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| Welcome | Welcome Page | Update History | Site Help | |
| Press Your Luck | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | ||
| Whammy! | Season 1 | Season 2 | ||
| Special | Second Chance | Press Your Luck | Whammy! | Article Index |
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Special Article: | ||
| A Treatise on Pipsquack | |||
| View the Article Index | |||
Pipsquack is an online adaptation of Press Your Luck, available at Pipsquack.com. It's only designed as a one-player game, but the web server tracks the best scores daily and overall. Rather than stew over whether or not to press or pass, you decide when (or if) you will take your one opportunity to bank your winnings. The game starts off with 12 spins (each one must be taken), and there are plenty of chances to earn additional spins.
A spin begins when the "Go" button is hit, which sets the board in motion. Because there are 7 squares across and 6 down (compared to PYL's 6×5 board) there are 22 squares on the board, instead of 18. The board is stopped by hitting the "Stop" button. If a number is hit, that value is added to the score (these also contain additional spins occasionally). If a multiplier is hit (e.g., "×3") then the score is multiplied by that factor. Many other spaces have special effects or start mini-games, but the Pipsquack space will cancel a player's score. Between spins a player may hit the "Bank" button to transfer their score to the Bank. This can only be done once during the game, but the Pipsquack has no effect on a player's banked score. On the other hand, multipliers have no effect on the Bank either. In addition, most spaces will also add money to the Jackpot. To read the official rules to the game, visit the roolz page at Pipsquack.com.
There is no board configuration for this game, because each square's contents is randomly generated from 25 possible values. However, the probabilities are weighted: certain values are more likely to appear than others. The values are listed here according to color.
The following tables document the statistics for each square, grouped by color. Value indicates what the square says. Freq indicates how many times out of 64 that the square will be selected. Specifically, for each of the 22 spaces on the board the script will generate a random number between 0 and 63. If a value's frequency is 4, then four values (perhaps 23 through 26, to make an example) of the 64 will produce that square. % <color> is the probability that the value will be chosen assuming that the color from that group was already chosen. In other words, it is Freq / SUM(color Freq). % Tot on the other hand, is Freq / 64.
The blue values are simple numbers that are added to the total when landed upon. Two of the blue values give the player an additional spin.
| Value | Freq | % Blue | % Tot |
| 250 | 4 | 10.3% | 6.3% |
| 350 | 4 | 10.3% | 6.3% |
| 400 | 5 | 12.8% | 7.8% |
| 500 | 3 | 7.7% | 4.7% |
| 650 | 5 | 12.8% | 7.8% |
| 750 | 5 | 12.8% | 7.8% |
| 900 | 3 | 7.7% | 4.7% |
| 900+S | 3 | 7.7% | 4.7% |
| 1000 | 2 | 5.1% | 3.1% |
| 1250 | 1 | 2.6% | 1.6% |
| 1250+S | 2 | 5.1% | 3.1% |
| 1500 | 1 | 2.6% | 1.6% |
| 2000 | 1 | 2.6% | 1.6% |
| Total | 39 | 60.9% |
The pink values are multipliers for the player's unbanked total. These spaces are vital in order to reach a high score.
| Value | Freq. | % Red | % Total |
| ×2 | 2 | 50.0% | 3.1% |
| ×3 | 1 | 25.0% | 1.6% |
| ×5 | 1 | 25.0% | 1.6% |
| Total | 4 | 6.3% |
The green spaces all have special effects. Pick A Corner allows the player to choose a value from one of the four corners of the board. Free Spin not only allows the player to spin again, but gives an additional spin as well (e.g., you have 4 spins and land on Free Spin: you now have 5 spins, not just the 4 you began with). Koalie is not colored green, but allows you to play a slots mini-game for extra spins. And Zeek (which is also not colored green) gives one the chance to earn a multiplier through a "Zeek Contract".
| Value | Freq. | % Green | % Total |
| Pick A Corner | 2 | 20.0% | 3.1% |
| Free Spin | 2 | 20.0% | 3.1% |
| Koalie | 3 | 30.0% | 4.7% |
| Zeek | 3 | 30.0% | 4.7% |
| Total | 10 | 15.6% |
The yellow spaces also have special effects, but are generally more rare, and add more money to the jackpot. Hitting $ starts a slots mini-game for the chance to win a cash bonus and extra spins. Jackpot gives the player who lands on it the contents of the jackpot. Wild allows a player to choose any square on the board. And hitting Squackoff gives one the opportunity to spin again, with no Pipsquacks on the board.
| Value | Freq. | % Yellow | % Total |
| $ | 2 | 33.3% | 3.1% |
| Jackpot | 1 | 16.7% | 1.6% |
| Wild | 1 | 16.7% | 1.6% |
| Squackoff | 1 | 16.7% | 3.1% |
| Total | 6 | 9.4% |
The Pipsquack (of whom the game is named after) takes away the unbanked score of the unfortunate player who lands on it. It cannot touch whatever score is in the Bank, however. Any Pipsquacks that would normally appear automatically become 900s during a "Squackoff". See the Summary table below for statistics about the Pipsquack.
| Color | Freq. | % | Odds | Jackpot |
| Blue | 39 | 60.9% | 1.64 | 1650 |
| Pink | 4 | 6.3% | 16 | 2400 |
| Green | 10 | 15.6% | 6.4 | 3200 |
| Yellow | 6 | 9.4% | 10.67 | 6400* |
| Pipsquack | 5 | 9.3% | 12.8 | 0 |
A few additional comments on the table above: Odds indicates the chances (1 out of n) that one will land on that color. Jackpot shows how many points are added to the Jackpot when that color is hit. Exceptions: Hitting Jackpot simply resets the Jackpot to 10000; it does not add an additional 6400 points. Hitting Wild also does not add 6400 to the Jackpot (although PAC still adds 3200).
In this slots mini-game are three spaces that independently change between 2 Free Spins, 3 Free Spins, 5 Free Spins, and Wild. The probability of each space being selected is equal between the four. To win, the player must hit "Stop" so that all three spaces are the same, with the Wild space counting as any of the three other spaces. The reward is an extra number of spins as indicated on the space. If a player manages to hit three Wilds, the player wins extra 10 spins and a bonus of 20000 points.
When this space is first landed upon, the game offers a choice between three Zeek Contracts: a One-Zeek Contract doubles the player's score if he hits one more Zeek during the game, a Two-Zeek Contract quintuples (×5) the player's score if he hits two more Zeeks during the game, and a Three-Zeek Contract octuples (×8) the player's score if he hits three more Zeeks during the game. A Pipsquack cancels a player's Zeek Contract.
In this slots mini-game are three spaces that change quickly at random. Each space contains a different kind of value: the first is a blue points space, the second a pink multiplier, and the third a green extra spins space. When "Stop" is hit, the player wins the amount shown in the first space multiplied by the factor in the second, and an additional number of spins shown in the third space. The 11 blue values used in the first space are the same that are used on the board, except for the extra spin values -- all are weighted equally. The 3 pink values used in the second are also those used on the board, and are equally weighted. Lastly, the 3 green values are 2 Free Spins, 3 Free Spins, and 5 Free Spins, and are also equally weighted.
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