The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: toetyper on November 18, 2007, 05:17:01 PM
-
alphabetics-- pyramid winners circle
pyramid winners circle-- alphabetics
very close call but ill go pyramid
-
Winners Circle, tournament or not.
Wonderwall gets a very serious honorable mention.
/She still had a freakin' pit stop left...
-
Fast Money
-
Definitely have to go with the Winner's Circle. Especially if you have a chance to see an episode of the $10,000 Pyramid. (An episode is on Page-O-Clips, btw.) You could definitely feel the tension, and sense the excitement of winning $10,000 in just a minute, which was unheard of in 1973.
-
[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'169850\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 05:29 PM\']
You could definitely feel the tension, and sense the excitement of winning $10,000 in just a minute, which was unheard of in 1973.
[/quote]
Not a win, but watch how this one (http://\"http://youtube.com/watch?v=X7n1PFjqf1M\") plays out. The audience's involvement was crazy.
-
Any Barry-Enright endgame. (kidding....)
Ummm...this is tough....I'm torn between Alphabetics, the Wonderwall, and the Pyramid Winner's Circle. Probably go with the Wonderwall.
-
70's and 80's Pyramid of course, but I also liked the ShowDown roll.
-
Pyramid's Winner's Circle, certainly. And I'll throw in an honorable mention for Scrabble's Bonus Sprint, just for how it was a natural extension of everything else on the show.
-
[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'169860\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 06:22 PM\']
Any Barry-Enright endgame. (kidding....)
[/quote]
I'm not. I think those games of chance and skill are great! But If anything I'll go with the Ol' Matching game of Classic Concentration's Car bonus !!
And since I'm on the subject of Matching, But I'm not sure if this will count; it would be the Matching Board from 3 (or Three) on a Match as a honorable mention .
-
[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'169850\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 06:29 PM\']
Definitely have to go with the Winner's Circle. Especially if you have a chance to see an episode of the $10,000 Pyramid. (An episode is on Page-O-Clips, btw.) You could definitely feel the tension, and sense the excitement of winning $10,000 in just a minute, which was unheard of in 1973.
[/quote]
Agreed. Not having been around to experience the '50s big money shows, $10,000 was the most money I had ever heard of awarding someone on a game show, especially in 60 seconds; it far eclipsed the paltry sums that were more common on daytime games in the early '70s. I can remember screaming with excitement at age 10 the first time I ever saw anyone win the Winners' Circle.
-
Winner's Circle. Why are we even HAVING this conversation?
-
honorable mention wipeout
-
[quote name=\'toetyper\' post=\'169876\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 04:51 PM\']honorable mention wipeout[/quote]Really? I thought it was uninteresting at best, and completely broken at worst. The latter point is proven when one guy runs several checks in about 30 seconds to win the car without even looking at the answers he's swapping.
I agree with Brother Ottinger. This list begins and ends with the Winners Circle.
-
[quote name=\'William_S.\' post=\'169867\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 04:06 PM\'][quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'169860\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 06:22 PM\']Any Barry-Enright endgame. (kidding....)[/quote]I'm not. I think those games of chance and skil are great! [/quote]I suppose it takes a bit of manual dexterity to pull a lever or press down a button, but other than that I'm lost. Or do you mean the skill in saying "Naw, I don' t need a sailboat and china hutch, $950 is fine."?
-
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'169882\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 05:21 PM\']
[quote name=\'William_S.\' post=\'169867\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 04:06 PM\'][quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'169860\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 06:22 PM\']Any Barry-Enright endgame. (kidding....)[/quote]I'm not. I think those games of chance and skil are great! [/quote]I suppose it takes a bit of manual dexterity to pull a lever or press down a button, but other than that I'm lost. Or do you mean the skill in saying "Naw, I don' t need a sailboat and china hutch, $950 is fine."?
[/quote]
Admittedly, I like Face The Devil and Bonus Island too. (For some reason, Face The Dragon, not so much.) I don't pretend they are masterpieces of skill or anything, but Lord knows I play enough press-your-luck type games, myself.
-
The Wonder Wall may have been more fun to play as a contestant, even without considering the amount of money involved, but it was terrible to try to watch it. The Winner's Circle wins, hands down. (But I agree that the Scrabble Bonus Sprint was darn good too.)
-
I gotta go with Alphabetics for my money. I'll give an honorable mention to Wheel of Fortune, just because no one else has yet.
-
Winner's Circle. Alphabetics/Super Password. Wonderwall.
I'll give my honorable mention to the Classic Concentration end game. A great balance of luck, memory, and skill - I think just because it hasn't been seen in about 15 years anywhere, some folks have forgotten about it, but it was a good game.
-
In a case of a skill-based endgame, I have to agree with Winner's Circle.
But for out and out suspense, you have to say the Golden Doors from Dream House is one of the better ones..
-
$10,000 Pyramid turned the endgame into an event.
Other shows had endgames before that, but they were along the lines of Password's Lightning Round - a fun diversion, but not that exciting. It's no coincidence that nearly every other suggestion here came after the Winner's Circle.
