Before Survivor,
Before Fear Factor,
Before Dog Eat Dog,
there was...
El gran juego de la oca and all sounds, theme music, set designs, and other items featured or displayed on this page are the property of Antena 3 de Televisi�n. No challenge of ownership is implied or intended.
HOSTS:
Emilio Arag�n, Lydia Bosch, Patricia Perez (1993-94 season)
Pepe Navarro, Eugenia Santana, Ivonne Reyes (1994-95 season)
Andr�s Caparr�s, Elsa Anka, Paloma Mar�n (1998 season - El nuevo juego de la oca)
El gran juego de la oca is an action-packed tournament held weekly in Madrid, Spain. Four very brave contestants compete each week, trying to accomplish dangerous stunts and challenges hoping to win money and impress the gorgeous girls (and there are LOTS OF THEM!) or muscular men that hang out around the arena. Each week's winners advance to the semifinals which take place during the show's final month, then those winners move on to the finals to determine the supreme champion of the original 128 competitors. No one is voted off, and no one can help or hinder another's progress. A contestant's success or lack thereof is determined by his ability to conquer the elements of the game itself, smart betting, and ultimately the luck of the dice. From explosives to dangerous animals to underwater perils, this show is not for the faint-hearted.
It takes three people to host a show of El gran juego de la oca's caliber, and occasionally celebrities from Spain appear as guest hosts and/or participants. Also, stuntmen, magicians, and Guinness world record holders (which this show has turned contestants into!) from both Spanish and English-speaking countries perform on the show. Click here to read more about the show's various personalities. There were three seasons of El gran juego de la oca, each with their own hosts and characteristics; this website will focus on the first two seasons.
GENERAL PROCEDURE: El gran juego de la oca is based on Juego de la oca, a traditional board game played in many Spanish-speaking countries. The set is a giant 63-space human board game that covers the entire perimeter of a large arena. A swimming pool is located in the center, along with various shortcuts, obstacles, and perils.
Each player points his remote control at the camera to "roll" the two dice. For every space he walks, he receives 10,000 pesetas (the pre-Euro Spanish currency; 10,000 pesetas were equivalent to about 80 American dollars at the time of the show's recording.)
After landing on the space designated by the roll, one of the three hosts will explain to him (or her) a prueba (mission) that he must complete, either in a certain time limit or percentagewise. The contestant bids, in increments of 10,000 pesetas, on how he thinks he will do. If he successfully completes the prueba, he receives that much money, but if he fails, he loses the money. The stunts used on this show are particularly bizarre, from souped-up Double Dare-type stunts to somewhat risque challenges (ex. unchaining a scantily-clad model from an exploding bed) to very complex challenges of Fear Factor nature.
Click here to see what kind of spaces a contestant can land on, and here to take a look at some of the favorite challenges from the show.
If time grows short, the game goes into Tirada R�pida (fast roll) mode. From the point Danny the Judge announces the Tirada R�pida until the end of the game, the contestants roll the dice and do not compete in any pruebas. This always takes place after the final commercial and usually takes about three minutes.
WINNING: Just as in the board game, the first person to get to space #63 by exact count (or by landing on #54 - the final Oca) wins. If he rolls a number that exceeds the remaining number of spaces, he must go backwards the remaining number of spaces. After the contestant reaches #63, however, the game is not over yet! Not by a longshot! After a contestant has won the upfront game, he is given a special mission, the Reoca, that he must complete to win a car (a Volvo.) He has one week, and the whole thing is taped and viewed in a ten-minute segment at the beginning of the next show. Usually he is sent to complete a task at some sporting event, but sometimes he is sent to to other cities (or Portugal, or the U.S.!) to do his job. If he succeeds, he wins the car. If he fails, he wins nothing. There was only one instance during the initial season where a contestant did not win his car.
THE TOURNAMENT: After 34 weeks of programming, sixteen of the show's 32 civilian winners (there were two celebrity episodes) were invited back to participate in the tournament. Eight men and eight women were selected by lottery to come back and participate in the semifinals. A complete game was played each week of the tournament with two men and two women competing. Whoever won received a trip to Cuba and a position as one of the four finalists, while the other three had a chance to complete a second Reoca together to win a trip to Brazil for each of them. The runner-ups of the finals each received a motorcycle, and the grand champion won a new weekend home. (For the finale of the second season, the winner received a car in his ultimate prize package. I am unfamiliar with whether this was a second car or if the prizes were worth less during the main season.)
Spaces on the El gran juego de la oca board (first season)
Second season board spaces
El gran juego de la oca Sounds
Personalities and Characters
Second Season Personalities
Pruebas (Challenges and Missions)
2008 Student Produced Oca Board
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