Card Game

Card Game (also formerly called New Card Game from 1983 until 1984) is a pricing game played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards for a brand new car as well as with a special card deck to determine how close they must come to the car's actual retail price without going over to win it. Since 2014, a background graphic called Welcome to Carey's Card Club, can be seen on a video wall.

Gameplay[]

The goal of Card Game is to make a bid on the car that is within a certain range below the actual price of the car. First, the contestant draws a card from a special deck of seven cards to determine how close they must come to the car's price without going over. The values in that deck include two cards each of $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000, and one $5,000 card.
The contestant is then given an opening bid, relative to the price of the car, rounded to a $5,000 increment (i.e. $15,000, $20,000, or sometimes $25,000) and asked to draw cards from a standard deck of oversized playing cards. The cards drawn are used to increase the contestant's bid: Number cards add the face value multiplied by $100 to the bid, while face cards (Jack, Queen, King), like tens, are each worth $1,000. Contestants may draw as many cards as they want until they believe their bid is within the required range, but must draw at least one card.
Aces are wild in this game. If a contestant draws one, they can add any value they wish to their bid, but they cannot subtract. Contestants are allowed to use an ace when it is drawn or save it for later use. They are also allowed to continue drawing after playing an ace, although the ace can effectively make their final bid whatever they want it to be.
When they decide to stop, a range is revealed corresponding to both the contestant's bid and the range card selected (with the range starting at the contestant's bid, i.e. $1,000 range card and a $20,000 bid means the range is between $20,000 and $21,000). The price of the car is revealed and if it falls within the selected range, he/she wins the car.

History[]

Card Game has undergone a series of rule changes, mostly because of inflation:

Year	Opening Bid	Range Card	Notes
1974	$1,000*	Three each of $200 to $1,000 (in increments of $50)	There was no standard deck at this point, so cards were drawn from the special deck. Also, it is unknown if the opening bid was supposed to be $1,000, or if it was equal to the range that was chosen.
1974~1983	None	$200 to $1,000 each one (in increments of $100) (Aces were worth anything up to $1,000. Thus, the maximum starting bid done by the contestant is $1,000)	-
1983~1993	$2,000	Two each of $500-$1,000 (in increments of $100) (No limit ace card bids)	-
1993~2001	$8,000	Three each of $500, $1,000, $1,500, and $2,000	-
2001~2005	$10,000	Three each of $500, $1,000, $1,500, and $2,000	-
2005~2008	$12,000	Two each of $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000, and one $5,000	-
2008~2012	$15,000		-
2014~2022	$15,000		Will be used concurrently with the $20,000 starting price (reserved for higher-priced cars).
2023-present	$15,000, $20,000, or $25,000		Will be used concurrently with the $15,000 starting price (reserved for lower-priced cars), while the $20,000 starting price will be used for mid-priced cars, and the $25,000 starting price will be used for higher priced cars.

Before the 2014 set change, the price of the car was read verbally and the difference revealed if the player had not gone over, the player won if the difference between their bid and the ARP was within the range selected, and like the Showcases, "OVER" was displayed if they went over. With the set change, "OVER" is no longer displayed if the player goes over. If the player didn't go over and the difference was within the range selected, the difference would flash with the ringing bells, indicating a win.
On the earliest playings of Card Game, there was only a special deck of 51 cards. The range was determined from the first draw of the deck and also served as the opening bid, and the remaining draws increased the bid by that amount. Unfortunately, it was lost on its premiere playing. The normal rules were introduced by August 9, 1974 (#1015D), the fifth playing.
Card Game was taken out of rotation on July 24, 1975 (#1514D), then temporarily returned on September 12, 1975 (#1585D, aired out-of-order on September 10) before permanently returning to rotation on November 4, 1975 (#1662D).
When the game's rules were changed on March 16, 1983 (#4843D), the game was retitled "(The) New Card Game" for approximately a year, also, the table received a new logo and paint job. On its first appearance, it was covered with a red sheet and Holly lifted the red sheet to reveal the revamped game. On June 20, 1984 (#5383D), the original name was restored. On October 16, 1985 (#5843D), the game received another new paint job and a new 5-digit bid display, allowing it to be played for more expensive cars.
On November 19, 2004 (#3055K), the table and display were changed again to include a copper paint job and a new logo using a set of cards.
Card Game wasn't played from February 16, 2012 (#5844K) until May 14, 2014 (#6743K), when it returned with an all-new Vegas-style look, a new custom Special Deck, and a new main deck (retiring the "Big Bicycle" decks, these new decks have "Welcome to Carey's Card Club" on their backs, the design is in the style of the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, in addition, the Ace of Spades has a Pricedown dollar sign in the center), a new monitor using cards as digits (alternating between red and black), and was played near Contestant's Row instead of on center stage for most pricing games. "Welcome to Carey's Card Club" was also displayed on the Video Wall. Like any pricing game using electronic displays (Bonus Game, Check Game and Grand Game), the green display turns red if it's ruled a loss. Upon returning, Card Game has never been the first game to be played in the game's slotting list because like games such as Magic Number, More or Less, Gas Money, Rat Race, or Double Cross, it needs time to start up and the game can be played no earlier than second on the show. As noted above, "OVER" is no longer shown if the player goes over.
On October 13, 2014 (#6841K, aired out-of-order on October 14) and February 20, 2015 (#7015K) during Dream Car Week and #UDecide Week, a Range Rover ($66,625) and a Porsche ($68,590) were offered with a starting bid of $60,000. Sadly, neither playing was won.
On March 11, 2016 (#7445K, aired out-of-order on April 29), contestant Melissa Belmontes picked an Ace and her final bid was $22,000. She barely won the car, which was priced at $22,025.
On September 30, 2019 (#8831K), the game received an enlarged table, keeping its current motif and allowing both Drew and the contestant to stand behind the table.
There have been some memorably bad occasions for Card Game. On October 13, 1983 (#5034D), a contestant named Hoyt Mollock said he has never seen a deck of cards in his life, surprising Bob and the audience. Bob instructed him what the cards looked like and, after the winning range was selected, requested him to cut the cards. Afterward, Bob explained the rules of the game and then they started playing for a Jeep CT-7 4x4, priced at $7,649. During the game, Bob quizzed Hoyt what that card was after he drew one, before showing to the audience. He would later embarrassing Bob for his wild guesses, thinking a jack was a king and spades were hearts. After six draws, he set his final bid to be $7,300, which turned out to be a win (the winning range was $500). Hoyt later mauled Bob after finding out he won the jeep.
Another memorable playing was on March 26, 1993 (#8755D), when contestant Eric Shaw celebrated too soon. As soon as Bob began reading the price, Eric already thought he won, thinking he can be $700 above or below the ARP, similar to that of Check-Out, but learned that he was over by $117. His final bid was $8,400 and the ARP was $8,283.
On November 9, 2021 (#9582K), despite getting the $5,000 range card, contestant Danica Flores drew an Ace as her last card picked. When she did she bid $20,000 as her final bid price. Unfortunately, the ARP of the car (a Mazda CX-30 Select) was $25,225, causing her to lose by $225 and leaving Drew and the audience visibly shocked.
On October 4, 2024 (#0715L), Card Game moved to right in front of Contestant's Row.