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'169884\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 05:45 PM\']Admittedly, I like Face The Devil and Bonus Island too. (For some reason, Face The Dragon, not so much.) I don't pretend they are masterpieces of skill or anything, but Lord knows I play enough press-your-luck type games, myself.[/quote]Understood. For what they are, the games are fine. But to say that they rate in the top tier of skill based end games is silly. That's all I was refuting.
-
[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'169851\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 06:33 PM\']
[quote name=\'whoserman\' post=\'169850\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 05:29 PM\']
You could definitely feel the tension, and sense the excitement of winning $10,000 in just a minute, which was unheard of in 1973.
[/quote]
Not a win, but watch how this one (http://\"http://youtube.com/watch?v=X7n1PFjqf1M\") plays out. The audience's involvement was crazy.
[/quote]
I guess Bob Stewart wasn't very strict about not using one's hands at the beginning of the Pyramid run....
-
I always thought Whew's Gauntlet of Villains was pretty awesome...
-
[quote name=\'fishbulb\' post=\'169903\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 09:58 PM\']
$10,000 Pyramid turned the endgame into an event.
Other shows had endgames before that, but they were along the lines of Password's Lightning Round - a fun diversion, but not that exciting. It's no coincidence that nearly every other suggestion here came after the Winner's Circle.
[/quote]
Hmm... interesting observation...
/Baffled as to why nobody's mentioned the Double Dare Obstacle Course yet...
//And not even honorably...
-
[quote name=\'TLEberle\' post=\'169904\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 07:59 PM\']
Understood. For what they are, the games are fine. But to say that they rate in the top tier of skill based end games is silly. That's all I was refuting.
[/quote]
Oh, he *did* use the word "skil" (sic) in there, didn't he? Please, then, by all means, continue.
-
[quote name=\'kenbob_clarker\' post=\'169909\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 08:41 PM\']
/Baffled as to why nobody's mentioned the Double Dare Obstacle Course yet...
//And not even honorably...[/quote]
I don't understand why. I've given it not even a minute of thought, and I can confidently say it wouldn't even crack my Top 10.
My top 5:
1) Winner's Circle
2) Wonderwall
3) Alphabetics / Super Password
4) Money Cards
5) Gauntlet of Villains
Hell, I'd put the Blackout Clue Screen ahead of the Obstacle Course.
/giving it another minute or two...nope, not even Top 15.
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'169918\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 12:36 AM\']
[quote name=\'kenbob_clarker\' post=\'169909\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 08:41 PM\']
/Baffled as to why nobody's mentioned the Double Dare Obstacle Course yet...
//And not even honorably...[/quote]
I don't understand why.
[/quote]
Just my humble opinion, that's all. :) It's not the best in the world (that obvoiusly goes to the Winner's Circle), but I do think it at least deserves an honorable mention.
-
[quote name=\'kenbob_clarker\' post=\'169928\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 12:32 AM\']
Just my humble opinion, that's all. :) It's not the best in the world (that obvoiusly goes to the Winner's Circle), but I do think it at least deserves an honorable mention.
[/quote]
Well, we disagree, and seeing as it has, indeed, not been mentioned at all, honorably or otherwise, I have an idea what side the majority of the participants in this discussion seem to be coming down on.
-
As far as dramatic build up my favorite has always been The Golden Doors. Hands down, bar none.
However, in a game of skill and knowledge, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the NYSI end round. Complimented the main game like the Scrabble Sprint did and had some of the clues just as clever. I always enjoyed it. Never mind I really liked the idea of a progressive jackpot.
-
[quote name=\'gwarman2005\' post=\'169930\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 03:59 AM\']
However, in a game of skill and knowledge, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the NYSI end round. Complimented the main game like the Scrabble Sprint did and had some of the clues just as clever. I always enjoyed it. Never mind I really liked the idea of a progressive jackpot. [/quote]
...My biggest problem with the NYSI bonus game is the depending on whether you're talking about the Narz or Henry version, the bonuses tended to run either unusually difficult (Narz), or unusually easy (Henry) on a consistent basis.
-
Winner's Circle & the Golden Doors are the ones that are the best in terms of suspense, but to me, I need one with a play-along factor. Having said that, here are my choices in no particular order:
Scrabble Super Sprint
The Golden Run
Wonderwall(though it's hard to pick up on an answer when it's moving let alone finding all 20 in 3:00)
The WoF bonus puzzle
The Gauntlet of Villams
-
Just as mostly everyone else has said, Winner's Circle is my favorite, but I thought the "stroll down Rodeo Drive" was a fairly good concept in the same vein as the Gauntlet of Villains.
-
My Choice: A Tie between the Winner's Circle and the Money Cards.
I grew up watching the Winner's Circle and was always exciting. It didn't matter who was the host, but it has been, and will always be tense to the last second. As for the Money Cards, I marveled at the sight of winning $28,000 just by calling the cards high or low. Then again, I was 14 when I first saw it on GSN and thought it was that easy (8 years later, doesn't seem that way).
Honorable mention: The Winner's Big Money Game. Yes, it had nothing to do with $ale, but it was a damn good attempt to make a "traditional" bonus game.
(EDIT: I'll go with the NYSI end game too. I can find most of the answers quicker than the contestants, regardless of how dated they are.)
