Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee
Premiere Date (Barker Era)	September 15, 1988 (#6944D)
Premiere Date (Carey Era)	February 18, 2008 (#4211K)
Pricing Game Location	Turntable
Previous Premiered Pricing Game	Credit Card
Next Premiered Pricing Game	$uper $aver
Finale Date (Barker Era)	May 17, 2007 (#3994K)

Spelling Bee is where contestants try to spell the word "CAR" using honeycomb-shaped cards to win a car; they can also win a consolation cash prize of $5,000.

Gameplay

• The centerpiece of Spelling Bee is a large board that conceals 30 cards: eleven each of "C" and "A" cards, six "R" cards, and two which say "CAR." To win the car, a contestant must select cards that spell "CAR," either with all three letters or a "CAR" card.
• The contestant is given two free cards from the board at the start of the game, which are kept face-down; they can earn up to three more. Three small prizes are shown, one at a time, for which the contestant must guess the actual price. If their guess is within $10 (inclusive) of the actual price, they win that prize and another card from the board. Guessing the exact price of any small prize automatically wins the three additional cards and all three small prizes, regardless of whether a previous prize has already been lost.
• All cards chosen are kept face-down and each is worth $1,000 while it remains face-down, up to $5,000 for the maximum five cards. The contestant is offered a chance to quit and take the cash value of the cards. If they decline, the cards are turned over one-by-one, with the contestant given the chance after each one to walk away with the cash value of the remaining face-down cards. If the revealed cards spell out "CAR" or a "CAR" card is revealed, the contestant wins the car; however, the contestant does not keep the value of remaining face-down cards if they win the car.
• If a contestant does NOT bid within $10 above or below the ARP of all three small prizes, the game is not over. The contestant can leave with $2,000 or play for the car by finding one of the two "CAR" cards.

History

• Until May 17, 2007 (#3994K), the game's last playing in Season 35 and final under Bob Barker's tenure, the cards were worth $500 each (for a maximum of $2,500). The cards were increased to $1,000 each (for a maximum of $5,000) beginning on February 18, 2008 (#4211K), the game's first playing in Season 36 and first under Drew Carey's tenure.
• Originally, the strips completely blended into the numbered slots, so there was no way to indicate what card(s) the contestant had picked off the board except for close-up camera shots. Beginning on October 29, 1992 (#8554D), red strips were added behind the number slots to make it obvious what numbers have been chosen. A frequency chart of cards was added to the base of the game board on February 7, 1994 (#9071D).
• On two occurrences, on March 14, 1997 (#0295K) and on December 12, 2005 (#3451K), the electronics were broken, and the prices of the small prizes were revealed on price tags.
• On June 3, 1998 (#0803K), contestant Nicole Thornbrough missed out on all the prizes offered in the game, guaranteed, because her name was mistaken as Nicole Thorenson during the intro. It wasn’t fixed until after the playing.
• On January 8, 1999 (#0965K), a contestant named Amy Vitori played a perfect game, getting one "C," one "A," one "R" and both "CAR" cards; in addition, she won all three small prizes by correctly guessing the price of the fruit hammock after missing the prices of the rice cooker and the candle holder. However, Bob misheard Amy when she had chosen her fourth card. She asked for #26, but Bob placed #27—which was an "A"—in the fourth slot. But though Amy would’ve won the car anyway, it will never be known if the miscommunication affected the perfect playing or not.
• On February 4, 1999 (#1004K), a contestant named Christine Gunther only had three cards. After she had two "A"s, she decided to bail out and take $500. However, after she did, she asked Bob to show her the one remaining card she had chosen. Bob declined at first but wondered if Christine should've seen it after he looked himself. After a brief pause, he said to his dismay, "Ladies and gentlemen, she SHOULDN'T SEE IT!!!!" The card said "CAR." Christine and the audience were in total shock as Bob grimaced.
• On October 20, 2005 (#3374K), contestant Mabel drew five A's and is the only contestant in the show's history to achieve such a feat. Before her last two cards were revealed, she bailed with $1,000.
• On February 15, 2016 (#7411K), during Dream Car Week, Spelling Bee was played for a $120,265 Aston Martin Vantage GT. In addition, the money sides were raised from $1,000 to $5,000 apiece, for a maximum bailout of $25,000. Contestant Francesca Penko got all three small prizes right, therefore getting all five cards, went for the car and got a "CAR" on the first card. The other cards were not revealed on air, but, according to Francesca, were two C's and two A's. She later sold the car, but commissioned a diecast model as a memento.[1] (Pictures of this historic event can be seen in the gallery.)
• On February 19, 2018 (#8221K, aired out of order on February 22), during Big Money Week, Spelling Bee was played for a $100,000 in cash. In addition, the money sides were again raised to $5,000 apiece, for a maximum bet of $25,000 and a BIG card instead of a CAR card. Sadly, the contestant lost.
• On February 19, 2020 (#9033K), during Dream Car Week, Spelling Bee was played for a Lexus LC500 worth $100,114. In addition, the money per card was once again increased to $5,000. Contestant Wendy Hamill bailed out for $15,000; after the bailout, Drew revealed she got one "C," then one "R," and then one "A" which means she would've won the car if she didn't bail out. The audience, Rachel, Devin, and Drew were in total shock.
• On the night of October 7, 2024 (#085SP), contestant Michael Wiggins became the first contestant in the 36-year history of Spelling Bee to draw five C's. Since this episode was a primetime episode, the money side of the cards was increased to $3,000 per card. Michael left with $3,000.

