gameplay[]

  • The contestant is shown eight baseballs, five white ones of which have a non-repeating digit representing one of the five numbers in the price of the car, and three red ones that each have an X called a strike. The balls are placed into a rotating drum, designed for blind draw access, and shuffled.
  • The contestant blindly draws a ball from the bag. If they pick a white ball with a number, they must decide which position (spot) that digit belongs (e.g.: "the third digit"). If they are correct, the ball is discarded into a slot in the game board and the digit is lit up in the price display. If they are incorrect, a buzzer will sound and a giant "NO" symbol will be superimposed over the whole screen. However, this does not count as a strike. The ball gets returned to the bag and the contestant draws again. If the contestant draws a red ball with a strike, a foghorn sounds instead, an X marker is lit on the board and that ball is discarded into the slot.
  • The contestant may continue to draw as many times as possible until he or she either correctly place each digit on the spot in the price of the car and win or draws the three strikes and loses the game.

History[]

  • 3 Strikes debuted on February 12, 1976 (#1804D). From the game's inception until April 2, 2018 (#8281K), the numbers were represented with wooden discs in white with the number painted on them in black, while the strikes were red discs with black X's. They were placed in a bag to be mixed up. On October 15, 2018 (#8451K), the game got a new look, based on classic baseball scoreboards, as well as replacing the original discs with baseballs, and the bag with a baseball-shaped rotating drum. Also, the discard slot was made bigger to accommodate the change from using discs to using baseballs.
  • Through the early 1990s, the game was played using both four- and five-digit cars. The first five-digit car offered was a Dodge 400 convertible worth $10,792 on September 19, 1983 (#5001D), but was lost. Except for the first few times it was done, when five-digit cars were offered, the game was known as "3 Strikes +." The + sign was added on January 15, 1985 (#5562D). Even though four-digit cars were no longer used in the game after June 17, 1993 (#8874D), it retained the "3 Strikes +" name until February 10, 1994 (#9074D), although the + sign was absent on January 27, 1994, #9054D, due to being taped out of order.
  • On March 18, 1980 (#3602D), contestant Stacey lost a $5,486 Pontiac by drawing three strikes in three draws, less than a minute into gameplay, becoming the first known contestant to strikeout in the game. This also happened on November 14, 1983 (#5081D), when contestant Rosemarie lost a $6,485 Mazda truck by doing the same thing, where Bob anointed her as "the first contestant in the history of the game to play it that badly," on October 25, 1985 (#5855D) when contestant Rita loses a $8,165 Pontiac, on February 14, 1996 (#9853D), when contestant Glenn lost a $38,694 Cadillac Deville, and on November 21, 2023 (#0382L), when contestant Diana Jeffries lost a $46,235 (although it was left unrevealed) Mercedes GLB 250, but she would become the second contestant to win the Showcase despite wiping out of this pricing game earlier. Regardless, Diana was the first contestant in the history of Drew Carey's career as the host of the show to cause a wipeout in the game.
  • On October 8, 1982 (#4615D), history was made when a contestant named Brenda won a $7,651 Pontiac by drawing every single number in the price in order without drawing a strike or making a single mistake. This happened again on November 26, 1984 (#5501D), when contestant Karen won a $8,762 Pontiac by drawing every single number out without drawing a strike or making a mistake (though not in order). This also happened under the 5-digit format on March 12, 1986 (#6033D), when contestant Heather Nelson won a Chevrolet Corvette priced at $30,789.
  • There were at least six other known occurrences where a contestant lit up all the numbers without drawing a strike: on February 22, 1978 (#2703D), May 14, 1984 (#5331D), October 22, 1987 (#6614D, aired out of order on October 15), June 2, 1999 (#1153K), January 21, 2002 (#2031K), and May 24, 2005 (#3292K). On the fourth occurrence, contestant Melissa won the car with only six draws (making only one mistake) and not drawing the strike even once. On the fifth, contestant Marilyn made a mistake on her first three draws but managed to get five consecutive draws right without drawing a strike.
  • This game was played for the most valuable prize in the history of the daytime version of The Price is Right on April 24, 2013 (#6323K, aired out of order on April 25) as part of the 2013 "Big Money Week:" a Ferrari 458 Spider worth $285,716. For the gameplay, all six windows hid the numbers of the price and a new dollar sign light was added to the outside of the first window. Unfortunately for contestant Therese Cook, not only she as the player of that game, lose the game and therefore the car, she didn't even get a single number right. The playing attracted criticism and backlash from TPiR fans, many of whom said that it was too hard to guess the price with 6 numbers and 3 strikes in the bag. Nearly all who criticized this decision insisted that Golden Road would have been a better game for the Ferrari, even though there was the chance that the contestant would not have made it to the end.
