A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating where necessary. The history of the game shows dates back to the late 1930s when both radio and television game shows were broadcast. The genre became popular in the United States in the 1950s, becoming a regular feature of daytime television.
The Price Is Right is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their 1956–1965 show of the same name, the new version added many distinctive gameplay elements. Contestants are selected from the studio audience. When the announcer calls their name, they use the show's famous catchphrase, "Come on down!"
Hollywood Squares is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debuted in 1966 on the same network. The board for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions by the host and the contestants judge the truth of their answers to gain squares in the right pattern to win the game.
Match Game is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelists to fill-in-the-blank questions. Beginning with the CBS run of the 1970s, the questions are often formed as humorous double entendres.
Press Your Luck is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. Contestants answer trivia questions to earn "spins" on a randomly cycling game board. The board's spaces display cash, prizes, extra spins, special items, or the show's mascot, a cartoon creature known as the Whammy. Landing on a Whammy eliminates any cash and prizes accumulated while also displaying a short comedic animation. Its format is a revival of an earlier Carruthers production, Second Chance, which was hosted by Jim Peck and aired on ABC in 1977. The original version of Press Your Luck aired on CBS between 1983 and 1986. This version featured Peter Tomarken as host, Rod Roddy as announcer, and Carruthers as both director and voice of the Whammy. The original incarnation of the show gained significant media attention in 1984 for contestant Michael Larson, who won over $100,000 after memorizing the original pattern of the game board.
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. Two families compete on each episode to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
Let's Make a Deal is a television game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created and produced by Stefan Hatos and Monty Hall, the latter serving as its host for nearly 30 years.
Beat the Clock is an American television game show. Contestants attempted to complete challenges such as physical stunts within a time limit in order to win prizes. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions.
Password is an American television game show. Two teams, each composed of a celebrity and contestant, attempt to convey mystery words to each other using only single-word clues, in order to win cash prizes.
Sale of the Century is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being the short-lived game shows Letters to Laugh-In and Name Droppers. The series aired until July 13, 1973, and a weekly syndicated series began that fall and ran for one season.
The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. Contestants answer trivia questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's title refers to the game's slot-machine mechanism also having jokers, which may be used to represent any category.
Twenty-One is an American game show originally hosted by Jack Barry that initially aired on NBC from 1956 to 1958. Produced by Jack Barry-Dan Enright Productions, the show featured two contestants playing against each other in separate isolation booths, answering general-knowledge questions to earn 21 total points. The program became notorious when it was found to be rigged as part of the 1950s quiz show scandals, which nearly caused the demise of the entire genre in the wake of United States Senate investigations. The 1994 film Quiz Show is based on these events. A new version of the show aired on NBC in 2000 with Maury Povich as host.
The Family Game is an American game show that ran on ABC for six months in 1967. Geoff Edwards was originally to host the (unrecorded) pilot, but was dropped at the last minute and was replaced by producer Chuck Barris. Although ABC bought the series, they mandated that someone other than Barris be the host; Bob Barker, then hosting Truth or Consequences and also began hosting the Miss USA & Miss Universe Pageants on CBS that year, was selected without a screen test or pilot.
Gameshow Marathon is an American television program which aired on CBS from May 31 to June 29, 2006. It is based on the United Kingdom series Ant & Dec's Gameshow Marathon which aired on ITV in 2005. It also aired in Canada on CTV.
Video & Arcade Top 10 was a Canadian game show broadcast on YTV from 1991 to 2006. Filmed at Pyman Studios in Mississauga, Ontario, it was a competitive game show in which contestants played against each other in video games for prizes, with assorted review and profile segments on current games, music, and movies featured as well. V&A Top 10 is one of a select few English language Canadian game shows to run nationally for at least 15 years, joining Front Page Challenge, Reach For The Top, and Definition in that category. Reruns of the series from the late 1990s and 2000s aired on GameTV from November 2011 to September 2012.
Nick Arcade is an American children's game show created by James Bethea and Karim Miteff and hosted by Phil Moore, with Andrea Lively announcing, that aired on Nickelodeon in 1992. It aired originally during weekend afternoons, with reruns airing until September 28, 1997. In the first season, the shows were taped in December 1991 and aired in early 1992. It was taped at Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando, Florida. In Nick Arcade, two teams of contestants played two initial trivia rounds, with the winning team advancing to the "Video Zone" to play against the virtual "Video Game Wizard" of the day.
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 6, 1975. Contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983.
Jeopardy! is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given general knowledge clues in the form of answers and they must identify the person, place, thing, or idea that the clue describes, phrasing each response in the form of a question.
Scrabble Showdown is an American game show created for the American cable network The Hub. The program was based on the board game Scrabble and was hosted by Justin Willman. It ran from September 3, 2011, to April 15, 2012.