-
The Winner's Circle is the most exciting. Bob S's end games were often better than the Main Game. Two of my favorites remain the original Chain Reaction and Winning Streak bonus games.
-
technical question
would you consider millonaire to be one giant end game?
-
No. Final Jeopardy is closer to an endgame than all of Millionaire is. And Final J! is just a "final round".
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'169918\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 01:36 AM\']
My top 5:
1) Winner's Circle
2) Wonderwall
3) Alphabetics / Super Password
4) Money Cards
5) Gauntlet of Villains
[/quote]
I don't know why anybody hasn't mentioned the trip to the Prize Vault on Rayburn's "Break the Bank" yet. (Just kidding.)
I'm not that wild about Alphabetics. I'd put the original Lightning Round in instead. Obviously the stakes were nothing to get excited about, but it was great fun to see the celebs get flustered. And it had the great name. Alphabetics, to me, just took that and made it more like "Pyramid."
I'm glad you put in Money Cards--that's what a Barry/Enright end game SHOULD be. I do like the "Now You See It" solo game, and love how challenging it is. (This is the Narz version now running on NYSI.) Nobody's mentioned the Golden Medley. And despite how stupid it is, the Big Showdown was fun to watch, at least to a seven-year-old.
-
Winner's Circle, #1. 75% of the time you have a nail-biter, and the play along element is fantastic. There are so many good things here: tough rules, tough writing, a countdown clock. Someone mentioned that the host doesn't count, and I agree in that the Donnymid WC was produced terribly. If Donny was at the helm for the original Pyramid, that would have been fine.
If there had been a better way to produce the Wonderwall, that's my #2. I love, love that endgame and it would be a great one to adapt elsewhere. And our version was superior to the UK version, because there wasn't as much to lose on the UK version.
My #3 is from the UK: The Vault had a great endgame if the player didn't dally on one question. I like how the player could posit as many guesses as they wanted...some answers were obtained by counting upwards.
-
[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'169965\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 09:33 AM\']
Someone mentioned that the host doesn't count, and I agree in that the Donnymid WC was produced terribly. If Donny was at the helm for the original Pyramid, that would have been fine.
[/quote]
As I've said before: Donny was easily the BEST thing about that version of the Pyramid. It would have been completely tolerable if they had plucked him out and dropped him onto the 80's set with the 80's writers.
-
Craig Karlberg wrote:
Winner's Circle & the Golden Doors are the ones that are the best in terms of suspense, but to me, I need one with a play-along factor.
You don't yell clues at the screen during the Winner's Circle?
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'169968\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 01:05 PM\']
[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'169965\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 09:33 AM\']
Someone mentioned that the host doesn't count, and I agree in that the Donnymid WC was produced terribly. If Donny was at the helm for the original Pyramid, that would have been fine.
[/quote]
As I've said before: Donny was easily the BEST thing about that version of the Pyramid. It would have been completely tolerable if they had plucked him out and dropped him onto the 80's set with the 80's writers.
[/quote]
Except that he didn't play out the subjects like Dick Clark did.
One of the things that was so cool was the trademark clock tick. I can't imagine why they Harry Friedman didn't use it, or start with that and build a soundtrack around it.
How cool to see those early episodes when the money was big and the celebrities were almost as excited as the players.
-
[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'169968\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 01:05 PM\']
[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'169965\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 09:33 AM\']
Someone mentioned that the host doesn't count, and I agree in that the Donnymid WC was produced terribly. If Donny was at the helm for the original Pyramid, that would have been fine.
[/quote]
As I've said before: Donny was easily the BEST thing about that version of the Pyramid. It would have been completely tolerable if they had plucked him out and dropped him onto the 80's set with the 80's writers.
[/quote]If Dick hosted the '02 version, would have been better? Or would it have been a bright red bow on a steaming hot pile of crap?
[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'169981\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 02:15 PM\']
Except that he didn't play out the subjects like Dick Clark did.
[/quote]
OT: Last night's Family Guy had a Pyramid spoof, complete with Mr. Clark playing out a fake category...and the 80's theme too.
-
[quote name=\'Neumms\' post=\'169981\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 11:15 AM\']
Except that he didn't play out the subjects like Dick Clark did.[/quote]
No, but that was his own decision, and I don't think it would have affected the overall show that much.
[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'169982\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 11:22 AM\']
OT: Last night's Family Guy had a Pyramid spoof, complete with Mr. Clark playing out a fake category...and the 80's theme too.[/quote]
And I found this morning that Fox posts their episodes on the website the next day, so if you haven't seen it, watch it on the website. All it was missing was "two, four-fifty, five, six, seven-hundred and fifty dollars."
-
The first thing that came to mind when I saw this thread was the $10,000 Dash from The Moneymaze. However, to be honest, I can't definitely put it above the Winners Circle.
Other choices: the Mystery Tune from $100,000 Name That Tune in its first two seasons. and the bonus round from All-Star Baffle (a contestant from the studio audience had to get nine words in 30 seconds from three-letter clues).
Honorable mention - not for how exciting it was, but for going against the flow; on the Bill Cosby version of You Bet Your Life, you had to pick one of three envelopes to see whether or not you were playing for $10,000, and you had to answer one final question - but in this case, the question came first, so if you got it wrong, you didn't have to suffer the humiliation of finding out you would have been playing for the $10,000. (Imagine if somebody was to even suggest doing something like that with the Wheel of Fortune bonus round.)
