Rules
Two contestants played the role of tokens on a human-size game board with three streets: Money Street, Bridge Street and Magic Mile. Players advanced according to the roll of a large six-sided die in a chuck-a-luck, rolled on the sidelines by a partner (almost always a spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend) and called out by announcer Williams. After Video Village moved to California, the die was replaced by an electric randomizer.
The squares changed throughout the show's run, but some of the more notable ones included:
- Money squares: Located on Money Street, contestants received between $5–$20 depending on the space.
- Bus Stop, Do It Yourself and Take A Chance: Players landing on any one of these spaces must draw a card and follow the instructions written on the card.
- Jail: Located between Money Street and Bridge Street, contestants could be sent here either by landing on a "Go to Jail" space or drawing a card which instructed them to do so. To get out, the contestant had to successfully predict whether their roll would be either even or odd.
- Ask the Council: Located on Money Street and Magic Mile, the contestant was asked a humorous, open-ended question. He/she won cash if the audience — acting as the "council" — was judged to agree.
- Finders Keepers: The first player to land on this space received a prize.
- Shops: Located on the Magic Mile, these were five themed "stores" (Bank, Appliance Store, Jewelry Store, etc.) which each contained a prize. The first contestant to land on the store's space won that prize.
- Safety Zone: Any player landing here is safe from any penalty imposed by their opponent.
- 1-2-3 Go: Any player landing on this space remained on it until getting a 1, 2, or 3.
- Exchange Places: The very last square on the board before the two "Finish" lines, the unlucky contestant who landed here must change places with their opponent—no matter how far back he or she was.
The first contestant to reach either of the two "Finish" spaces (they had to do so by an exact roll) won the game. Both contestants kept the cash and prizes they accumulated, with the winner getting a larger bonus prize and the right to return to play in the next game.
Read more about this topic: Video Village
Famous quotes containing the word rules:
“Life is a game in which the rules are constantly changing; nothing spoils a game more than those who take it seriously. Adultery? Phooey! You should never subjugate yourself to another nor seek the subjugation of someone else to yourself. If you follow that Crispian principle you will be able to say “Phooey,” too, instead of reaching for your gun when you fancy yourself betrayed.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“Can rules or tutors educate
The semigod whom we await?
He must be musical,
Tremulous, impressional,
Alive to gentle influence
Of landscape and of sky
And tender to the spirit-touch
Of man’s or maiden’s eye.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The early Christian rules of life were not made to last, because the early Christians did not believe that the world itself was going to last.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)