Author Topic: The strongest format(s)? (Read 6475 times)

Jay Temple · « **Reply #15 on:** May 18, 2007, 08:45:13 PM »

One could probably point to a number of shows and just say that they're solid. I'd say that WoF, J! and Pyramid qualify, and maybe even Lingo. The Passwords I'm not so sure about.

Chelsea Thrasher · « **Reply #16 on:** May 18, 2007, 09:11:14 PM »

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'152763\' date=\'May 18 2007, 07:45 PM\']
The Passwords I'm not so sure about.
[/quote]

Password *used* to be. For the addition of Password Puzzles and Alphabetics, the core mechanics of the game were the same in the early 60s as they were in the late 80s. Give one-word clues to help your partner guess a word.

The problem is that a format that requires an ability to think, even slightly, seems like it would get lost among the OMG WIN T3H B1G MONIEZZZ IN A BRIEFCASE!!! Endamitol formats like DonD, etc. today. With Password though, and how it would fare with today's audience, there's no way to know unless they actually bring it back.

cacLA8383 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 18, 2007, 09:47:10 PM »

For me, it's Jeopardy. Whenever I have time to catch it, I do enjoy watching it simply for the gameplay.

HYHYBT · « **Reply #18 on:** May 18, 2007, 10:15:46 PM »

Allowing "strongest format" to include being relatively difficult to mess up (for example, Jeopardy! is great as it's always been done, but imagine the clues poorly written and John Davidson having to read them) and I'd have to say Wheel of Fortune. Sure, they give away a ton of money, but the show did well enough even when the prizes were junk and they wasted large chunks of show time picking them out.

bandit_bobby · « **Reply #19 on:** May 18, 2007, 10:37:49 PM »

Wheel of Fortune, no doubt.

beatlefreak84 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 18, 2007, 11:18:40 PM »

The first thing that came to my mind was J!, for the exact reasons that everybody's brought up so far. I'll also agree with WOF; yes, there's certainly a lot more chrome and gimmicks nowadays, but the core game is still there, and, even if they did away with all the gimmicks, I'm willing to bet people would still be crowded around the TV watching it.

However, given how much fun my friends in college and I had playing the home game (only one of which was also a game show nut), I'm willing to put Pyramid ahead of J!. It's just an all-around fun game to watch as well as play, and everyone can get involved.

I should really whip that game out again...

Anthony

MyronMMeyer · « **Reply #21 on:** May 19, 2007, 01:27:00 AM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'152613\' date=\'May 17 2007, 11:11 PM\']
For me, I'll take Jeopardy. A fast-paced quiz show with a bunch of different categories and a great play along factor...what's not to like?
[/quote]

What's not to like? Final Jeopardy, the worst "bonus round" in game show history. That's what not to like.

-M
Italics in quote added by me.

MyronMMeyer · « **Reply #22 on:** May 19, 2007, 01:29:30 AM »

Oh, and best game show format? 1st place is a tie between Hollywood Squares and Street Smarts, which are at their essence the same game. Anyone could play those two games, and they were both wicked fun to watch.

-M
Realizes that "The Wager of Death" is the exact same bonus round as "Final Jeopardy". A Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

PYLdude · « **Reply #23 on:** May 19, 2007, 01:39:00 AM »

[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'152805\' date=\'May 19 2007, 01:29 AM\']
Oh, and best game show format? 1st place is a tie between Hollywood Squares and Street Smarts, which are at their essence the same game.[/quote]

How so? Squares was tic-tac-toe with celebrities, Street Smarts was a Tonight Show segment converted into a game show. Squares was trying to figure out if the answer given was real or a bluff, Street Smarts was trying to predict if an answer was right or wrong. (Maybe a small similarity there, if anything, but not much.)

(I do agree with your last point, however.)

[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'152804\' date=\'May 19 2007, 01:27 AM\']
[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'152613\' date=\'May 17 2007, 11:11 PM\']
For me, I'll take Jeopardy. A fast-paced quiz show with a bunch of different categories and a great play along factor...what's not to like?
[/quote]

What's not to like? Final Jeopardy, the worst "bonus round" in game show history. That's what not to like.
[/quote]

...except Final Jeopardy is not a "bonus round." It's part of the regular game. Where have you seen all players involved in a game play a bonus round?

MyronMMeyer · « **Reply #24 on:** May 19, 2007, 01:57:56 AM »

[quote name=\'PYLdude\' post=\'152807\' date=\'May 19 2007, 12:39 AM\']
...except Final Jeopardy is not a "bonus round." It's part of the regular game. Where have you seen all players involved in a game play a bonus round?
[/quote]

Hence the quotation marks. I could have called it a "final round", but then we'd have repeated the word "final", wouldn't have we. Elegance over accuracy. And no matter how you define it, it randomizes the game to such a degree that the best player often loses. Yes, I know, that's one reason they call it "Jeopardy" (and I've got no quarrel with the Daily Doubles contradictorily enough) but Final Jeopardy (in the Trebek era) is just a dumb way to end the game.