-- Don
-
Indeed, I believe both Alphabetics and the Winners Circle to be the best. Lots of suspense, lots of play-along factor, yet simple and tied to the rest of the game.
I'll also put in another vote for the NYSI Solo Round. Of course, though, NYSI's been a favorite of mine altogether lately, so I'd have some bias.....
-
Can't believe no one brought up Diamond Head. Who hasn't dreamed of being surrounded by a torrent of cash, grabbing as much as you can and stuffing it into your pockets?
Ok, a bit tongue in cheek perhaps, it's not the greatest game in the world, but for sheer spectacle, it's hard to beat.
How many other end games have become iconic like this? Just last week, I saw a new commercial based around a couple in a glass booth grabbing something or other.
-
I guess Bob Stewart wasn't very strict about not using one's hands at the beginning of the Pyramid run....
The judging seemed to get much harder as time went on, didn't it?
For me, I guess Winner's Circle would be No. 1, but the Gauntlet of Villains is up there too.
-
I was trying to think of a suspenseful, exciting endgame that came before the Winner's Circle, and the closest I can come up with is the Big Deal of the Day. I'm not sure whether to call that an endgame or part of the main game. If it's an endgame, then the Showcase on TPIR probably is as well, since the concepts are similar.
-
[quote name=\'Mr. Armadillo\' post=\'169889\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 06:22 PM\']I gotta go with Alphabetics for my money. I'll give an honorable mention to Wheel of Fortune, just because no one else has yet.[/quote]My guess is that no one has said it yet because it's a slapped on extra round, instead of something clever, new or interesting.
I don't get it. The topic said "What was the best...?" but we have people giving "honorable mentions" to end games that just weren't that good.
-
By looking at the clips on YouTube, I felt in love with the Winner's Circle. Good thing Pyramid is conveniently coming here in Italy soon :D
As a "honorary mention", let me tell about a nice little endgame that were used here in a few different shows, the "Ultimate Yes/No game"
both the winner and the loser of the episode play the game. The host goes back and forth asking yes/no questions to the contestants, waiting for a response. Most often they are prize trade offers like "Will you trade in $100 of your cash winnings for a brand new car?" or "You got a brand new car there. I can excange it for a brand new pair of flip-flops. Will you refuse this trade?", but some questions don't affect gameplay and are played just for fun (like "Tell us, you are being loyal to your wife, aren't ya?"). A flashing light tells the player when it's the right time to shout an answer.
The catch is that the contestants can't hear the questions as they are isolated by host-controlled earphones with some really loud music in there. They work just like the isolation booths on Twenty-One
When this rollercoasters ride of trades ended, the contestants won whatever they ended up with. It wasn't uncommon to see the loser walk away with more stuff than the winner, but the winner still had the chance to come back the next day.
-
[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'169993\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 12:58 PM\']
Other choices: the Mystery Tune from $100,000 Name That Tune in its first two seasons.
[/quote]
I'd make the Mystery Tune my runner-up. Very, very exciting. They used it on the daytime show as well, for $25,000, I think.
They did a good job of building the suspense in that segment.
The Golden Medley was pretty good, but with the clock stopping all the time, it didn't have the same urgency as the Winner's Circle or Alphabetics.
-
[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' post=\'169934\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 05:12 AM\']
...
Wonderwall(though it's hard to pick up on an answer when it's moving let alone finding all 20 in 3:00)
...
[/quote]
I thought that for the player, the Wonderwall was just 3 giant screens and the answers didn't move.
The answers only moved around for the TV viewer...
Anybody?
-
[quote name=\'Thunder\' post=\'170045\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 07:09 PM\']
I thought that for the player, the Wonderwall was just 3 giant screens and the answers didn't move.
The answers only moved around for the TV viewer...
[/quote]
That's exactly the case, yes. Jay commented that it was "horrible to try to watch it," and while I don't agree with him, I can see where he would find the presentation on television to be unwieldy.
As for Karlberg, nobody understands why the hell he says whatever he does, so we just try to ignore it.
-
[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'169980\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 02:15 PM\']You don't yell clues at the screen during the Winner's Circle?[/quote]
Craig? Not clues, no.
Funny, but I'm almost of the exact opposite opinion to Neumms re: Lightning Round vs. Alphabetics. I think the latter benefits from more structure, more excitement, and a much better name.
-
[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'169980\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 02:15 PM\']
Craig Karlberg wrote:
Winner's Circle & the Golden Doors are the ones that are the best in terms of suspense, but to me, I need one with a play-along factor.
You don't yell clues at the screen during the Winner's Circle?
[/quote]
No. He throws his TV out the window.
-
Best overall: The Winners Circle.
Best extensions of the game: Scrabble's Bonus Sprint, NYSI's solo round, Alphabetics, Blockbusters' Gold Run
I wouldn't call it "the best," but I'm surprised nobody's nominated the Super Match.
-
[quote name=\'Unrealtor\' post=\'170067\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 11:46 PM\']
I wouldn't call it "the best," but I'm surprised nobody's nominated the Super Match.
