Supermarket Sweep

Three teams of two contestants played a game of answering questions and supermarket shopping.

Gameplay (ABC version)
Three teams, usually married couples, competed. Each team began with a base time of one minute and thirty seconds. In the first part of the game, the teams were shown a grocery item and were asked to guess its retail price. The team who came the closest won the item and an additional 15 seconds to their time. Four items were played.

In the second part of the game, one contestant from each team went on a shopping spree through the market, using the time accumulated in the first half of the game. Several bonus prizes ranging in value from $10 to $100 would be spread throughout the store. After each contestant ran their sweep, the total value of groceries and bonus prizes in each player's cart was determined. The team with the highest total won the right to return to the show and play in the next game. All teams kept the groceries and bonuses they picked up.

Gameplay (Lifetime/PAX version)
The gameplay of the Lifetime/PAX version of Supermarket Sweep consisted of three segments: the question round, the Big Sweep, and the Bonus Sweep. The game was played between three teams of two related individuals, such as a parent and child, spouses, siblings, or best friends. In the last two rounds, the team members wore sweatshirts of the same color ( aqua blue for Team #1 [ green in earlier tapings], burgundy for Team #2, yellow for Team #3 [ blue in earlier tapings] [the colors of the first two teams switched starting in 1993]). The show gave the appearance that pairs were chosen to be contestants based on who in the audience (or in the show's last two seasons, the market) held pre-distributed grocery items that the announcer called for at the beginning of the show.

Question Round
At the beginning of the game, all three teams started with a base time of 1:30. The questions answered correctly added time to their clocks. The round was divided into three segments; in the first two segments, one teammate from each team answered a variety of questions and/or played one of several games that involved pricing everyday grocery items, with the teammates switching between segments. The third segment was the Round Robin game, in which the teammates rotated after each question.

Question types
Players were asked a series of questions, usually with a specific brand of grocery items as answers; each question was worth 10 seconds. In each round, the questions followed a specific format, which varied between rounds and shows. The formats used on the show included:


 * Guessing which item a series of interesting facts described.
 * Determining the brand name of a product, the picture of which had the brand name edited out.
 * Slogans - Guessing which item went with a particular slogan or jingle.
 * Multiple Choice - Selecting one or more of the answers to a series of questions from a bank of four, five or six possible choices. A famous saying or phrase was asked to the contestants, belonging to which answer.

Pricing Games
During each segment, different games were played involving everyday groceries. These games varied from day to day and generally involved the following objectives:


 * Selecting which of three items was priced above or below a certain amount, was not a given price, was on sale, was incorrectly priced, was correctly priced, or was the most expensive.


 * Determining how much of one item could be bought for a certain amount of money.
 * Guessing whether the actual price for a product was higher or lower than the price displayed. A variation also included the possibility of the shown price being correct.

If a player was correct, that team earned 10 seconds; however, if all three players were right, 30 seconds was added to all three teams' times. In Season 1, however, all games (excluding the "on sale" version) had 20 seconds added to all three teams if all three players were right.

Special Games

 * 30-Second Shootout - At the beginning of the second segment of the question round, both contestants on a team played an individual game, which banked the team 30 seconds of Sweep time; each team took turns by playing the game individually. The format usually consisted of a contestant guessing a series of words using the clues given by his or her partner (similar to Pyramid and Password). The first letter of each correct answer was a letter in the name of a brand name or item from the market, which the guesser then had to identify to earn the Sweep time. Each of the teams had 30 seconds to achieve this (40 in the final Lifetime season), and if a word was accidentally blurted out by the clue-giver, the team was disqualified automatically.
 * During the Lifetime era, the giver tried to get his/her partner to say any word or a name beginning with the appropriate letter. The guesser had to identify the product before time ran out. An additional rule was that once a clue was used on one of the words in the list, it was not to be used again (doing so would lead to disqualification of that team).
 * In the PAX run, pre-selected words to which their initials spell out the product's name were given to the giver and s/he simply have to convey them to his/her partner. If the giver gets stuck s/he can pass and go to the next word. Also the "no repetitions" rule was lifted. When time was up, that's when the guesser tried to guess the product using the letters revealed, although s/he can guess while the clock was still ticking.
 * On some episodes, an alternative format was used with a picture of a product shown. Each clue changed the product's picture.