And as I mentioned, Squares is the best format because anyone with the ability to say "Agree" or "disagree" could play. And it's fun to watch. The best games are both fun to watch and easy to play. Those people who said Family Feud earlier understand. That's another really good format.

I'm talking "game" shows here. As someone mentioned earlier, the best "quiz" show formats feature 3 people and 3 buzzers, with just a hint of unfairness thrown in. Sale of the Century is the undisputed king here, with Win Ben Stein's Money and Split Second battling for 2nd place.

For real fun, ask me what I think the worst game show format is. We'll see if I have the cojones to post it.

-M

JasonA1 · « **Reply #25 on:** May 19, 2007, 02:10:21 AM »

I'm curious as to what your worst format is, but you and several others seem to be missing the point of the thread, or just submitting some really odd choices. The OP asked "minus the bells and whistles" and all of that. Meaning if played in front of some chalkboards in a classroom with nobodies, what games are still fun? "Squares" with my aunts and uncles in the cubicles with an apple pie at stake would be absolutely boring to watch. "Street Smarts" still qualifies I think, but it's not as definitive as "Feud." As was said already, all the bad sets, generic techno music and bland sitcom actors couldn't bring it down.

-Jason

MyronMMeyer · « **Reply #26 on:** May 19, 2007, 02:38:22 AM »

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'152813\' date=\'May 19 2007, 01:10 AM\']
I'm curious as to what your worst format is, but you and several others seem to be missing the point of the thread, or just submitting some really odd choices.
[/quote]

The third option (which is also the correct one) is both.

You're right, I did miss the point of the question. I instead picked my own question, and answered it, in your thread, which is certainly not fair dinkum.

I don't have an immediate answer to "Minus the bells and whistles, sets, hosts, what is the most enjoyable game to watch, simply for the game?" My initial inclination is "Games aren't de facto fun to watch, they're fun to play. It's the bells and whistles and personalities that make them fun to watch on TV." But that's not an answer either. Let's say Countdown for an answer until I think of something better. (Scrabble would seem to work without the bells and whistles, too, I think.)

And since you asked, the worst game format, purely from a gameplay standpoint, is the televised raffle/beat the random number generator that is The Price is Right. Unbelievably fun to watch, to be sure, but unbelievably lame as a game. Minus the bells and whistles and Bob Barker and the Hee Haw Honeys, you're just guessing the third digit in the price of a Buick. Seriously, who cares?

Your original question could be rephrased "Which games work best in the 'home edition' format", yes? It's a good question.

-M

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #27 on:** May 19, 2007, 08:44:33 AM »

Myron's point about TPIR is excellent. Even though there are 75 of them, there's not much "game" there.

I'll throw out an even more radical notion. To me, if we're talking about a "game", most of the three-people-on-a-buzzer shows -- even Jeopardy -- aren't all that clever. Buzz in, answer the question, and try to do it more often than your opponent.

Personally, I'm a Bob Stewart acolyte*. He created distinctly original formats. Sure, eventually he started ripping off his own ideas Still, you look at TTTT, Pyramid (the perfected Password, IMO), Jackpot, Three on a Match and the like, and there's some interesting stuff going on.

There's also the question of whether a "format" is different than a "game". Family Feud, Child's Play and Go are to me some examples of very interesting games that are hurt somewhat by dull, derivative and/or vaguely flawed scoring systems. And to go full circle back to Myron's TPIR point, I would argue that the structure/format of TPIR is strong, it's the games themselves that are weak.

*Bigger than first grade word.

DrBear · « **Reply #28 on:** May 19, 2007, 09:20:29 AM »

If you're going to credit all three-on-a-buzzer games as a single format, I'd vote for Split Second as the best one - not only requiring knowledge but strategy (get the easiest answer first and nail your opponents with the harder ones).

However - and I'm consistent as I voted for this as the best game evah in the poll a while back - I'd say To Tell The Truth/Play Your Hunch (basically the same format - which of these three is the real one?) Great play-along factor, works with or without a panel (but much better with a good panel. Yeah, "You Like Like a Dog" sucked, but nothing's perfect.

DoorNumberFour · « **Reply #29 on:** May 19, 2007, 11:32:53 AM »

I'd say either Concentration or The Who, What or Where Game.

Author Topic: The strongest format(s)? (Read 6475 times)

bandit_bobby