El gran juego de la oca
Encyclopedia
El gran juego de la oca (The Great Game of the Goose) was a TV game show
produced in Madrid
, Spain
from 1993 through 1995 and again in 1998 as El nuevo juego de la oca. It was a weekly show airing in a block of several hours on the Spanish channel Antena 3
, and later Telecinco
. The show was created by world-renowned television producer Jocelyn Hattab, and first premiered in Italy
as Il Grande Gioco Dell'Oca.
based on the centuries-old children's game, Juego de la oca (Game of the Goose)
. As they played the game, they competed in Hollywood-type stunts in a test of mind, body, and nerve to win money and prizes.
Hosts in season two wereidioticidioticidioticThe 1998 season was hosted by Andrés Caparrós, Elsa Anka and Paloma Marín.
. In addition to the main game path, there was a stage (two in the second season), a giant cage
, a circular swimming pool
in the middle of the set, and several large playing floors where the elaborate stunts were set up.
100,000 (€
601, then-equivalent to roughly US$
800). On a turn, he or she "rolled" the electronic "dice
", and advanced the number of spaces rolled. Each space traveled was worth ₧10,000. After landing on the designated space, the contestant was shown a stunt that he had to perform. After the host explained how to accomplish the task, the contestant wagered some or all of his money, depending on how confident he/she was that he/she could succeed. Successfully completing the stunt added the player's wager to his or her score, while a failed stunt deducted the wager.
. The whole thing was taped and watched at the beginning of the next episode; the participating player was then informed whether or not he won the automobile. This feature was removed in the second season.
was held to determine who would be invited back to participate in the Tournament of Champions. The names of all winning male contestants were placed into one hopper, while the names of the winning female contestants were placed into another. Eight names were drawn from each, and these were divided up into four semifinal games with two men and two women each. The four semifinal winners competed in a final episode to determine the Grand Champion for that season.
In the second season, all finalists began the game with ₧250,000 (€1,502, then-equivalent to approximately $2,000) instead of 100,000.
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
produced in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
from 1993 through 1995 and again in 1998 as El nuevo juego de la oca. It was a weekly show airing in a block of several hours on the Spanish channel Antena 3
Antena 3 (Spain)
Antena 3 is a Spanish terrestrial television channel owned by Antena 3 de Televisión. Some of the more popular programmes broadcast by Antena 3 include Aquí no hay quien viva, El Barco, Los Protegidos, Los Simpson and El Internado....
, and later Telecinco
Telecinco
Telecinco is a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Mediaset España. Launched in 1990 as Tele 5, it was the fifth of the national terrestrial television channels. In 1997, Tele 5 was rebranded as Telecinco, dropping the flower logo seen in other Mediaset channel...
. The show was created by world-renowned television producer Jocelyn Hattab, and first premiered in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as Il Grande Gioco Dell'Oca.
Premise
Four idiotic contestants, two men and two women, played a giant board gameBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
based on the centuries-old children's game, Juego de la oca (Game of the Goose)
Game of the Goose
The Game Of The Goose is a board game with uncertain origins. Some people connect the game with the Phaistos Disc , others claim that it was originally a gift from Francesco I de' Medici of Florence to King Philip II of Spain sometime between 1574 and 1587, while the latest theories attribute to...
. As they played the game, they competed in Hollywood-type stunts in a test of mind, body, and nerve to win money and prizes.
Hosts
In season one, the hosts were Emilio Aragón, Lydia Bosch, and Patricia Perez.Hosts in season two wereidioticidioticidioticThe 1998 season was hosted by Andrés Caparrós, Elsa Anka and Paloma Marín.
Set
The set was a 63-space game board set up at the perimeter of a large arenaArena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
. In addition to the main game path, there was a stage (two in the second season), a giant cage
Cage (enclosure)
A cage is an enclosure made of mesh, bars or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal in captivity, capturing, and being used for display of an animal at a zoo.-History:...
, a circular swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
in the middle of the set, and several large playing floors where the elaborate stunts were set up.
Object
The main object was to get to space 63 by exact count. Contestants earned money along the way, which they used to bet on how well they could perform stunts. These stunts provided a secondary object to the game, and accounted for much of the show's popularity.Gameplay
A contestant began the game with ₧Spanish peseta
The peseta was the currency of Spain between 1869 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra .- Etymology :...
