
From that, we started asking questions about how much the show’s producers realistically thought they might have to pay the contestant. We created computer models to simulate the game and determine where a chip is likely to land depending on where it was dropped. Where should the contestant drop the chip to win the most money? What does the voice of mathematical reason tell the contestant? Most importantly, will the contestant listen to the quiet voice of mathematical reason, or the overpowering voices of the audience? We set out to determine what it was that the quiet voice of mathematical reason was telling the contestant all along. Each time the contestant went to drop a chip into the board the roaring voices of the audience would attempt to guide the contestant to where to drop the chip to win the most money.

On January 3rd, 1983 the world was introduced to the Price is Right’s newest game: Plinko (CBS Interactive, n.d.) A contestant stood on the stage at the Plinko board, ready to drop chips in the pachinko-like board, for a chance to win different cash prizes depending on which chamber the chip fell into. However, a last-minute win ended in one of the best Plinko moments to date.Benjamin Marasco, Howard Community College And, one recent Price Is Right contestant seemed she would be the latter during a recent round of Plinko. Other times, they step away from the Plinko board with very little to show for their time on the stage. Sometimes the Plinko players walk away with a few thousand dollars in winnings. This is where they release the newly acquired game chips down the massive board sending it towards a variety of prize slots which usually range between zero dollars and a prize as big as $10,000. Then, once the contestant has collected all of their chips, the player takes on the Plinko board.



For each correct guess, the fan earns one Plinko chip. In the game of Plinko, The Price Is Right contestants guess the prices of a variety of items. Anyone who has watched the popular late-morning game show knows this fan-favorite addition to the show…the one where contestants let the chips do the winning! The Plinko game has been a big part of the popular daytime TV game show The Price Is Right for decades now.
