Make Your Mark (The Price Is Right)

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Host Drew Carey explaining the rules of "Make Your Mark" to a contestant.

Make Your Mark (known from 1994-2007 as Barker's Marker$) was a pricing game on the American television game show The Price Is Right. Played from the Season 23 premiere on September 12, 1994 through the October 16, 2008 show (aired out of sequence on October 9), it was played for three prizes (usually valued between $1,000 and $3,000) and a possible $500 cash bonus.

Gameplay

The contestant was given $500 and shown four prices on the game board. Three of the prices corresponded with the three prizes; the fourth was an extra price that did not match any of the prizes.

The contestant was asked to place markers beside the three prices that corresponded with the prizes. The contestant was not required to specify which price they believed matched which prize; Merely to select three prices.

Two prizes whose prices matched ones marked by the contestant are identified and their prices are revealed; This left the third prize and two possible prices. The contestant was then given the option to return the $500 in order to switch their marker to the unselected price if they believed their initial choice was wrong.

Following this decision, if the marker was correctly placed, the contestant won all three prizes, plus the $500 if they had not returned it. If they were incorrect, however, they lost everything.

History

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Former host Bob Barker next to the "Barker's Marker$" board.

The game's original name, "Barker's Marker$", referred to former Price Is Right host Bob Barker. The prop was also repainted after Drew Carey began hosting. The game was also referred to as "Make Your Mark" during its one appearance on the 1994 syndicated The New Price Is Right, and a sign bearing that name in an identical shape covered the "Barker's Marker$" name in that appearance.

The game's three prizes had a different staging during early playings of the game. Instead of resting on risers, they were placed on the stage floor and the displays that light up their prices were on individual podiums. The original staging caused confusion when price displays were placed between prizes. The second staging debuted on March 24, 1995.

On the UK's Bruce's Price Is Right, the game was renamed "Price Tags".

Retirement

During the game's only playing in Season 37 (October 9, 2008), Carey incorrectly stated that the contestant would not forfeit the $500 if the game was lost by not switching the marker. To avoid embarrassing Carey, this was declared a "new rule" for this playing only, after which the game was never played again. It should be noted that, although the playing with the botched rule was a factor, it did not singlehandedly result in the game's retirement.