100,000 (€
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
601, then-equivalent to roughly US$
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
800). On a turn, he or she "rolled" the electronic "dice
Dice
A die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
", and advanced the number of spaces rolled. Each space traveled was worth ₧10,000. After landing on the designated space, the contestant was shown a stunt that he had to perform. After the host explained how to accomplish the task, the contestant wagered some or all of his money, depending on how confident he/she was that he/she could succeed. Successfully completing the stunt added the player's wager to his or her score, while a failed stunt deducted the wager.
Spaces
Special spaces were distributed along the path, with the game generally getting more "dangerous" the further along a contestant moved. The special spaces included:- Ocas (Geese): Landing on an Oca resulted in that player advancing to the next Oca and rolling again. Ocas were found at spaces 5, 9, 18, 27, 36, 45, and 54. (If a contestant landed on space #54, he advanced to space #63 and automatically won the game.)
- Traditionally, before a contestant took his second roll, he and the host recited a rhyme from the board game: De oca a oca... tiro porque me toca (From Goose to Goose, I roll because it's my turn.)
- Space #7 - Dados (Dice): Dados was a special shortcut that advanced the contestant to space number 20, at which point he rolled again. Before the second roll, another poem was recited: De dado a dado... tiro porque me ha tocado. (From Die to Die, I roll because it's my turn.) This space was removed after the first season.
- Space #8 - Mud Wrestling: This space was next to a mud pit; landing here resulted in the contestant having to perform a stunt in the mud while being hindered by a female mud wrestler. For the second season, the mud pit was moved to space #31.
- Space #19 - Restaurante chino (Chinese Restaurant): In the second season, any contestant who landed on space #19 had to take a seat at the mock ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
restaurant. The "waiter" brought out a disgusting food (such as a whole ratRatRats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
cooked in sweet and sourSweet and sourSweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It has long been popular in North America and Europe, where it is stereotypically considered a component of standard Chinese cuisine...
sauce), and the contestant had to take at least five full bites of it to avoid losing all his money.
- Space #31 - Watermelons: If a contestant landed here, his stunt was taking a macheteMacheteThe machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
and having to chop watermelonWatermelonWatermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
s that rolled randomly out of a large tube. This was another space that was removed at the end of season 1.
- Space #34 - Pintacuerpos (Body PaintingBody paintingBody painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting...
): Landing here resulted in the contestant having to spin a wheel to determine which part of his or her body got the show's goose head logo painted on it. The spaces on the wheel were arm, back, chest, stomach, and bottom.
- Space #47 - Snake Den: If someone landed here, he or she had to enter an acrylic glassAcrylic glassPoly is a transparent thermoplastic, often used as a light or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. It is sometimes called acrylic glass. Chemically, it is the synthetic polymer of methyl methacrylate...
pit filled with sand and boa constrictorBoa constrictorThe Boa constrictor is a large, heavy-bodied species of snake. It is a member of the family Boidae found in North, Central, and South America, as well as some islands in the Caribbean. A staple of private collections and public displays, its color pattern is highly variable yet distinctive...
s. The door was locked behind the contestant, and he or she had a certain amount of time to find the key to the other side and get out. Doing so not only won the wager, but also allowed the player to stay at space #50, where the pit exited. This was moved in the second season to the entrance at #55 and the exit at #59.
- Space #51 - Castle Wall: The stunt at #51 was always scaling the adjacent castleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
wall in some manner and kissing the prince or princess (depending on the contestant's gender) waiting at the top.
- Space #52 - Haircut: A barber's chair was set up at #52 (48 in season 2), and the contestant had to answer three questions (the last of which was always impossible to answer in the five seconds allotted.) Getting any question wrong resulted in a male player receiving a severe haircut by a deranged barberBarberA barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
. Men were usually shaven bald, but women only had their hair shortened.
- Space #57 - Cage Match: Landing on #57 resulted in a stunt inside the large cageCage (enclosure)A cage is an enclosure made of mesh, bars or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal in captivity, capturing, and being used for display of an animal at a zoo.-History:...
. The contestant would be given a task, and the gladiator-type stunt people inside would try to hinder his or her progress. The entrance to the cage was placed at #43 during the second season.
- Space #57 - Nurse: In the second season, this square had a hospitalHospitalA hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
bed and a woman dressed as a nurse standing next to it. One game here involved the nurse doing a striptease for the male contestant, who had to keep his heart rateHeart rateHeart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
down; another game was where a male contestant was asked five questions, with each incorrect answer resulting in part of his leg hair being waxed off; three correct answers won the challenge.
- Space #58 - Death: This space was marked by a skull and crossbones; landing here resulted in the contestant being sent back to start (however, he kept his money.) This space was featured on the original board game; however, on the show, it too was exclusive to the first season.