[/quote]
Heh. Good to know I'm not the only one with a weird opinion here.
-
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'169873\' date=\'Nov 18 2007, 06:30 PM\']
Winner's Circle. Why are we even HAVING this conversation?
[/quote]
We have to have this conversation every couple of months. State Law.
-M
"Here is a list of places Carmen may have travelled."
-
[quote name=\'toetyper\' post=\'169957\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 11:31 AM\']
would you consider millonaire to be one giant end game?
[/quote]
In the Regis era, absolutely. Indeed, I did. (http://\"http://www.bmi.com/brochures/theatre/newsletter0101.pdf\") It took me until several days after my taping to realize it, but I had been playing the Main Game from the moment I picked up the phone to play the Fastest-Finger qualifier. The whole day in the studio was the end game.
-
[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'170077\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 04:13 AM\']
"Here is a list of places Carmen may have travelled."[/quote]
Yes, thank you for reminding me. One of the things I'll go back and watch over and over is one of the early bonus-round wins on that show, on a map of Africa no less. One of the very few end games that required both mental AND physical effort to win.
As far as kids games go, I thought the Double Dare end game was quite exciting. For visual spectacle, the three-minute Temple Run was hard to beat too.
-
In the beginning, they did allow using hands in the Winner's Circle--Clark said that the straw that broke the camel's back was Ruth Buzzi, who was so demonstrative with her hands (and I assume hit them real bad the week she was on) that Stewart immediately changed the rules and put the straps on the cluegiver's chair.
-
My pick would be the "bridge run" in Pitfall. If just for the "eye candy" aspect of it. As a ten year old, I just remember thinking how cool that all looked. Now I know why they went broke.
-Ed
-
[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'170097\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 11:33 AM\']
[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'170077\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 04:13 AM\']
"Here is a list of places Carmen may have travelled."[/quote]
Yes, thank you for reminding me. One of the things I'll go back and watch over and over is one of the early bonus-round wins on that show, on a map of Africa no less. One of the very few end games that required both mental AND physical effort to win.
As far as kids games go, I thought the Double Dare end game was quite exciting. For visual spectacle, the three-minute Temple Run was hard to beat too.
[/quote]
Oh, man. That Carmen endgame brings back memories. I'd always feel bad for the kids who got Africa (or even Asia) because the game was that much harder. I loved the consolation prizes on that show too. I always wanted a world band radio.
The Temple Run was great except when you knew that the kids didn't have a chance. About a minute in, you could tell. "These kids don't have a chance, they're not putting together the monkey right." And then it's two minutes of smoke and mirrors, literally. I'd compare that endgame to NYSI ...sometimes you know the contestant just doesn't have a chance to win, and when that happens, the endgame rating goes down in my book.
However, if the kids did well and were smart, it was a great endgame.
-
[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'170127\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 04:30 PM\']
The Temple Run was great except when you knew that the kids didn't have a chance. About a minute in, you could tell. "These kids don't have a chance, they're not putting together the monkey right." And then it's two minutes of smoke and mirrors, literally. I'd compare that endgame to NYSI ...sometimes you know the contestant just doesn't have a chance to win, and when that happens, the endgame rating goes down in my book.
However, if the kids did well and were smart, it was a great endgame.
[/quote]
What was always so frustrating to me was when the Temple Run seemed set up for the kids to fail. For example, they'd be in a room with three doors, and one goes right into the room with the Legend of the Day. So they assemble the monkey or shatter the correct pot or whatever, and the door they actually need doesn't open, so they have to navigate through two more rooms, one of which always seemed to have a Temple Guard. And I hated the Temple Run just for the reason that this seemed to happen SO OFTEN.
-
If I can add one more for nostalgia's sake--the Room-to-Room Romp.
-
Maybe not the best, but definitely worth an honorable mention:
The (first?) end game from Remote Control -- Having a set of TVs in every possible direction showing videos with sounds of each playing at the same time. Shades of a first generation Wonderwall???
-
[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'170104\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 10:53 AM\']
In the beginning, they did allow using hands in the Winner's Circle--Clark said that the straw that broke the camel's back was Ruth Buzzi, who was so demonstrative with her hands (and I assume hit them real bad the week she was on) that Stewart immediately changed the rules and put the straps on the cluegiver's chair.
[/quote]
Is he sure she wasn't just trying to shoo Arte Johnson away?
That must have been very early in the show's run, as the listings from November 1973 on are pretty complete, and this is the first time I've heard of her appearing on the show. (Come to think of it, this would put it earlier than the Ed Asner bonus round where he acts out an iron for THINGS YOU PRESS.)
-
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'170153\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 05:09 PM\']The (first?) end game from Remote Control -- Having a set of TVs in every possible direction showing videos with sounds of each playing at the same time. Shades of a first generation Wonderwall?[/quote]Not even close, really. You could achieve the same effect of the Wall of Video by using one screen. You couldn't rotate through 49 answers on one screen to replicate the Wonderwall.
-
oh , man i TOTALLY forgot about WITWICS? if u think about it; its the most gameshowesque of all the 90s kiddie game shows wasnt it?'
