Tonight’s show, last round, all consonants worth $5,000. Team on left guesses something that appears twice, gets $12K. Their next turn, they guess “T”–appears 3 times, another $18K due. But at the end, they show something like $6,500. What happened to the $30,000 won in that round? (Both of the other teams showed their last round winnings at this point.)
(My apologies if this should be in Cafe Society. Since it’s about a technical matter and not the arts/entertainment aspect of the show, I thought GQ more appropriate.)
I reviewed the tape, and nothing unusual happened.
When the middle contestants guessed the answer, the display switched from last round bank to total winnings for all teams. You were incorrect when you said “Both of the other teams showed their last round winnings at this point”.
Thanks for the reply, Baraqiyal. Perhaps I noticed the amounts before that moment, or maybe I’m mixed up on something.
Anyway…my wife and I remember the left team getting a double, then a triple in the final round, at $6K each (forgot they added 1K to the spun amount)–should have been 30K for that round. The other teams didn’t even come close to that total, yet the middle team went on to the bonus round.
Apparently we missed out on or misunderstood something there.
Did the team that had $30K in the last round guess the puzzle for the last round? It sounds like the “left team” had spun and guessed letters to get $30K but the “middle team” guessed the puzzle.
Okay, we were thinking they somehow lost the 30K, so this is making a bit more sense. It appeared that they had just realized the answer when their time was up, but it was too late.
What still doesn’t make sense to me is why they lost the money. I don’t remember ever seeing that before. In my recollection, it’s not unusual for one player or team to make the most money on a round while another actually solves the puzzle, but everyone keeps the money they made on the round regardless.
Was there some special rule on tonight’s show, or have I been missing something all along?
Did the team that had $30K in the last round guess the puzzle for the last round?
No, they were on the verge of it but ran out of time.
It sounds like the “left team” had spun and guessed letters to get $30K but the “middle team” guessed the puzzle.
Well, not spun because it was the last round, for which Pat spins a fixed value, but otherwise, yes, that’s what happened.
IIRC, it’s only the person who wins the round that gets to keep the money, prizes, etc., that they won in that round. The others who don’t solve the puzzle get jack, no matter what letters they guessed correctly. Therefore it wouldn’t matter if the left team got $30K with the letters they guessed, if they don’t solve the puzzle correctly, it doesn’t go into their total bank, so they lose.
Perhaps you are confused because at the end of the rounds they show each contestant’s total money.
I think that’s it. This is emabarassing–we’ve been watching this show off and on for YEARS and neither my wife nor I realized that only the puzzle solver wins money on that round. I knew you had to be the solver to get some of the prizes (trips, etc.). I guess we never really paid attention to that aspect until last night, when it became obvious because the 30K was so noticeably gone.
Well, learn something every day. :o Thanks all of you for your replies.