CHARGE ACCOUNT


    (Lowell 1961) [Jan Murray on cover.]
Larger print on the box identifies this as Jan Murray's TV Word Game, which is how it appears in some game inventories.  Charge Account was also known on television as The Jan Murray Show.

 
CONTENTS:
    90 Cardboard letter Tiles (shown unpunched)
    Contestant Word Sheets
    Letter Selector Drum
    Two Charge Account Recorders
    Fifteen Prize Cards (Ranging from a $150 record player to a $1800 cabin cruiser)
 
GAME PLAY:
    Players select a prize they want to win, then try to earn the money for that prize playing the game.  As letters are drawn from the drum one at a time, players write each letter into a square on their word sheets.  The object is to create three and four letter words horizontally and vertically.  Players earn money for their words, and if they earn enough, then win the prize they chose.  If not, the money earned stays on their Charge Account and carries over into the next round.  After three rounds, the player with the highest value of prizes is the winner.

DIFFERENCES TO TV SHOW:
    Pretty similar, we imagine (it's a rare show we've never seen).  From what we've heard, the show was more of a vehicle for Jan Murray's comedy and the game was secondary.
    An addendum to the rules describes a "perfect game" variation in which only sixteen letters are placed in the drum.  Those letters, if placed correctly, make a perfect 4x4 word square.  Several perfect game examples are given, and you could easily make up others.  According to the instructions, those rules are "to be used in playing the game exactly as it is played on TV."  There's no explanation of any sort of bonus for completing the word square perfectly.

COMMENTS:
    In the game, the "Charge Account" price is only 10% of the "Retail Price".  This conceit of "buying" prizes for far less than their retail value was used more famously years later on Sale of the Century.  Much like Lingo, the actual word game at the heart of this operation is a fun, simple diversion.