-
My picks for best game show bonus rounds:
Super Match from Match Game
Fast Money from Family Feud
Winner's Circle from $10/20/25/50/100K Pyramids
Alphabetics from Password Plus
Super Password bonus round
Car Round from Classic Concentration
Double Play from Jack Narz Concentration
Wheel Of Fortune Bonus Round
Final Jeopardy!
Solo Game from Now You See It
Face The Devil from The Joker's Wild
Beat The Dragon from Tic Tac Dough
Bonus Island from Bullseye
Chain Reaction bonus Round which was shades of a show to come three years later, Go!
Break The Bank 1976-77 bonus round
-
Jesus, after that, are there any LEFT?
-
[quote name=\'BobbyLankford_83\' post=\'170160\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 09:56 PM\']
My picks for best game show bonus rounds:
[/quote]
There, fixed that.
/no, really, he said just one
//damn
-
[quote name=\'BobbyLankford_83\' post=\'170160\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 08:56 PM\']
Break The Bank 1976-77 bonus round
[/quote]
Forgive me for looking like a dipwad, but that show had an endgame? How'd it work?
-
[quote name=\'kenbob_clarker\' post=\'170174\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 12:35 AM\'][quote name=\'BobbyLankford_83\' post=\'170160\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 08:56 PM\']Break The Bank 1976-77 bonus round[/quote]Forgive me for looking like a dipwad, but that show had an endgame? How'd it work?[/quote]
With the huge caveat that I'm relying on Wikipedia to back up my memory, it was virtually identical to what Tic Tac Dough would later use. Pick 1 of 9 numbers celebs at a time, and reach $2000 before finding the BUST card.
-
[quote name=\'BobbyLankford_83\' post=\'170160\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 08:56 PM\']
My picks for best game show bonus rounds:
---snip---
Final Jeopardy!
---snip---
[/quote]
Art Fleming version: maybe.
Trebek version: aw, hells no!
-M
-
[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'170177\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 05:59 AM\']
[quote name=\'BobbyLankford_83\' post=\'170160\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 08:56 PM\']
My picks for best game show bonus rounds:
---snip---
Final Jeopardy!
---snip---
[/quote]
Art Fleming version: maybe.
Trebek version: aw, hells no!
-M
[/quote]
Besides the host and the music, is there really that much of a difference?
-
[quote name=\'DoorNumberFour\' post=\'170181\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 09:31 AM\']
[quote name=\'MyronMMeyer\' post=\'170177\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 05:59 AM\']
Art Fleming version: maybe.
Trebek version: aw, hells no!
-M
[/quote]
Besides the host and the music, is there really that much of a difference?
[/quote]
The '78 version's (hosted by Fleming) really oddly-placed Super Jeopardy round.
And Trebek's is a "final round".
-
[quote name=\'Robert Hutchinson\' post=\'170176\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 11:11 PM\']
[quote name=\'kenbob_clarker\' post=\'170174\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 12:35 AM\'][quote name=\'BobbyLankford_83\' post=\'170160\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 08:56 PM\']Break The Bank 1976-77 bonus round[/quote]Forgive me for looking like a dipwad, but that show had an endgame? How'd it work?[/quote]
With the huge caveat that I'm relying on Wikipedia to back up my memory, it was virtually identical to what Tic Tac Dough would later use. Pick 1 of 9 numbers celebs at a time, and reach $2000 before finding the BUST card.
[/quote]I remember seeing the bonus round in the Jack Barry (weekly syndicated) version (well, the one episode GSN aired years ago - none of the stations in San Francisco aired it back in the day), but did the Tom Kennedy (ABC weekdays) version ever have it?
-- Don
-
[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'170127\' date=\'Nov 20 2007, 12:30 PM\']
Oh, man. That Carmen endgame brings back memories. I'd always feel bad for the kids who got Africa (or even Asia) because the game was that much harder. I loved the consolation prizes on that show too. I always wanted a world band radio.[/quote]Africa was hard, but before they made some changes, the hardest one was Europe - originally, on the Europe map, the host read something about each country before actually naming the country, so if the contestant waited until hearing the country name each time, there was only time to get through five or six of them.
(This show also seemed to have the least leeway in determining whether or not somebody won - one contestant had placed the seventh marker (back when you needed seven) down right when time expired, but he was still holding onto it when the time ran out, so it didn't count.
I also still wonder if the kids who wrote down "Florida" as their prize were expecting a trip to Orlando but probably ended up getting a trip to Pensacola or Jacksonville.)
-- Don
-
[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'170197\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 04:00 PM\']
I remember seeing the bonus round in the Jack Barry (weekly syndicated) version (well, the one episode GSN aired years ago - none of the stations in San Francisco aired it back in the day), but did the Tom Kennedy (ABC weekdays) version ever have it?
[/quote]
No, since players could remain on the show thru many episodes (which also straddled, unlike the nighttime version) until they reached the ABC winnings cap ($25K at the time???). I'm not sure if there were any retired champions on the daytime show, though.
-
For me, it's Winner's Circle uber alles.
After that, I'll give ya Money Cards, Super/betics, the end game of Chain Reaction (along with its "enhanced" cousin on Go).