  • The 6-digit 3 Strikes was played again on November 18, 2013 (#6501K, aired out of order on November 22) as part of "Dream Car Week," contestant Richard Thomas got four out of six right before drawing three strikes, the car was a $146,923 Audi R8 Quattro. Unlike the last playing, this playing was more well-received by fans because the price of the Audi R8 was easier to figure out than that of the Ferrari 458, but Richard still lost regardless.
  • The 6-digit 3 Strikes was played a third time on May 15, 2017 (#7941K), on Season 45's Dream Car Week, with only two of the six digits lit up before the game was lost. That time it was played for a $159,081 BMW i8 Protonic Red Edition. It's also worth mentioning that there were indeed two "1" chips in the bag, and either of them could be used to fill in the first or last "1." This is the first and only time that a repeating digit has been in the price of the car on the daytime show.
  • Since December 18, 2018 (#8542K), 3 Strikes has never been the first or second pricing game in the lineup because like games such as Hole in One (or Two), Pathfinder, Pass the Buck, Pocket ¢hange, Balance Game, Stack the Deck, Rat Race, Double Cross, Time is Money, Hot Seat, Gridlock!, Back to '74, or To The Penny, it needs time to start up and the game can be played no earlier than third on the show.
  • Over time, the props used in this game have had additional references to baseball added to them. Three baseballs on the game prop were added on November 9, 1982 (#4662D), and the current bag from which chips are drawn was made to look like a baseball on January 16, 1990 (#7502D). The baseball "NO" graphic (used when the contestant guesses a position incorrectly) was only used from 1998 to 2002, replacing a prior graphic consisting of "NO" inside a black circle that was used from 1986 to 1998, originally, only a buzzer was used. The Davidson version used a different graphic for this situation, which showed a red outline of the selected number window melting off the board and falling to the floor. From 2002 to 2008, the "NO" graphic was simply the word "NO" in large red letters. The current graphic is simply the word "NO" on a large red circle with a slash drawn through it (similar to the "No Smoking" sign). Also, from the game's debut until March 18, 2002 (#2101K), the camera would zoom in on the selected rectangle when a contestant guessed as to the position of the drawn digit.
  • In addition to the changes mentioned above, the 3 Strikes sign went from green to gold by June 24, 1980 (#3742D). By April 11, 1994 (#9161D), the dollar sign tacked onto the side of the board was replaced by a window with a dollar sign, initially using the Price down dollar sign before changing it to the same font used as the numbers soon after, an exception was on April 18, 1994 (#9161D), which still used the gold Price down dollar sign, since the show was taped out of order.
  • In fall 1993, two of the game's digits were updated. The number "2" was updated to have its lower-left slant turn into a skinnier curve and its "tail" on the bottom right became flat. The number "5" was also updated to have a flatter top, with a pointed edge on the middle left side, a plumper curve from the middle right to the bottom, and a pointed curve on the bottom left. The original "2" was still being used on October 21, 1993 (#8934D) and the new number was in place by November 9, 1993 (#8962D). While it is known that the October 28, 1993 (#8944D) episode has a 3 Strikes + playing with a 2 in the car's price, it does not circulate.
  • The game was played five times on the prime time version of the show, the first of which was on May 17, 2002 (#001SP). It was won twice and was lost three times.
  • The most expensive car ever won on this game occurred on October 13, 2016 (#7644K) - a $63,415 Cadillac CT6. The car was won with a total of 16 draws. It was also the first time a 5-digit priced car in the $60,000 range was ever offered on the game (though there were two cars over $100,000 offered on two separate occasions in 2013).
  • In the Bob Barker era, when 3 Strikes was the first pricing game of the day, Bob entered through the audience due to the setup blocking his regular entrance. The same was true for Golden Road, Plinko, or One Away being the first pricing game of the day.
  • The game suffered through a 4-year losing streak that began with a win on October 13, 2016 (#7644K) with contestant Catherine Behm winning a $63,415 Cadillac CT6, but the streak would get broken on January 18, 2021 (#9271K) by contestant Erik Ortiz who won a $46,120 Range Rover Evoque S, only to currently suffer through a second mammoth losing streak starting from that time.
  • The game was played twice in Season 49: December 21, 2020 (#9241K) and January 18, 2021 (#9271K, as stated previously). In both cases, in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines, the slot was not used and instead, a small bucket was placed under the rotating drum. Any baseballs drawn and lit up were discarded in the bucket.
  • 6-digit 3 Strikes was played for the first time on the current set during a primetime episode (#073SP) on January 31, 2024. Interestingly, the dollar sign was not repurposed as the first digit of the car; the board was extended to seven segments to accommodate the six digit price and the dollar sign. Also, the first digit of the car - a $110,395 Maserati Ghibli F Tributo - was given for free, but the car was not won.

