Plinko on The Price Is Right is a pricing game where the contestant drops up to five chips down a giant pegboard into slots worth $0 to $10,000, so the most anyone can win on the standard board is $50,000. It first aired on January 3, 1983, and a contestant gets one chip free and earns up to four more by pricing small prizes. Below are the rules, the slot values and the records, and a free Plinko you can drop yourself.
Plinko: play the demo
A free demo of the real game: 15 balls with demo Stars, no sign-up. Then keep playing in Telegram.
Demo Stars are not real Stars and cannot be withdrawn.
This is a free Plinko demo in your browser, for fun only: no prizes and nothing to sign up for. It is not the TV game, which has its own board.
Plinko on The Price Is Right, key facts (November 4, 2026)
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| First aired | January 3, 1983 |
| Chips | One free, plus up to four won by pricing four small prizes, so five at most |
| Slots on the board | Nine: $100, $500, $1,000 and $0 on each side, $10,000 in the middle |
| Top prize | $50,000, if all five chips land in the $10,000 slot |
| Biggest wins recorded | $31,500 (May 2017); $39,200 (January 2018, on a special anniversary board) |
How do you play Plinko on The Price Is Right?
The contestant starts with one chip and wins more by pricing four small prizes, each worth under $100. For each prize the contestant is shown two possible prices and picks the right digit, and a correct pick wins the prize and an extra chip. Then the chips go down the board one at a time, and every chip pays the value of the slot it ends in.
- Price the first small prize by choosing the correct digit.
- Repeat for up to four prizes, earning a chip for each right answer.
- Drop each chip from the top of the board, and watch it bounce off the pegs.
- Add up the slots the chips land in. That sum is the cash won.
A chip that gets stuck is knocked loose and dropped again without counting against the contestant.
What is the top prize in Plinko?
The top prize is $50,000, which needs all five chips in the $10,000 center slot. Wikipedia says the center slot paid $5,000 until 1998, when the potential top prize was $25,000, and that the current rules put it at $50,000. Fan sites date the change differently, so treat the exact year as unsettled. From the outside in, the other slots pay $100, $500 and $1,000, and the slot on each side of the center pays nothing.
What is the biggest Plinko win ever?
The biggest Plinko win on record is $39,200, won by Ryan Glass on January 3, 2018, but that was on a special board. For the game's 35th anniversary the show raised the board's values so chips could land on $0, $350, $3,500 or $35,000 (Global News). On the standard board the record is $31,500, won by Ryan Belz on an episode that aired on May 25, 2017, which beat the previous record of $30,500 (CBS News). Records can be broken, so check the show's own channels for the latest.
Where does Plinko come from?
The pegboard is styled like a bean machine, also called a Galton board, which drops balls through rows of pegs to show how outcomes spread out. The TV version uses large chips and puts cash values on the slots at the bottom. It debuted on January 3, 1983, and has been a fixture of the show since.
Is Plinko on TV the same as online Plinko?
Not quite: the idea is the same, but the TV game is a contest you earn chips for, while online plinko lets you pick the board and the risk level before every drop. On the show the board is fixed and the slot values are cash. Online, the slots are multipliers, and the board can have 8, 12 or 16 rows. Our guide to how to play plinko covers rows, risk and how the slots are set, and the Plinko guide has the full game.
Why try Plinko in Gift Club?
- The demo on this page is free, with no sign-up and no prize attached.
- In the app, free Sparks arrive every 4 hours, and a Spark round costs 1 Spark and pays XP.
- It plays inside Telegram, with nothing to install.
- You choose the board before each drop, like online Plinko, and the guide shows how it is set up.
Try the game from this article
Drop a ball with free Sparks
Plinko on The Price Is Right FAQ
How does Plinko work on The Price Is Right?
The contestant gets one free chip and can win up to four more by pricing small prizes. Each chip is dropped down a pegboard and pays the value of the slot it lands in, from $0 to $10,000.
What is the most you can win on Plinko?
$50,000 on the standard board, if all five chips land in the $10,000 center slot.
When did Plinko start on The Price Is Right?
It first aired on January 3, 1983.
How many chips do you get in Plinko?
Five at most: one free chip, plus one for each of up to four small prizes priced correctly.
Can I play Plinko for free online?
Yes. The demo on this page is a free Plinko for fun, and in the Gift Club app Spark rounds use free Sparks. It is not the TV game.
Sources
Spark roundTry it in Telegram
Open Gift Club, claim your Sparks and play a Spark round before you stake anything.
Play Gift ClubIn-app Stars can't be redeemed or withdrawn. 18+.
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