Pick-A-Pair

Pick-A-Pair
Premiere Date (Barker Era)	April 12, 1982 (#4481D)
Premiere Date (Carey Era)	October 19, 2007 (#4045K, aired out of order on November 20, 2007)
Pricing Game Location	Center Stage
Previous Premiered Pricing Game	Check-Out
Next Premiered Pricing Game	Plinko
Finale Date (Barker Era)	June 8, 2007 (#4025K)

So called because the contestant must do just that: Pick a pair of products. The pair of products the contestant is trying to pick must sell for the exact same price to win.

Gameplay

• The contestant is shown six grocery items with their prices concealed. The six consist of three pairs of items that share the same price.
• The contestant must select two items that have the same price to win a prize. If they are incorrect, they are given one more chance to win by choosing one of the two products from their first selection and finding the matching-priced item. If the prices of those two items do not match, the game is over. Unlike Take Two, the contestant can't reject their original selections on their second chance if they so choose; they must choose which one of their original selections to commit to before deciding what product they want to match that selection with.

History

• When the game premiered on April 12, 1982 (#4481D), it was won right away.
• The first Pick a Pair set, used from the game's premiere to October 10, 1988 (#6981D, which was taken out of rotation), had the grocery items rotating on a miniature Ferris wheel setup to carnival music. Only half of the items were visible at a time, with the others rotated behind the game board. Background music was added during the playing of the game on February 15, 1985 (#5605D); the game board changed its colors from yellow to blue on May 31 that same year (#5755D). On September 14, 1990 (#7705D), the game returned when the current "table" set was debuted and added hyphens to its name, becoming Pick-a-Pair. The game was not played for nearly two years between the last appearance of the Ferris wheel and the first appearance of the current set. Until the beginning of season 20, the current set's blue stripes were red and had more lights on its front. On December 18, 2012 (#6142K), the blue stripes got white stripes in it.
• On December 21, 1984 (#5535D), after contestant Albert Pawalick unsuccessfully picked two items that did not match ($1.59 for the chili and $1.19 for the garlic bread), Bob told Albert the item that sold for $1.59 were the raisins as he attempted to explain about the props, but then he realized the game was not over and Albert got another chance. This goof led to Albert immediately keeping the chili and then picking the raisins, and Bob then told everyone about the cards hanging out so he could see the prices; as a result, Albert won a $3,605 trip to Japan.
• On March 21, 2012 (#5893K) in honor of "Twins Day," Pick-a-Pair was played for not one but two Scion IQs worth $32,410 and was won. The final cut of the episode portrayed the twins winning the cars on the first try, however three stands were raised at the end of the game indicating that the twins actually used two tries.
• On December 23, 2020 (#9243K), contestant Dylan Mulvaney played Pick-a-Pair for a game room and won on his second try. After his win, he proceeded to roll around on the floor and play with his new prizes for a full 50 seconds on camera.
• Recently, Pick-a-Pair has become one of the most prominent non-cash games played for cash, most notably in primetime.
  • On October 28, 2016 (#7665K) during Price's "Big Money Week," Pick-a-Pair was played for $20,000. Sadly, it was lost.
  • During Season 46's "Kids Week" on March 23, 2018 (#8265K), Pick-a-Pair was played for $10,000 and was won.
  • During Season 47's "Blind Date Special" on February 14, 2019 (#8624K), Pick-a-Pair's $10,000 prize was introduced with the Grand Game sting. The contestants Christopher and Kalea unfortunately lost the game.
  • On the night of November 2, 2020 (#041SP), Cedric the Entertainer won $10,000 for The Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
  • On April 18, 2022 (#9811K), tween siblings Ashlyn & Kayden easily won $10,000.
  • In the first playing at Haven Studios on the night of October 2, 2023 (#061SP), contestant Ryan Fish won $25,000 on his first try.
  • On the night of September 30, 2024 (#084SP), contestant Harriet Joiner won $20,000 on her second try.

Trivia

• The most number of times this game was played in any season was 29 (season 19), while the least number of times this game was played in any season was 2 (season 17).
• The background music for the Ferris wheel set was a calliope version of "American Patrol." Even after the set redesign and the music's retirement from the game, the music was still used occasionally for items up for bids through Season 36.
• Pick-A-Pair was one of seven pricing games seen on the fifth taping session of Season 36, which was seen on October 19, 2007 (#4045K, aired out of order on November 20), October 26, 2007 (#4055K, aired out of order on October 18), October 31, 2007 (#4063K), November 5, 2007 (#4071K, aired out of order on November 28), November 12, 2007 (#4081K, aired out of order on November 14), and November 20, 2007 (#4092K, aired out of order on October 25).
• The odds of winning this game are 2/5, or 40%.
• A few contestants over the years whose first picks were incorrect have tried to skirt around the game rules by trying to pick a product that would match either of the two prices uncovered, but none have been successful. The rules of the game state that the contestant must choose which one price to commit to before finding that price's match.

Note

• To make this game work, 3 grocery items are chosen backstage. Next, they must find 3 more grocery items that match their actual retail prices. An example: if a grocery item costs $1.25, a 2nd grocery item must also be $1.25.

International versions

• On the UK versions hosted by both Leslie Crowther and Bruce Forsyth, Pick-A-Pair used small prizes, and an abstract setup was used. On the Bob Warman version, it was played with six grocery items as it did in the US, but with the same type of setup as the other aforementioned versions. On the Joe Pasquale version, it used only four grocery items, using a setup based on the current American version.
• On the Italian version, each item had a unique price, with the pairs being specific price ranges. To win, the contestant had to pick both items from the same range.

Gallery

To view the gallery, click here.

Videos

Second playing of Pick-a-Pair for a camping trailer (April 22, 1982, #4494D)
Albert wins because of Bob (December 21, 1984, #5535D)
Early playing of Pick-a-Pair's table set (December 11, 1990, #7832D)
Cedric the Entertainer aces Pick-a-Pair for charity (November 2, 2020, #041SP)
Dancin' Dylan (December 23, 2020, #9243K)
Young twins split $10,000 in less than 30 seconds (April 18, 2022, #9811K)
Twins win matching Kias (September 30, 2022, #053SP)
Ryan makes a quick $25,000 (October 2, 2023, #061SP)
Young superfan Jake plays Pick-a-Pair for a Japan trip (March 18, 2024, #082SP, aired out of order on May 29)