Rule changes[]

  • When the game premiered in 1976, cars only had four digits in the price, and therefore a contestant was given four numbered chips and three strike chips. As the prices of cars increased past $10,000, no changes were made to the game to accommodate the extra fifth numeric chip until Season 26.
  • From the game's debut until 1998 (Season 26), three strike chips were placed into the bag at the start of the game. If a contestant drew a strike, a marker was lit on the board and that strike chip was removed from the bag and deposited in the board's discard slot. However, on May 14, 1998 (#0774K), to increase the game's win rate (which had decreased because of the extra fifth digit from using cars priced above $10,000), the rules were changed to place only one strike chip in the bag. If the strike was drawn, it was returned to the bag, the contestant lost if he or she drew it three times.
  • From 1993 to 2008, the game was almost exclusively played for cars between $30,000 and $60,000 - generally luxury cars, sports cars, or full-size SUVs. However, due to the game generally taking longer to play than other pricing games, a rule change was implemented on October 9, 2008 (#4454K, aired out of order on October 1). The change was that three strike chips were used and the first number was provided for free. With this change, the game began offering cars with prices along the lines of those played for in the "standard" car games, instead of using luxury cars. The number of strike chips placed into the bag was three for just the first episode of the new change, as it changed back to three for the next playing on October 29, 2008 (#4483K, aired out of order on October 15). However, the contestant was still given the first digit in the car's price at the start of the game. After this second playing with the rule change, the game was taken out of the pricing game rotation, and wasn't played again until the next season on October 23, 2009 (#4875K), when the game reverted to its pre-1998 rules (five numbered chips, three-strike chips, no free numbers), and once again offered cars between $30,000 and $60,000.

Nighttime appearances[]

  • 3 Strikes was one of five pricing games introduced in the fifth and final nighttime season hosted by Dennis James on episode #158N – the other four being Cliff Hangers, Danger Price, Dice Game, and Hurdles on episodes #157N for both Cliff Hangers and Danger Price, and the latter two premiered on episodes #159N, and #160N, respectively.
  • On The New Price is Right, the first digit in the price was given for free and there were only four number chips in the bag. Other than the aforementioned graphics change outlined above, the game otherwise remained the same.
  • 3 Strikes first appeared on a primetime Barker-era episode on May 17, 2002 (#001SP), during the Price is Right Salutes series of specials.