Trivia[]

The most number of times this game was played in any season was 46 (season 6), while the least number of times this game was played in any season was 3 (season 40).
On early playings of Card Game, the prop was staged between doors #1 and #2, and the contestant was on the left side of the table while Bob was on the right.
If the $5,000 card was picked, it was sometimes possible to win without having to draw any cards at all. Nowadays, given the flexibility of the opening bid as of mid-late Season 51, this may no longer be possible.
Card Game was one of seven pricing games seen on the fourth taping session of Season 36, which was seen on October 18, 2007 (#4044K, aired out-of-order on January 2, 2008), October 24, 2007 (#4053K, aired out-of-order on October 23), November 2, 2007 (#4065K, aired out-of-order on October 30), November 7, 2008 (#4073K, aired out-of-order on November 8), November 13, 2007 (#4082K, aired out-of-order on November 15), and November 22, 2007 (#4094K, aired out-of-order on October 19).
From 2014 to 2024, before the car was revealed, the contestant and Drew stand at home base during the game's setup. Beginning in Season 53, the contestant and Drew stand in front of the turntable before the car reveal. Like Lucky $even, the car was later pushed by stagehands, not driven, while the model "drives" the car so as to avoid gas emissions after it was revealed and described by the announcer.
Originally, a buzzer was sounded on losses that resulted from being too far below the car's price, while the foghorn played for overbids. However, the foghorn was also used when there was no overbid, most notably during the time when it was known as New Card Game, and on the May 7, 1993 (#8815D) airing, which was the first with an $8,000 starting bid. From 1994 or 1995 until the game was removed from the rotation in 2012, the buzzer was sounded for all losses. When the game returned in 2014, all losses used the foghorn.
In the later years of his tenure, former Price Is Right host Bob Barker had contestants drawing an ace simply say what they wanted their final bid to be, instead of requiring them to do the math and come up with a value to add to the bid. Current host Drew Carey has returned to asking contestants to decide a value for drawn aces instead of stating a total bid, though he accepts final bids if a contestant offers one instead of a value to add.
On July 4, 2024 as part of its 4th of July celebration episode, the game celebrated its 50th Anniversary.

International versions[]

TBA!

Gallery[]

To view the gallery, click here.

YouTube Videos[]

First playing of Card Game (July 4, 1974, #0964D)
A playing of The New Card Game from 1983
A playing of Card Game with a Bill Cullen reference
A Card Game Win with the use of an Ace and only an Ace! (February 19, 1993, #8705D)
Card Game playing from May 7, 1993 with a rule change and now permanently played for 5-digit Cars (#8815D)
A Heartbreaking Loss! (January 23, 1997, #0224K)
A Super Heartbreaking Loss! (February 21, 2002, #2074K)
A Card Game Win from 2007 (April 6, 2007, #3945K)
New Card Game behind the scenes story
Card Game Returns (May 14, 2014, #6743K)
Card Game for a Range Rover (October 13, 2014, #6841K, aired out of order on October 14)
A 2-card Card Game Win! (October 23, 2014, #6854K)
A Card Game Win with the use of an Ace! (November 3, 2014, #6871K)
Card Game for a Porsche (February 20, 2015, #7015K)
A Heartbreaking Loss with the Use of an Ace! (March 29, 2017, #7873K)
Debut of Card Game's Enlarged Table (September 30, 2019, #8831K)
Closest Win Ever? (October 18, 2022, #9942K)
Off by $5!!!(win) (December 19, 2023, Prime Time)
50th Anniversary of Card Game (July 4, 2024, #0694L)

1970s Pricing Games

Active Pricing Games