I think the relatively paltry prize money draws the kind of contestants they think fit the show. They’re probably right.

I learned from being a 1 day champ on the show that ends with an ! that CA had a game show tax — 10% off the top in 2003 (After ~30 years as an atty with many things on my resume of which I’m proud, that item on the last page is the first thing I’ve been asked about in every interview since)

That's also the prize for Password (Fallon) and H'wood Squares (2025)! Daytime cash prizes/GSN shows max out at $10K. But also, the top prize on Password+ in 1981 was still $5K, which adjusted for inflation is $18K. I agree it's chintzy; OTOH there's almost no skill involved + they have to pay stars

The point being that people on a contemporary show such as #TheWall regularly win hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Right, but those are shows which air in-season, and take some skill, and where the appeal is seeing Real People's Lives Changed and heroic arcs, etc etc. Match Game is a celeb comedy where the players are there to have fun and win a little cash (and also, a half hour vs. an hour)

Don't get me wrong: I think the puny amounts of cash many game shows and reality shows give away is pathetic. (I am amazed ABC's Pyramid gives away what it does, though when you think of it, adjusted for inflation, it's also cheaping out!) So I get your reaction. I've just adjusted to where we are

(Seriously, though, it's beyond sad how little money they give away on my fave little syndie game show, 25 Words of Less. It's $10K, but there are so many stoppers, maybe 1 out of every 4 or 5 bonus rounds results in a win. The consolation prize for bonus round: 3-day trips with no airfare!

and there's no money won at all during the main game; just points. So losing team gets a $250 gift card to something.