Suspected cheaters[]

  • On February 28, 1992 (#8325D), a contestant named Toni Quinones had two chips remaining in the bag, a strike, and the last number. She partially drew a chip out of the bag, then quickly put it back in before anyone else could see what it was. A few seconds later, Toni drew the number and won. Although the show's staff has never publicly accused the contestant of cheating, 3 Strikes + was not played again for the remainder of the season. Toni won a Porsche worth $45,789 and then won $11,000 on the wheel and the showcase for a total of $79,845. To watch the full video footage, click on the video link below.
  • Toni wasn't the only contestant who attempted to cheat, as another contestant Julia also attempted to cheat on October 7, 1988 (#6975D). As she began to pull the third strikeout of the bag, she put it back, thinking no one noticed. Bob Barker did notice and chided her for her actions. She pulled the third strike out of the bag on a later draw and subsequently lost the game.
  • For these reasons, by January 16, 1990 (#7502D), a new baseball-shaped bag that was harder to peek into was made for the game to further prevent such cheating. Later in Season 20, on March 23, 1992 (#8361D), the three strike chips were repainted white with a black X to more closely resemble the numeric chips, but were reverted to the red chips with the black X at the start of Season 21 on September 14, 1992 (#8491D). During this time as well, 3 Strikes + was pulled from the pricing game rotation until Season 21, leaving only 4-digit 3 Strikes.
  • On December 18, 2018 (#8542K), contestant Christina appeared to put her second strike ball back in the drum. Drew did notice that it was a strike, and requested that she pull the strike out of the bag legitimately, which she did. She subsequently lost the game on a later draw.

Trivia[]

  • On The Price is Right Decades video game, when the game was loading a trivia fact appears and read that 3 Strikes premiered either on February 11 or 12 of 1976. Stats site www.tpirstats.com states that February 12, 1976 (#1804D) is correct.
  • 3 Strikes is one of only a small number of pricing games where a contestant can know the price of the prize and still lose. Even with a perfect play, the odds of winning under the five digits, three strikes in the bag rules are only 3-in-8, or 37.5%. This corresponds to the odds of drawing all five digits before all three strikes or, in simpler terms, the odds that one of the three strikes would be the last chip pulled out of the bag of eight if the player continued to draw until the bag was empty.
  • The studio audience jeers to the strikes. That action is always given by both Bob and Drew.
  • The most number of times this game was played in any season was 42 (season 5), while the least number of times this game was played in any season was 2 (season 49).
  • Due to its higher payout and longer playtime, the game has been played less than 10 times per season since Season 29. Since Season 50, it is usually played just four times a season.
  • 3 Strikes is the first pricing game to reference baseball, the other two are Squeeze Play and Triple Play, however, of these, only 3 Strikes has a baseball motif.

International versions of 3 Strikes[]

  • Most international versions do not have a baseball motif.
  • On the Mexican version, the game was played with three strikes in the bag throughout the entire run.
  • In the UK, 3 Strikes was played for a three-digit prize on the Leslie Crowther version, one strike was placed in the bag. The Bruce Forsyth version had this game as well, played for a four-digit car, and originally with three strikes in the bag, the one strike in the bag rule was later adopted in this version in 1999.
  • On the French version, it was called "La Main Dans le Sac" ("The Hand in the Bag") as baseball isn't part of French culture, and is played with four digits. A prize, sometimes a car with a child safety seat included, was played with three Xs in the bag. In games where a car with a child seat was included, the player tried to light up the price of the seat and not the car itself.
  • On the Portuguese version, called "3 Vezes" ("3 Times") or "3 XXX," it was played for a four-digit prize. Three strikes were put into the bag.
  • On the Dutch version, it was played for a four-digit prize, usually a trip.
  • On the Chinese version, it was played for a four-digit prize.
  • On the Russian version, called "Chornaya Metka" ("Black Metal") it was played for a six-digit car prize.

Gallery[]

To view the gallery, click here.

YouTube Videos[]

