Click here to watch a Press Your Luck opening!!! (1:09, 2.39 MB)
Question Round
Press Your Luck was a game of strategy and skill. If you had a lot of knowledge, this might not have been the game for you as they say.
Three players competed. The first round was
the "Question Round." Host Tomarken read a question. A player could
buzz in and give a response. That response then became a multiple
choice along with two other answers for the
two
other players. If the buzz in answer was correct, the player who
buzzed in recieved three "spins." If the other players were 
right, they recieved one spin. Four questions were asked
in total.
The Big Board
The second part of round 1 was when the fun
began. The players used their "spins" on a rectangular shaped board
with a bouncing light, 18 squares total (Each square changed frames a
limit of three times). The player stopped the light by hitting the
buzzer on their podium (and usually yelled the word "STOP!"). On the
board was various prizes and cash values. A player could pass their
spins to the player in the lead at anytime (if the players were tied
they had the choice). The player who was passed the spins had to take
all of them. If they hit a Whammy they were converted to "Earned"
spins and could be passed. However, they wanted to avoid the Whammy,
because if they hit a Whammy, he'd come out
and steal the players money. Four Whammies
knocked a player out of the game (This rarely happened in the first
round). The player with the fewest spins started off the round, with
the second most going second, and so on. $1500 was the highest amount on the board in this round. The player in the lead after the
round got
the advantage in second half.
The second half of the game was virtually
identical to the first half. The first part was again the question
part with four questions. However, the second part of the second half
was a LOT more competitive then the first round. The top dollar value
was $5000+A Spin (The money plus another spin). 
Also, there was generally
higher priced prizes and much more cash on the board. Games would
usually come
down to the final spin. Many times a player 
would lose a big amount of money because they were
passed spins on their final turn. The player with the most money at
the end of the game, wins and comes back on the next show.
Click here to watch Karen Martin virtually tell the board what she wants!
Special Spaces
"(Insert dollar amount)+a Spin"-Money amount plus an extra spin. There was only one space like this in round 1, but there many in round 2.
Big Bucks-Hitting Big Bucks would move the light across the board to where the big money space was (Round 1: $1000, $1250, $1500. Round 2, all were + a spin, $3000, $4000, $5000)
$2000 or Lose One Whammy-A great space to hit if you had three Whammies and were passed spins. You could take the money or lose the Whammy.
Add A One-Only in round 1, and wasn't up for that long. Added a 1 to the front of your score (If you have $0, you'd have a grand total of $10).
Move One Space-. Could move to either side and take whatever prize/money. Sometimes a Whammy was a selection. Nobody took that, surprisingly.
Go Back Two Spaces-Would move back two spaces. Sometimes this would lead them to the Big Bucks space.
Pictures from the pilot
Facts
-Michael Larsen, an unemployed ice cream truck driver, memorized the patterns of the board and won $110, 237 on one show!!! More info about this to come soon!
Click here for Whammy! The All New Press Your Luck