Pay Cards! (1969)

Based on the obscure 1968-69 game show, an MC is chosen and shuffles a deck of twenty cards. The cards are inserted face-down into a numbered vinyl sheet. Players choose three numbers from the vinyl sheet and the cards are revealed. If a pair shows, the player must take all three cards. If not, the player may refuse the cards and they are turned face down and placed back onto the numbered sheet. After all cards are drawn, the hands are evaluated and the players given cash for pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind, and for highest hand in the round. The player with the most money after three rounds plays the Jackpot Game and can earn additional money. The player with the most money after the Jackpot Game wins. Three versions were apparently released: the original ("Version I") has no Wild Cards and a red Jackpot spinner; the box has black copyright lettering, and the adult male wears a brown shirt. Some early copies of the release with Wild Cards ("Version II") feature the same red Jackpot spinner and box design as Version I, but include the updated rules for using the Wild Card decks. Later Wild Card editions ("Version III") have the updated rules and a black Jackpot spinner, plus the box has pink copyright lettering and the adult male wears a red shirt. The game was given away as a consolation prize on the show. On the one circulating episode, late in the show's run (#209 of 260, taped 4/22/69), host Art James holds up the box with the brown-shirt male. This strongly suggests that Versions II and III each had a short print run. The show did return briefly in 1981-1982 as "$UPER PAY CARDS", produced in Canada for syndication in the US and Canada. A presumed home game for this version was shown on the show. However, the box looks to be a mock-up only, as no known copies of this home version are known to exist.