Finish Line

Finish Line
Premiere Date	February 21, 1978 (#2702D)
Pricing Game Location	Center Stage
Previous Premiered Pricing Game	Professor Price
Next Premiered Pricing Game	Take Two
Finale Date	September 25, 1978 (#2961D, aired out of order on September 22, 1978)

The centerpiece of Finish Line was a game board depicting a horse racing track with a horse and a finish line, both of which could move down the track but began at the starting line. The track was marked with a scale representing dollars.

Gameplay

• The contestant was shown three pairs of small prizes, one at a time, and had to pick the prize of the pair which was more expensive. The prices of the rejected prizes were revealed as the contestant selected, and a finish line moved down the track one step for each dollar in the prices of the prizes, such that the finish line settled at the total of the prices of the rejected items.
• Once all three selections were made, the race began. A horse moved one step for each dollar in the prices of the chosen prizes. If the horse crossed the finish line, the contestant won a large prize. In order words, if the total of the prices of the selected prizes was larger than the total of prices of the rejected prizes, the contestant won.

Trivia

• The contestant got to keep the three selected prizes, regardless of the outcome. In this way, the game had an identical goal to Give or Keep — a much longer-standing pricing game that was essentially replaced by Finish Line for much of 1978. The goal of Finish Line was also very similar to that of Trader Bob, and opposite to that of Hurdles; however, the contestant's choices were not totaled in those games, and the contestant had to make all three selections correctly. The game also had a similar theme to Hurdles.
• The most number of times this game was played in any season was 11 (season 6), while the least number of times this game was played in any season was 5 (season 7).

Retirement

• Finish Line was taken out of rotation from February 27 (#2711D)-May 3, 1978 (#2803D), before being retired due to recurring mechanical problems with its set. It also didn't help matters that Bob himself disliked the idea of horse racing.

Music cues used

At post time, the trumpets sounded the Call to the Post, and the Light Cavalry Overture was played during the race.

Gallery

To view the gallery, click here.

Videos Clips

A playing of Finish Line (June 13, 1978, #2862D)
Another playing of Finish Line (June 27, 1978, #2882D)