Hostesses over the years have included Barbie Rogers, Victoria Nicolls, Delvene Delaney, Alyce Platt, Jo Bailey, Nicky Buckley and Karina Brown.
In 1986, along with the debut of the new theme and set as well as co-host Platt, the third Gift Shop prize was replaced by these two mini-games, giving players an opportunity to win some cash, an extra prize, or earn extra score money: The player in the lead (or by auction if there was a tie) would be given the opportunity to play for a cash jackpot, which started at $2,000 and increased by $1,000 every day until it was won.
This was later adopted in America as "Instant Cash" In 1989, as part of a format revamp—which also included the introduction of audio-visual questions, a 30-second "Fast Money" speed round, an extra "Fame Game" in the third round (later removed in 1992), and the shopping round replaced by the "Winner's Board"—the Cashbox was replaced with the "Cash Card," an opportunity for the leading contestant to either win a cash prize equivalent to perhaps a month's average wages for a middle-class Australian at the time, earn the opportunity to win a car later in the game (see section on major prizes), receive the score they sacrificed back, or reduce the score of a competitor slightly.
In the event of a tie-breaker between the second- and third-place contestants, a general knowledge question was asked, and the first person with the correct answer played.
Each one was rigged to land on one element, and when the player selected a suit, the co-host pulled the handle to reveal the outcome.
In addition, the "Take $5" was relegated to celebrity specials, and replaced on the regular shows with a machine displaying the manufacturer's logo of the car on offer that week.
If one of the players buzzed in and answered correctly, they had an opportunity to play the "famous faces" sub-game, where they would choose from a game board with nine photos of celebrities, occasionally locations, and from 1987, a featured home viewer.
Once chosen, the face selected would be spun around to reveal either a relatively small prize (typically appliances or furniture valued at around a weekly wage) or a $25 money card, which awarded $25 to the player's score.
By 1986, the final Fame Game featured a "wild card," which offered the choice of $1,000 in cash or a chance to pick again.
Originally, after the third Fame Game, three more general knowledge questions were asked, and the contestant with the highest score is the winner.
[4] Virginia Noel, who won a game in 1983 with a score of $155 while not letting her opponents answer any questions during Fast Money may hold third.
[5][failed verification] (Ultimately, David Poltorak's record would be beaten in 1994 by Dean Sole on the New Zealand version of "Sale of the Century", his single-game score on 14 November 1994 being $201.
After this, the "reigning champ" plays against the next Grand Champion to win "all the way" for a cash amount equal to their jackpot prize.
[6] The "New" was dropped from the title in 2001, and the show returned to a three contestant format, but continued to eliminate the low scorer before the final fast money.
After a player made a match, they faced a decision: either leave with all the prizes earned off the board, or risk them and play another show.
The first week consisted of 12 Australian champions playing against each other, three at a time, where the four winners of each heat compete on the Friday show to determine the two representatives for that country.
Later that year, the Commonwealth Games aired featuring contestants from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand competing against each other which was won by Cary Young.
Additionally, the US version held their own "International Tournament" in 1987, which was played between the top winners from said country, Canada and Australia; the grand champion was none other than aforementioned three-time defending Australian champ Cary Young.
The four winners from those shows meet in a two-day final, in which the celebrity with the highest score over those two days wins the competition.
Featured stars included the cast members of The Sullivans, The Young Doctors, Prisoner, and A Country Practice.
Other notable wins include: The theme music was written by Jack Grimsley and was later remixed three times, once in 1986, again in 1989, and finally in 2000.
It featured a set of four colorful multiplayer buzzers called "The Slammer", as they were allowed to be connected to a joystick port into a computer.
According to an article from TV Tonight, it says that "Ten has been readying to provide studio space at Pyrmont for Fremantle to pilot the game show".