Mini-Sweep
Beginning in Season 2, a Mini-Sweep was played at the beginning of the first round. A toss-up question (usually a rhyming couplet) was asked with a particular product as the answer. The team that correctly answered the question earned 10 seconds, as well as a chance for one team member to run into the market to retrieve the product, which was marked with the show's logo. If the product was returned within 30 seconds, the team won $50 towards their Sweep total. If the team member returned with the correct product, but was not marked with the Supermarket Sweep logo (changed to the show's "cart" emblem in 1993) on it, no bonus was awarded. However, if the contestant found the marked item but the marker fell off the product, the cash bonus still counted.

In Season 3, the bonus was doubled to $100 if the product was brought back within 20 seconds. In Season 4, a second Mini-Sweep was added at the beginning of the second round and was later used only during special weeks on the PAX version.

Round Robin
For the final segment, the teammates switched after each question. The contestants were shown the scrambled letters of a brand name, common food, or item, and three clues were given for 10 seconds each. If no one buzzed in and then answered correctly after the last clue was given, all three clues were repeated quickly. On some episodes throughout the entire Lifetime era, an alternative format was used with five clues given and no scrambled name. The Round Robin originally consisted of four questions, but was lengthened to six in Fall 1990 to give all three teams a chance to earn up to 60 seconds (one minute). The maximum time available was 3:40.

Sweep Quiz
This was used during the final PAX season. At the end of the second segment, a quickie was shown as the show took its second commercial break, which was a question that viewers at home can answer. At the start of the third segment, the answer would be shown.

Another variant was used in some episodes of Seasons 1-3 as well as early in season 4, where David asked a question to the home viewers at the end of the first segment before going to the first commercial break. At the start of the second segment, David gave the answer, occasionally making a joke afterward.

Big Sweep
The "Big Sweep" was the chance for the teams to run throughout the aisles and to grab whatever they could off of the supermarket shelves. The clock was set to the highest time that was earned by the three teams. The runner for that team was sent out into the market, with the other runners entering when their time had remained on the clock. During the Big Sweep, the show's announcer provided the "play-by-play".

The runner could bring their cart back to the team's register at any time, at which point it was exchanged for an empty cart. Any items in the runner's cart when the bell rang were included in their total.

The three main rules for the Big Sweep were:
 * The teams could only take up to five of each item.
 * Any items dropped and/or upset had to be returned to the shelf or in one's cart, or incur a $25-per-item penalty. Teams were also penalized $25 for running into supermarket displays, cameramen or any other personnel.
 * Only one member of each team could be in the store at a time; the other team member was required to remain at the checkout counter to unload the groceries (with the exception of the doing of some money makers [see below]).

The product limit, which was absent in the original ABC version of the show, was added to prevent teams from overloading their carts with expensive items, such as poultry, laundry detergent, or over-the-counter drugs.

Bonuses
Many bonuses were available during the Big Sweep at different times during the show's run. Each contestant was only able to take one of each bonus type. Some of these included:
 * Bonus Specials (Value: $50–$200, later up to $250; $100-$300 during the Twin Car Giveaway) - The only bonus feature to appear in every episode. Three jumbo-sized stuffed animals, giant inflated balloons of products, or cardboard promotional signs for products with bonus tags attached to them were scattered throughout the market. In order for the bonus to count, the runner had to bring the item back to the checkouts and over the red line (without destroying it or the tag) before the time expired. A runner was allowed to steal an opposing team's item if it was left unprotected before getting it to the checkouts. These over-sized products and/or signs were worth $50, $100, or $200. In September 1993, a fourth bonus worth $250 (dubbed the "Super Bonus") was added to the market. During the Twin Car Giveaway tournament at the start of Season 6, a $300 bonus (dubbed the "Super Super Bonus") replaced the $50 bonus. In all cases, only one bonus was allowed to a customer.

Bonus Sweep
The winning team was given 60 seconds to find three products in the market one at a time. The products were marked by the show's logo or emblem (just like the Mini-Sweep), and were numbered 1-3. They were given a clue to the first product, after which the time started. The second clue was affixed to the first product, and the third clue was on the second product. If the team found the third product, they won $5,000. The winning team had to find all three products and return with them to win the money. If they found the final product before one of the other products, originally the team would automatically be disqualified, but after the first two seasons, the team that found the $5,000 too soon were just reminded to find all three products, then return to find the money. If the team was unsuccessful, the team still won $200 for each product found. The team had to have their hands on the money before the bell sounded.