Foreign Versions

• On Mexico's Atínale al Precio, the word "CAR" was replaced with the word "AUTO." The "A" was given for free and the contestant had to find the "U," "T," and "O," or one of two cards saying "AUTO." Each face-down card was worth M$2,000.
• The Netherlands' Cash en Carlo changes the letters to "WIN," and adds four cards worth €1,000; there are 9 "W"'s, 9 "I"'s, 6 "N"'s, 2 "WIN"'s, and 4 "€1,000" cards. Drawing a "€1,000" gives that amount to the contestant regardless of the outcome. Each face-down card was worth €200.
• On Vietnam's Hãy chọn giá đúng, called "Ong tìm chữ" (Bee Finding Words, the game is currently played for a fixed cash prize of VND 10,000,000 (formerly VND 30,000,000) and each face-down card is worth VND 300,000. Unlike in the American version, the contestant has to guess the price as close to the actual retail price (within a certain range) without going over to win extra cards. The cards usually spell the name of the sponsor of the price or the name of the show if there was no sponsor, there are 3 cards that have the first part, 11 cards with the second part, 15 cards for the third and final part of the name, and only one card with the full name in it (However, there have been times when the number of cards for the first and third part were swapped). The host always reveals the location of the only card with the full name at the end of the game.
• On Colombia's El Precio es correcto, the word "CAR" was replaced with the word "CARRO," and adds four cards worth $300.000; there are 7 "C"'s and "A"'s, 8 "R"'s, 6 "O"'s, 2 "CARRO"'s, and 4 items playing.

Trivia

• Apart from the October 7, 2024 playing mentioned above, Spelling Bee has been won twice in primetime, once on May 17, 2003 (#012SP), and December 4, 2023 (#066SP).
• Spelling Bee has had perfect playings (both car cards and spelling CAR) happen twice.
• The game has also seen full wipeouts (no small prizes won and leaving with no cash), the most recent on May 31, 2022 (#9872K).
• September 29, 2000 (#1515K) was the only known time a contestant got nothing but "R"s. The probability of this happening is 4.21×10^-5 = 1 in 23751. The contestant's name in that episode was Michael Finnegan.
• The most number of times this game was played in any season was 32 (season 17), while the least number of times this game was played in any season was 6 (seasons 36, 39 and 40).

Gallery

To view the gallery, click here.

Videos

Spelling Bee Premiere (September 15, 1988, #6944D)
A perfect playing footage of Spelling Bee (January 8, 1999, #0965K)
5 Straight same letter playing Spelling Bee (October 20, 2005, #3374K)
A Painful Spelling Bee Bailout from Season 35 (November 15, 2006, #3763K)
The First Playing with Drew Carey (February 18, 2008, #4211K)
Spelling Bee for a 1966 GTO (May 10, 2010, #5161K)
A Painful Spelling Bee Bailout from Season 44 (February 3, 2016, #7383K)
Mega Jackpot from Dream Car Week (February 15, 2016, #7411K)
Spelling Bee for $100,000 (February 19, 2018, #8221K, aired out of order on February 22)