-
[quote name=\'TimK2003\' post=\'170201\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 04:21 PM\']
[quote name=\'That Don Guy\' post=\'170197\' date=\'Nov 21 2007, 04:00 PM\']
I remember seeing the bonus round in the Jack Barry (weekly syndicated) version (well, the one episode GSN aired years ago - none of the stations in San Francisco aired it back in the day), but did the Tom Kennedy (ABC weekdays) version ever have it?
[/quote]
No, since players could remain on the show thru many episodes (which also straddled, unlike the nighttime version) until they reached the ABC winnings cap ($25K at the time???). [/quote]
$20,000 at that time. I think they upped it when "Feud" took off.
-
[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'169980\' date=\'Nov 19 2007, 11:15 AM\']
You don't yell clues at the screen during the Winner's Circle? [/quote]
Sometimes I'd turn my back to the TV and try to receive. (I wasn't too good at it, but still fun.)
It's hard to argue against Pyramid's WC. Would the Fabulous Showcases on TPIR count as an end game? The price reveals can be dramatic if they're close.
--Charlie, MPW
-
[quote name=\'GiraffeBoy\' post=\'170227\' date=\'Nov 22 2007, 03:44 AM\']
It's hard to argue against Pyramid's WC. Would the Fabulous Showcases on TPIR count as an end game? The price reveals can be dramatic if they're close.
--Charlie, MPW
[/quote]
I would count the solo version of the Showcase Showdown (Davidson & UK versions) as an end game. The best one here would be Wonderwall. However, as the final series of Winning Lines proved. Nearly everybody got twenty correct answers (five out of six people). The only decent endgame here these days is the final round from Take It or Leave It.
There was also the end game from Endemol's In the Grid, but that was basically high-stakes Minesweeper.
-
$20,000 at that time. I think they upped it when "Feud" took off.
I think it was always a $20,000 limit (that's why Pyramid at that time had a $20K top prize), but they could keep anything up to $25,000.
Break the Bank came close on the first week to retiring a champ. He broke the bank twice and won over $17,000 (IIRC). He may have been the highest winner on the daytime run.
-
I would agree with most of you that Winners Circle tops them all, but I must give honorable mentions to two of my faves:
TPIR Showcases
and
High Rollers Big Numbers
Two great endgame classics.
-
I'm splitting mine up into categories, since I don't feel that there is one "great" bonus.
Most Clever: Pitfall
Best Tension: Pyramid
Most like main game: Blockbusters
Best "play-along" factor: Now You See It
-
[quote name=\'deknaj\' post=\'170292\' date=\'Nov 23 2007, 01:06 AM\']
High Rollers Big Numbers
[/quote]
I personally disagree with this...way too much blind-assed luck involved. You could say the same with Joker's Wild's endgame...but you had the opportunity to bail.
-
[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'170476\' date=\'Nov 25 2007, 11:44 AM\']
I personally disagree with this...way too much blind-assed luck involved. You could say the same with Joker's Wild's endgame...but you had the opportunity to bail.
[/quote]
What's the difference? In the 'Rollers one you don't HAVE to bail...if you blow it, you get $100 per number.
-
[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' post=\'170472\' date=\'Nov 25 2007, 01:39 PM\']
Most Clever: Pitfall
[/quote]
i saw this for the first time this morning and i admit it is pretty cool
-
[quote name=\'WhammyPower\' post=\'170472\' date=\'Nov 25 2007, 01:39 PM\']
I'm splitting mine up into categories, since I don't feel that there is one "great" bonus.
Best "play-along" factor: Now You See It
[/quote]
I disagree with this. To me, the best "Play Along" end game would be Feud's "Fast Money". NYSI has a good end game, but you don't have a pen to circle the answers with at home.
-
[quote name=\'xavier45\' post=\'170480\' date=\'Nov 25 2007, 06:28 PM\']I disagree with this. To me, the best "Play Along" end game would be Feud's "Fast Money". NYSI has a good end game, but you don't have a pen to circle the answers with at home.[/quote]
. . . really? I think you can trust yourself enough to know whether or not you were able to find the answers on the screen. Whereas with Fast Money, you often have no idea how well you would have done if you give several answers that aren't offered by the contestants.
-
[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'170476\' date=\'Nov 25 2007, 02:44 PM\']
[quote name=\'deknaj\' post=\'170292\' date=\'Nov 23 2007, 01:06 AM\']
High Rollers Big Numbers
[/quote]
I personally disagree with this...way too much blind-assed luck involved. You could say the same with Joker's Wild's endgame...but you had the opportunity to bail.
[/quote]
At least on High Rollers, the contestant did something that would impact play. And wins were more eventful because they were for higher stakes than a mattress set and happened less often.
-
I remember at a very young age getting into the Winner's Circle on Pyramid. In fact, I dare say I learned a lot about the English language thanks to Dick Clark.
Alphabetics? Never met any. However, I hear Wilford Brimley just wrapped four commercials for alphabeetis medication.
Fast Money is second, mainly for it's playalongability.
-
Pitfall's end game is tops for me. Pyramid though would be the most gut-wrenching at times.
Worst end game: Tough call. All I can say is I don't want to be on Card Sharks if the deck has a pile of middle cards to choose from.... makes for a very frustrating contestant. It's definitely the most difficult to achieve perfection (max $$).
