Gridlock!

Gridlock!
Premiere Date	September 18, 2017 (#8011K)
Location	Center Stage
Previous Pricing Game Premiere	Hot Seat
Next Pricing Game Premiere	Back to '74

Gridlock! is a pricing game that debuted on September 18, 2017 (#8011K), in which it is played for a car. Contestants must "navigate" mini cars out of a lane of traffic and into an empty lane by correctly giving the price of the vehicle to win.

Gameplay

The contestant is shown a series of mini cars and is spotted the first digit in the price with the gray car. Next, they must pick a pair of numbers from one of three blue cars to identify the 2nd and 3rd numbers in the price. Then, they must pick a second pair of numbers from one of three orange cars to figure out the 4th and 5th numbers to complete the price. If they make a mistake, they get one do-over. A second mistake results in the game being lost.

History

• Gridlock was created by current director Adam Sandler (not the actor).
• Gridlock debuted on September 18, 2017 (#8011K), the show's 46th season premiere. Its very first playing was a loss. When Gridlock debuted, the predicted price of the car was displayed on the screen after the contestant submitted a guess (later playings would display only the correct digits). If a contestant missed, the swerving car was heard before the buzzer, and a caution sign was put over the price at the same time, cleaning it out. If a contestant got it right, the car’s engine was heard before the bell.
• On October 3, 2017 (#8032K), the game’s second playing, the caution sign was retired and the price sign only shows the correct price. Gridlock also received its first win.
• Gridlock received its second win on October 10, 2017 (#8042K) when it was played for a $97,950 Lexus LC 500 coupe during Season 46's Dream Car Week. This was the most expensive car offered in the game and the most expensive car won.
• Gridlock received its first perfect playing on October 17, 2017 (#8052K).
• As of April 12, 2018 (#8294K), the buzzer and bell now sound before the swerving car and the car engine, respectively. If the contestant misses twice, the losing horns now play at the same time as the swerving car.
• Gridlock received its first wipeout (lost at the 1st pair of numbers by getting both blue cars wrong) on December 15, 2017 (#8125K). The second did not occur until May 8, 2018 (#8332K). To date, there have been 30 wipeouts, the most recent on November 8, 2024 (#0765L).

Trivia

• The game was named after the word defined as a traffic jam affecting a whole network of intersecting streets.
  • Coincidentally, Los Angeles has a lot of freeways and traffic jams are very common; hence, the price sign at the beginning of the game has "Traffic Jammed Ahead!" on it.
• This pricing game is a combination of Add 'Em Up and Money Game. Like the former, you can make 1 mistake before you're out. And like the latter, you win by correctly identifying two sets of two numbers in the price of the vehicle; unlike Money Game, you must pick the numbers in order and the first digit is the one given for free as opposed to the middle.
• Like games such as 3 Strikes, 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, Back to '75, or To The Penny, Gridlock! has never been the first or second pricing game to start any show because it needs time to start up and the game can be played no earlier than third on the show.
• This was the last pricing game to debut in the 2010s.
• This is the last car game to:
  • Debut on an episode with a production code ending in K.
  • Debut at Studio 33.
  • Debut while Bob Barker was alive.
• The most number of times this game was played in any season was 15 (season 46), while the least number of times this game was played in any season was 10 (season 48).
• The odds of winning the game are (2/3*1/2*1/3)+(1/3*2/3), or 1/3.
• This game was played with two models present with the first model presenting the car and the second model assisted and watches the contestant play the game.

Gallery

To view the gallery, click here.

YouTube Videos

Gridlock! Premiere (September 18, 2017, #8011K)
Gridlock's First Win! (October 3, 2017, #8032K)
Gridlock Win on Dream Car Week (October 10, 2017, #8042K)
Gridlock's 4th Win (November 10, 2017, #8085K)
Last Gridlock Win for 2017 (December 29, 2017, #8145K)
First Gridlock Win for 2018 (January 12, 2018, #8165K, aired out of order on March 9)
Second Gridlock Win for 2018 (March 20, 2018, #8262K)
Last Gridlock Win for Season 46 (April 27, 2018, #8315K)
A playing from December 2018 (December 14, 2018, #8535K)
First Gridlock Win for 2019 (January 18, 2019, #8585K)
Second Gridlock Win for 2019 (March 7, 2019, #8654K, aired out of order on February 28)
Third Gridlock Win for 2019 (April 4, 2019, #8704K, aired out of order on April 5)
Last Gridlock Win for 2019 from First of the Season 48 (November 14, 2019, #8894K)
First Gridlock win of 2021 (March 12, 2021, #9285K)