Heather's Perfect 3 Strikes+ (March 12, 1986, #6033D) (Season 14)
Toni wins the Porsche (February 28, 1992, #8325D) (Season 20)
Debra wins 3 Strikes (December 1, 1992, #8602D) (Season 21)
3 Strikes win for a corvette (October 15, 1996, #0092K) (Season 25)
A little faith in the 3 Strikes game (February 11, 1997, #0252K) (Another Season 25)
A Long Playing of 3 Strikes (December 2, 1998, #0923K) (Season 27)
A Great Win of 3 Strikes (December 22, 1999, #1313K) (Season 28)
3 Strikes for a corvette on a $1,000,000 Spectacular (February 5, 2003, #007SP, aired out of order on February 7, originally rescheduled to air on February 19)
Adam wins the 3 Strikes game (December 17, 2003, #2723K) (Season 32)
Perfect Bid & a 3 Strikes Win (October 13, 2004, #3003K) (Season 33)
Stephanie wins the 3 Strikes game (November 16, 2005, #3413K) (Season 34)
A near perfect 3 Strikes playing (September 18, 2006, #3681K) (Season 35)
Marine Firefighter wins 3 Strikes (February 12, 2007, #3881K) (Another Season 35)
John Madden wins 3 Strikes (December 3, 2007, #4111K, aired out of order on November 12) (Season 36)
A 3 Strikes Win from 2011 (February 18, 2011, #5445K) (First Season 39)
3 Strikes Win from Earth Day 2011 (April 22, 2011, #5535K) (Second Season 39)
Another 3 Strikes Win from 2011 (June 3, 2011, #5595K) (Third Season 39)
The first six-digits price car playing 3 Strikes (April 24, 2013, #6323K, aired out of order on April 25)
Only 3 Strikes winner from Season 41 (April 29, 2013, #6331K, aired out of order on March 18) (Season 41)
Only 3 Strikes win from Season 42 (November 5, 2013, #6482K) (Season 42)
The second six-digits price car playing 3 Strikes (November 18, 2013, #6501K, aired out of order on November 22)
A Painful 3 Strikes from Season 42 (June 9, 2014, #6781K, aired out of order on June 2)
A Christmas Miracle from Season 43 (December 23, 2014, #6932K, aired out of order on December 22) (Season 43)
A 3 Strikes Win from Season 44 (September 30, 2015, #7223K, aired out of order on September 28) (Season 44)
The New Look of 3 Strikes! (October 15, 2018, #8451K)
First 3 Strikes Win on Refurbished Set (January 18, 2021, #9271K)
A Wipeout on 3 Strikes (November 21, 2023, #0382L)

1970s Pricing Games
Any Number | Bonus Game | Double Prices | Grocery Game | Bullseye (1) | Clock Game | Double Bullseye | Five Price Tags | Most Expensive | Money Game | Give or Keep | Range Game | Hi Lo | Double Digits | Lucky $even | Temptation | Mystery Price | Shell Game | Card Game | Race Game | Ten Chances | Golden Road | Poker Game | One Right Price | Danger Price | 3 Strikes | Hurdles | Cliff Hangers | Safe Crackers | Dice Game | Bullseye (2) | Switcheroo | Hole in One (or Two) | Squeeze Play | Secret 'X' | Professor Price | Finish Line | Take Two | Shower Game | It's Optional | Punch-A-Bunch | Telephone Game | Penny Ante
Active Pricing Games
Any Number | Bonus Game | Double Prices | Grocery Game | Clock Game | Five Price Tags | Most Expensive | Money Game | Range Game | Hi Lo | Lucky $even | Temptation | Shell Game | Card Game | Race Game | Ten Chances | Golden Road | One Right Price | Danger Price | 3 Strikes | Cliff Hangers | Safe Crackers | Dice Game | Bullseye (2) | Switcheroo | Hole in One (or Two) | Squeeze Play | Secret 'X' | Take Two | Punch-A-Bunch | Bargain Game | Grand Game | Now....or Then | Check Game | Check-Out | Pick-A-Pair | Plinko | Master Key | One Away | Pathfinder | Spelling Bee | Make Your Move | 2 for the Price of 1 | Swap Meet | Pick-A-Number | Switch? | Cover Up | Side by Side | Freeze Frame | Shopping Spree | Eazy as 1-2-3 | It's in the Bag | Line 'Em Up | One Wrong Price | Push Over | Let 'Em Roll | Flip Flop | Triple Play | That's Too Much! | Bonkers | Pass the Buck | Coming or Going | ½ Off | Pocket ¢hange | Balance Game (2) | Stack the Deck | More or Less | Gas Money | Rat Race | Pay the Rent | Double Cross | Do The Math | Time is Money (2) | Vend-O-Price | Hot Seat | Gridlock! | Back to '74 | To The Penny
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