End game that I'd suck the most: Jeopardy (Trebek). I was always bad at Jeopardy. Gimme the Classic Concentration endgame anyday. :)
-
Let's see here:
-Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, even though nobody ever won it.
-Winner's Circle
-Super Match
-Alphabetics
-Money Cards
and, I really like the Crosswords end game, even though I seem to be the only one here watching the show.
-
[quote name=\'Footix\' post=\'170627\' date=\'Nov 27 2007, 02:37 PM\']
Let's see here:
-Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, even though nobody ever won it.
[/quote]
I do remember a couple times when the game was the United States and the flags to place were the state flags the kids won.
It seemed there the kids had memorized the state flags and were not really waiting for the name of the location to be read.
-
[quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'170630\' date=\'Nov 27 2007, 02:57 PM\']
[quote name=\'Footix\' post=\'170627\' date=\'Nov 27 2007, 02:37 PM\']
Let's see here:
-Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, even though nobody ever won it.
[/quote]
I do remember a couple times when the game was the United States and the flags to place were the state flags the kids won.
It seemed there the kids had memorized the state flags and were not really waiting for the name of the location to be read.
[/quote]
And therein lay the major problem with the endgame--it varied too much in difficulty. Kids who were lucky enough to get the US map almost always won it in a walk. I think they changed this to include all of North America later on in the run, but it didn't help much. Meanwhile, woe unto the ones who got the Africa map and had to discern where Mauritania or Lesotho were.
As far as my favorite endgames, Scrabble Sprint is up there for me, as is the first Ceasar's Challenge format.
--Sam
-
[quote name=\'SamJ93\' post=\'170632\' date=\'Nov 27 2007, 02:29 PM\'] [quote name=\'Chuck Sutton\' post=\'170630\' date=\'Nov 27 2007, 02:57 PM\']
I do remember a couple times when the game was the United States and the flags to place were the state flags the kids won.
It seemed there the kids had memorized the state flags and were not really waiting for the name of the location to be read.
[/quote]
And therein lay the major problem with the endgame--it varied too much in difficulty. Kids who were lucky enough to get the US map almost always won it in a walk. I think they changed this to include all of North America later on in the run, but it didn't help much. Meanwhile, woe unto the ones who got the Africa map and had to discern where Mauritania or Lesotho were.
As far as my favorite endgames, Scrabble Sprint is up there for me, as is the first Ceasar's Challenge format.
--Sam
[/quote]
Many endgames can vary in difficulty as much as the production wants it to. It was just that Carmen's was more blatant and up-front in its difficulty than most. About the only other show where you can say "sucks to be you", before the bonus begins is Wheel of Fortune. (For $25,000 -- one word, four letters, ends with an N)
Scrabble Sprint controlled its budget by using harder clues and words with more common letters. Early on, Challenge didn't have the luxury of that control, save by changing the letter mix, and thus the need to the second bonus format. And if want to tighen the coinpurse on, say, Family Feud, just make sure the number one answers score 20-25 instead of 40-50.
For all the harping about Carmen, I think that some people (including certain Wikipedia editors) are letting their memories be clouded by what's on Youtube. The thing is, some of what's there is taken from early episodes, possibly even pilots. Those early shows, they were still tweaking the format slightly, both in the front and the end. You saw some weird stuff there, like the state flag thing (which only worked for the reason Chuck stated), and the clue reading. You even saw one round where the bonus was 60 seconds instead of 45. But this was a small portion of the shows in the very first season. After that, the format was locked in for the rest of the run, save for adding the chase and making the end game slightly harder starting in the second season.
-
To answer the question, there was no end game on ABC "Break the Bank." If you won by regular means, you got a "surprise prize" with your $300/600/900 and went on to another game. If you broke the bank, that's what you got.
The show didn't need an end game since you already had a good-sized for the time progressive jackpot in the front game. It seems to me like Barry and Enright didn't want the nighttime show to just end (since there wasn't a cash total to award a car too like on "Squares"), so they added the end game to bring closure.
And to me, I now have memories of Lonnie Schorr whining because they didn't go to him because of a little matter of the player finding the third money bag, breaking the bank and winning the game. If I were Kennedy, I would've spent the commercial break walking over to Schorr's slot and tearing him one.
-
And to me, I now have memories of Lonnie Schorr whining because they didn't go to him because of a little matter of the player finding the third money bag, breaking the bank and winning the game. If I were Kennedy, I would've spent the commercial break walking over to Schorr's slot and tearing him one.
That happened a few times on the episodes GSN ran a decade ago (...has it really been that long...)
GSN ran the first six weeks, and if you followed the show closely, you'll notice there were some celebrities rows that had no question cards in them (i.e. and money amount or the wild card). So those celebrities couldn't get asked a question on that game no matter what. On later episodes (the ones GSN was just going to get to before it disappeared forever), they spread out the board a bit better so that pretty well every game had money amounts or wild cards attached to each celebrity.
/Bitter...not me! :)
-
Lonnie Schorr! Little did he know that if he'd been called on that one day on "Break the Bank" and didn't complain, his obscurity would be utterly complete.