Clues had several formats in the series. Some clues were two-line rhymes describing the product, with its brand name as the final missing word in the rhyme. Other clues used a play on words of the product's title. Others had important words underlined. On occasion, clues led to a household item other than cleaners, a movie in the movie rack, a fruit or a vegetable in the produce section, a flower in a special kiosk located at the front of the market that was used only during the Bonus Sweep, or a greeting card near the magazine rack.

Tournaments
During both runs of the show, special tournaments were held periodically, as well as other individual shows in which former teams were invited back for a chance to win more money or a trip.

Twin Car Giveaway
From September 5-30, 1994, at the beginning of the show's final season on Lifetime, a month-long Twin Car Giveaway tournament was held. During the first three weeks of the tournament, a standard game was played each day. The twelve teams with the highest Big Sweep totals from these episodes at the end of the third week returned for the fourth and final week, in which games were played with no Bonus Sweep. The six teams with the highest Big Sweep totals during that final week returned for the Friday show to play for a pair of Geo Trackers.

On the Friday show, the first three teams played an eight-question Round Robin game, where each correct answer was worth $50 towards their Sweep total. Each of the first three teams then had a flat three minutes in the Big Sweep. This process was repeated for the other three teams. At the end of the show, the team with the highest Big Sweep total won the two cars (a combined value of more than $25,000) in addition to whatever else that they won on their previous shows. All other teams kept their prior winnings. Team #1, James and Rick, won with a Big Sweep total of $1,598, and won a grand total of $28,710 (the highest grand total ever). A total of $84,562 in cash and prizes was won by the contestants over the four-week period.

Other Tournaments and Specials
Occasionally, former teams were invited back to play for additional money or a trip. These consisted largely of "Sweeps of Champions" (later called "Second Chance Weeks"), which gave previous Big Sweep winners after they lost $5,000 on their first appearance a chance to go on another Bonus Sweep for the opportunity to play and get a second chance at $5,000. On a few early "Sweep of Champions" episodes, former players were invited back for a chance to double their money to $10,000. Others include:


 * "Gourmet Week" - Allowed the teams to play for a trip to France.
 * "You Can't Lose!" - Like the Sweep of Champions and Second Chance episodes, but no Bonus Sweep was played during this week. At the end of that week, one team was guaranteed to win $5,000 after they lost on their first appearance.
 * "Double Your Money Week" - Similar to the few early "Sweeps of Champions" episodes from the Lifetime version, except in the PAX version the winning team with the highest Super Big Sweep total at the end on the final day didn't have to run around the market looking for another $5,000 as in early "Sweeps of Champions" episodes, they automatically doubled their money to $10,000.
 * "Mother-Daughter Week" - Featured on the Lifetime run with mother-daughter teams competing, sometimes with children under the age of 18. The daughters played in the first half of the question rounds (trivia games) and the mothers (pricing games) in the second, and vice versa. In the Big Sweep, it was either all mothers running or all daughters, depending on the teams' decisions.


 * "Tournament of Heroes" - Troop teams were to win the $5,000 at the end of the week. No Bonus Sweeps were played during this week.

Board Game
A board game based on the original ABC version was published by Milton Bradley in 1966.

Video Slot Machine
A five-reel Video Slot Machine based on the Lifetime/PAX version was released by WMS Gaming in 2004. In the game, the prize check symbol shows up during the shopping spree Free spin bonus round, all line wins will get prize checked up to 8X! In the Supermarket Sweep bonus, the show starts as players pick grocery items for awards. Finding hidden prizes advances the player to the next aisle for bigger awards and eventually to the last aisle where the hidden grand prize is waiting to award the big money.

In popular culture

 * On an episode of Laverne & Shirley, there was an episode title of the same name, "Supermarket Sweep". The title characters were Slotnik's one millionth customer. The man behind the counter said that they won a free shopping spree in the supermarket. They had 3:00 to grab everything they could get their hands on and whatever stuff they had must be over the line to be won. The hilarious duo shop like crazy. As soon as they have a heap of stuff, they get tired and all they win are two items.
 * On Late Night with David Letterman, Dave makes an appearance on Supermarket Sweep as one of his clips of the week. Dave coaches the shoppers while wearing an Ithaca sweatshirt and a whistle around his neck.
 * On the Married...with Children two-parter "You Better Shop Around", Al & Peggy Bundy compete against a rival in a shopping spree in the supermarket in which the Bundys are seeking refuge due to a broken air conditioner.
 * After Elmo watches a video about sleep on the popular Sesame Street ending segment, Elmo's World, there is a parody mentioned called "Supermarket Sleep".
 * There was also a kids game in the 1990s on Nickelodeon better known as Nickelodeon Super Toy Run, hosted by Mike O'Malley. Kids would have 5 minutes to grab everything, which would be toys before time was up. This was a similar concept to Sweep but it was toy shopping at Toys R Us.
 * On GSN's 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, the Red Tag Special prop was used in the set.

