Most Expensive

Most Expensive is where the contestant has to pick the most expensive prize to win all 3 prizes.

Gameplay[]

The contestant is shown three prizes and must decide which one is the most expensive. The prices are then revealed one at a time, ending with the selected prize. A correct answer wins all three prizes.

History[]

The game premiered on October 16, 1972 (#0071D), but it wasn't won right away (picked the least expensive). 3 days later (#0074D), it was won for the first time.
Early in the game's life, Bob would often refer to the contestant's selection as a "frozen" price for the moment before revealing the others. This was likely an attempt to bring over terminology from the Bill Cullen-era show.
On September 8, 1975 (#1581D, aired out of order on September 11), its second set was introduced; the game no longer shares props with Five Price Tags. On September 19, 1980 (#3785D), the silver parts of the Most Expensive props were changed to blue. On October 16, 1984 (#5442D), the third set was introduced. On September 24, 1985 (#5812D), Most Expensive began using a unique set of price tags with graphics similar to its set. These tags changed to a darker blue sometime in 1986. On February 12, 2010 (#5035K), the game finally got its title and the spelling of "Most Expensive" is changed to "Most Expen$ive," with a dollar sign in place of the second S. This was also the first appearance of the game's fourth set. On the Survivor primetime special on May 23, 2016 (#034SP), a new carpet without the circle was introduced. It carried over to the daytime show on September 27, 2017 (#8023K).
On February 13, 1978 (#2691D) and in at least one episode in 1992 and 2009, the buzzer signaled the loss instead of the foghorn.
For one playing on the 1970s syndicated version, Most Expensive was played for a fur coat, diamond ring, and gold watch. Unlike the standard rules, the winner would only win the most expensive prize. In addition, unlike the regular staging, that playing was staged on the turntable.
On February 23, 1983 (#4813D), Barker went ahead of the game's explanation and only corrected part of it. He pointed to number 3 but asked for number 2, almost violating Standards & Practices at CBS for broadcasting.
On November 7, 1983 (#5071D), Barker asked the model for number 2 to reveal the price, but the camera panned to number 3. Then Bob joked that there is a number 4.
Occasionally, the game was played for three trips. During the original host Bob Barker's tenure, as well as a Carey $1,000,000 Spectacular on March 7, 2008 (#026SP, aired out of order on April 4), the trips were concealed and revealed behind the three big doors. On September 18, 2006 (#3681K), the premiere of the show's 35th season, history was made as the game was played for three cars (also behind the three doors) for the very first time and all of them were won. Because of the success with that playing, on September 22, 2008 (#4431K), the premiere of the show's 37th season, the game was played (and lost) for three cars for a second time but the "1,” "2,” and "3" props were missing from that playing (the video links are seen below). Since the season 38 premiere on September 21, 2009 (#4831K), the game uses three trip screens with its normal staging. On September 19, 2022 (#9901K), the season 51 premiere, the game was played for three rooms and used its original trip staging without the carpet.
Early on, one of the popular features of Most Expensive was the model chats frequently done following the game. Since the game used all three models, Bob would do an informal interview with them, usually with humorous results. Due to time constraints with the addition of more commercials and the escalating feud between Dian and Janice, this feature was discontinued around early 1992.
On November 3, 1992 (#8562D), model Holly Hallstrom held the price tag for number 3 upside down. She fixed it but cried for making an embarrassment.
On April 1, 2009 (#4693K), as an April Fool's joke, the game was played for three floor clocks.
On March 8, 2013 (#6255K), a contestant named Isaac Eaves won a $20,000 bonus for being the first person on stage to win their pricing game during PCH week. It was played in the first slot.
On March 9, 2020 (#9061K), a contestant named Alexander Trimis won a $20,000 bonus for being the first person on stage to win their pricing game during PCH week. It was played in the second slot.
When the game moved to Haven Studios in 2023, it went through various methods of staging. First, the game's carpet was absent on September 26, 2023 (#0302L, aired out of order on September 28). Then, on October 3, 2023 (#0312L), the carpet returned but prizes 1 and 3 were pushed forward a bit. Finally, since October 20, 2023 (#0335L), the triangles between the numbers were removed and the game uses smaller bases.

Trivia[]

The most number of times this game was played in any season was 65 (season 4), while the least number of times this game was played in any season was 16 (season 49).
Once the contestant's choice has been made, only the selected prize's number remains lit. In the event of a loss, it also goes out, but when the game is won, all three numbers flash at once.
Most Expensive was one of four "new" pricing games seen on the eighth taping session of Season 36, which was seen on November 28, 2007 (#4103K, aired out of order on November 9), December 7, 2007 (#4115K), December 13, 2007 (#4124K, aired out of order on December 14), January 10, 2008 (#4134K), January 15, 2008 (#4142K), and January 21, 2008 (#4151K, aired out of order on November 16, 2007).
The 1984-2010 set of this game has a similar appearance to three streetlight posts.
This game is an easier version of Eazy as 1-2-3, as the contestant only has to figure out the most expensive prize and not the second and third-most expensive prizes. Because of this, there's a 1/3 chance of victory rather than 1/6.
Since the show now uses two models per episode, announcer George Gray will act as the third model; he handles the price tag for the last prize (#3) so that he can describe all three prizes.
A memorable running gag is the "Least Expensive" bit that both Bob and Drew use if a losing contestant picks the least expensive prize. They will comment that "if the game was called Least Expensive, you (the contestant) would've won."
This and Bargain Game are the only two quickie games to use a foghorn when they are lost.

Foreign versions[]

In the 1980s UK Price, the game is known as "Most Expensive" but actually used the rules of Eazy az 1-2-3 (which did not exist yet in the United States). Contestants were asked to number the prizes 3-2-1 from least to most expensive, and winners would only receive the most expensive prize.
In the first two series of The Price Is Right (UK game show), the American format of Most Expensive was used, although winners would still only receive the most expensive prize. In the third series, the game reverted to the Eazy az 1-2-3 format, and winners began to receive all three prizes.
On the Vietnamese version, the game was titled "Lựa Chọn Thông Minh" (The Smart Choice). The game was similar to the one used in the US, with the game board also looks very similar to the 1984-2010 game board in the US (except that the game was placed in the Center Stage).

Gallery[]

To view the gallery, click here.

YouTube Videos[]

Most Expensive for Three Trips (September 30, 2005, #3345K)
Most Expensive Three Car playing (September 18, 2006, #3681K)
Another Most Expensive Three Car playing (September 22, 2008, #4431K)
Most Expensive for Three Rooms (September 19, 2022, #9901K)

1970s Pricing Games

Active Pricing Games