- Space #61 - Ruleta cruel (Cruel Roulette): If a player landed here, he had to spin the adjacent wheel and lost whatever percentage of money it landed on. In the second season, the player was strapped to a large version of the wheel and spun around rapidly. The pointer was above his head, and again the contestant lost the percentage of money on which it stopped.
Characters and Personalities
Regular characters and/or personalities on the show included:- Oquettes - an eight member danceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
team that "sang" the theme song, escorted contestants to certain spaces, and participated in some of the challenges - Chicos/chicas oca - random male and female cast members that participated in the workings of some of the challenges
- Guest hosts - every week, a celebrity from Spain came on the show as a guest host
- Romy - the mudwrestler in Season 1
- Marvel - the mudwrestler in Season 2
- Calzoncillo Man ("Underwear Man") - an anti-superhero dressed in pink pajamas who hindered the contestants' progress on several episodes
- Maxtor - a muscular AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n male dressed as a warrior, who competed against contestants in later episodes - Promotional Characters - Super MarioMariois a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
(representing NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
), a cow (representing milkMilkMilk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
), and elvesElfAn elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
(representing Boskys cereal) appeared to promote their products; usually, the game involved their product as well - Flequi - the barberBarberA barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
during the first season; he became quite popular with the show's fans and got more involved in other parts of the show (especially final stunts) as the season progressed - Rizotín - the barber during the second season; he gave wilder haircuts to men than did Flequi and had a much more flamboyant personality (vaguely resembling Salvador DalíSalvador DalíSalvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
). - Danny - the offstage judge who made decisions on close calls during Season 1
- Fernando ("el mimoso pringoso") - a disgusting, fat, smelly man who ate spaghettiSpaghettiSpaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin. Spaghetti is made of semolina or flour and water. Italian dried spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but outside of Italy it may be made with other kinds of flour...
like a two-year-old; a Q&A game was played in which correct answers resulted in him kissing the female host, and incorrect answers resulted in him kissing the contestant - Besucona ("Kissing lady") - an ugly hag who played a kissing game similar to Fernando's, this time involving a male contestant and Emilio
- Sound guys - played the background music and inserted sound effects for comic relief.
- Monsters - goofy monsters who wore shredded Sunday clothes and only appeared on very early episodes of the show
- Alberto Murroni - a world-famous knife throwerKnife throwingKnife throwing is an art, sport, combat skill, or variously an entertainment technique, involving an artist skilled in the art of throwing knives, the weapons thrown, and a target.-A throwing knife:...
who appeared with his assistant Vesna on all episodes of the show including the Italian version. After a brief demonstration, the contestant was usually asked to guess the outcome of another, or successfully perform a stunt with Murroni. - Martin the Magician - performed magic tricksMagic (illusion)Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
during the second season - Undertakers - escorted a contestant off the stage after landing on Death
- Ocas - live geeseGooseThe word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....
that were allowed to roam freely around the stage
Stunts
- Beso o Tortazo (Kiss or Slap): A male contestant landing here was presented with a (usually sexy) conversation by one of the Oquettes. That conversation was left incomplete. He was presented with the option to say that the outcome was a kiss or a slap. In order to win, the contestant had to guess at least five out of the eight Oquettes' responses correctly. No matter if the guess was right, the contestant received the kiss or slap anyway. If the contestant was female, the host received the kiss/slap; however, on the final episode of the first season, the in-house judge was brought out and he received the kisses and slaps.
Final Stunt
A contestant who reached space 63 won the game; however, he then was given until the taping of the next show (one week) to perform a reoca, an additional stunt attempted outside the studio, in order to win a carAutomobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
. The whole thing was taped and watched at the beginning of the next episode; the participating player was then informed whether or not he won the automobile. This feature was removed in the second season.
Tournament
After 32 standard games had been played (excluding celebrity episodes), a lotteryLottery
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...
was held to determine who would be invited back to participate in the Tournament of Champions. The names of all winning male contestants were placed into one hopper, while the names of the winning female contestants were placed into another. Eight names were drawn from each, and these were divided up into four semifinal games with two men and two women each. The four semifinal winners competed in a final episode to determine the Grand Champion for that season.
In the second season, all finalists began the game with ₧250,000 (€1,502, then-equivalent to approximately $2,000) instead of 100,000.
External links
- Official web site (in Spanish) (This site is now defunct)
- Oca fan site (This site is flagged as dangerous by Norton Antivirus)
- Official website of show creator Jocelyn Hattab