Music

 * 1965: The Dave Brubeck Quartet/Score Productions
 * 1990/1993: Christopher Rhyne

Inventor
Al Howard

Spin-offs
Arrasa con Todo con Kmart - A short-lived Spanish-language version of the show that aired in 2011.

The Honeymoon Race - Similar premise, except that it was taped in shopping malls across the country.

International Versions
Here is a list of countries that did their own version of Supermarket Sweep:
 * Argentina (Sume y Lleve, 1987-1988/Clink Caja, 1996)
 * Australia
 * Brazil (SuperMarket)
 * Canada (both in French and English)
 * Chile (Supermarket)
 * Greece (Super Market)
 * Japan
 * Spain
 * Turkey (Supermarket)
 * United Kingdom (renamed Dale's Supermarket Sweep in 1998, after host Dale Winton)

Additional Pages
Supermarket Sweep/Quotes & Catchphrases

Supermarket Sweep/Gallery

Supermarket Sweep/Video Gallery

Links
Jay Anton's Rules for Supermarket Sweep

Josh Rebich's Rules for Supermarket Sweep

Rules for Supermarket Sweep @ The Game Show Temple

Supermarket Sweep's Monster Squad @ Game Show Garbage

Official Pearson site for Supermarket Sweep (via Internet Archive)

YouTube Videos
An intro to Classic Supermarket Sweep

The first episode of the show

A 1990 episode with the different sweatshirts in the Big Sweep

A 1990 Sweep of Champions episode with "Mr. Yuck" in the Big Sweep

A 1990 Episode with the Round Robin permanently increases to six

A 1991 Sweep of Champions Episode of the Show

A 1992 Episode of the Show

A 1992 Episode with no buzzer for a wrong answer in the Question Rounds.

A 1992 Sweep of Champions Episode with an error of adding 10 seconds for a correct answer

A 1992 Everything is Super Episode where three questions are answered in the Jeopardy! style (I.E. in the form of a question), plus the $200 Super Sandwich debuts.

Another 1992 regular episode of the show.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

A 1992 Sweep of Champions episode of the show.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

An early 1993 episode with yellow displays, plus a new theme music.

Part 1

Part 2

Another episode

$250 Super Bonus debuts, plus permanent blue displays.

Part 1

Part 2

Another episode

A 1993 episode, with a misgrab in the Mini-Sweep.

Part 1

Part 2

A 1993 episode, with first part missing

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

A 1993 episode, where the winning team was so close to winning the $5,000 Bonus Sweep

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

A 1994 episode where the winning team was so close to winning the $5,000 Bonus Sweep

Part 1

Part 2

A 2000 PAX episode, with two questions answered Jeopardy! style (i.e. in the form of a question) that would be completely frowned upon on Win Ben Stein's Money; plus the most big-money makers in one Big Sweep

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

A 2001 PAX episode, with a goof-up in the 30-Second Shootout, and the Bonus Envelope

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

A 1993 Episode with an updated TV Mystery Product with a button underneath it, plus $100 Candy debuts.

A 1993 episode featuring the Instant Coupon Machines and the Cake-decorating kit

A 1993 Episode where a Pasta Sauce Jar breaks on the floor after winning the $5,000 Bonus Sweep.

A 1993 Episode where Pricing Items Game is not played.

A 1993 half-episode featuring just the Instant Coupon Machines

A 1993 Sweep of Champions episode

The Twin Car Giveaway finale from 1994

A 1994 Episode with a repeated clue incident during the 30-Second Shootout.

The Cruise to Paradise Finale from 1994

A 1994 episode with the 1990 theme played after the Bonus Sweep

A 1994 episode with an error in the Checkstand Headlines game and the Super Sandwich

A 1994 episode with the Super Sandwich, a $7 difference in the Big Sweep, and a close $5,000 win

A 1994 Sweep of Champions episode

A 2000 PAX Episode

A 2001 PAX episode with a goof-up in the 30-Second Shootout, the Video Envelope, and the $5,000 found before the second item

A 2001 Double Your Money episode (also includes a regular episode up to the Mini-Sweep)

Another 2001 PAX Episode