The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Jeremy Nelson on August 15, 2025, 02:50:47 PM
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All the video game sites periodically talk about the impact that one game had on their belief around the capability of video games, so I’ll ask the question here for our genre specifically. Did any of you have a game show video/home game that made you go “Wow” at the possibilities of what could come next?
I’ve got three major ones, but I’ll only share one and leave the others for someone else: the ‘95 Jeopardy CD-Rom game. I remember seeing it in action for the first time in one of the PBS World of Knowledge stores, and coming from a Sega Genesis, the accurate set, full motion video and the ability to use a joystick as a signaling device was such a huge upgrade. I remember thinking that it couldn’t have gotten much better..and then it did, at least for a while.
EDIT: I couldn’t stop myself. Giving Jellyvision the license to make Millionaire games was a masterstroke and it is a shame and a half that no other developer sought to use them to make other home games.
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Talking Vanna in the mid-90s Wheel PC game kinda blew my mind at 13. Up to that point I only had 8-bit versions on Commodore 64 or NES.
Loved that the J! PC game gave you the contestant’s POV.
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EDIT: I couldn’t stop myself. Giving Jellyvision the license to make Millionaire games was a masterstroke and it is a shame and a half that no other developer sought to use them to make other home games.
It's funny... as I read the first part of your post, my immediate thought was You Don't Know Jack, but that's just an example of a well-executed computer game, not a game show home game.
But I disagree fairly strongly with you about Millionaire. The adaptation of Fastest Finger was clever, but enough other aspects missed the mark that it didn't feel enough like playing the show. (I acknowledge they were probably under a tight deadline to capitalize on the show's popularity.) The scripted Phone-a-Friends weren't great -- supposedly a savvy player was supposed to be able to discern from what the friend said whether their answer could be trusted, but I was never able to pick up on any tells. The much larger problem, though, was that the questions were simply organized as first tier questions, middle tier questions, and final tier questions. As we all know, there's a big difference between a $2,000 question and a $32,000 question, but in the computer game, the difficulty of those middle tier questions bounced all over the place as the game randomly drew from the pile.
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The Weakest Link for the PS1 made my jaw drop. Getting Anne Robinson to host and do the "putdowns" made it an awesome game. Millionaire comes in second, IMHO.
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(I acknowledge they were probably under a tight deadline to capitalize on the show's popularity.)
Take a look at this article (https://www.cbr.com/interview-jackbox-harry-gottlieb-mike-bilder/), where Harry Gottlieb says they were giving like 2.5 months from concept to game. I mean, even if you look at the code and the Jellyengine those first 2 versions ran under, this was a barely reskinned YDKJ game, using much of the code for the planned 5th Dementia that was released in 2000.
Why they didn't go with Hothouse's release like the rest of the world probably came down to Disney wanting to distribute it themselves instead of Eidos.
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(I acknowledge they were probably under a tight deadline to capitalize on the show's popularity.)
Take a look at this article (https://www.cbr.com/interview-jackbox-harry-gottlieb-mike-bilder/), where Harry Gottlieb says they were giving like 2.5 months from concept to game.
That's twice as long as the infamous Atari 2600 E.T. game got.
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I’ll give a bit of a dissenting view. I’ve never looked for a board game or video adaptation to function as the real thing but instead to be a fun way to scratch the itch. That said I loved that Electric Jeopardy actually moved beyond the world of clicker crickets and a die to break ties with the blue plastic casing buttons and the score wheels, and the Quizzard not just being the buzzer umpire but having the different game modes was profoundly cool. I’ve gotten more use from the Quizzard at family events than likely all of the home games I’ve ever owned.
I wish that Deluxe Wheel of Fortune had expansion modules with new wedges and materials but it was not to be. Also I have the Millionaire for Game Boy Color within arm’s reach. I’ll never sit across from Reege but damn if it doesn’t remind me of those nphalcyon days.
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12-year-old me was buying pre-release Wii accessories at Target and camped outside Best Buy the night before launch.
What a time to be a gamer.
Game-show adjacent? I'd have to go with YDKJ. My dad adores that game because, in his words, it was "the first video game to call [him] a pendejo."
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Game-show adjacent? I'd have to go with YDKJ. My dad adores that game because, in his words, it was "the first video game to call [him] a pendejo."
Having played the original PC game - both general knowledge and the Sports edition - I was a huge fan, and was very disappointed in the Paul Reubens/Troy Stevens version. It took the irreverent, sarcastic anti-game show and turned it into more of an over-the-top parody. If they'd gone with a vibe closer to Idiot Savants or Win Ben Stein's Money, I think they would've been on to something.
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Game-show adjacent? I'd have to go with YDKJ. My dad adores that game because, in his words, it was "the first video game to call [him] a pendejo."
Having played the original PC game - both general knowledge and the Sports edition - I was a huge fan, and was very disappointed in the Paul Reubens/Troy Stevens version. It took the irreverent, sarcastic anti-game show and turned it into more of an over-the-top parody. If they'd gone with a vibe closer to Idiot Savants or Win Ben Stein's Money, I think they would've been on to something.
There was a pilot in 1996 produced by Ron Greenberg and hosted by Harry Gottlieb/Nate Shapiro that I would love to see. I would imagine it's a closer experience to the PC game.
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Game-show adjacent? I'd have to go with YDKJ. My dad adores that game because, in his words, it was "the first video game to call [him] a pendejo."
Having played the original PC game - both general knowledge and the Sports edition - I was a huge fan, and was very disappointed in the Paul Reubens/Troy Stevens version. It took the irreverent, sarcastic anti-game show and turned it into more of an over-the-top parody. If they'd gone with a vibe closer to Idiot Savants or Win Ben Stein's Money, I think they would've been on to something.
There was a pilot in 1996 produced by Ron Greenberg and hosted by Harry Gottlieb/Nate Shapiro that I would love to see. I would imagine it's a closer experience to the PC game.
I would love to see it too. Hopefully The Game Show Vault or someone will post it. I watched Ron Greenburg’s Game Show Museum oral history to get some info on it the other day.
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I’ll give a bit of a dissenting view. I’ve never looked for a board game or video adaptation to function as the real thing but instead to be a fun way to scratch the itch. That said I loved that Electric Jeopardy actually moved beyond the world of clicker crickets and a die to break ties with the blue plastic casing buttons and the score wheels, and the Quizzard not just being the buzzer umpire but having the different game modes was profoundly cool. I’ve gotten more use from the Quizzard at family events than likely all of the home games I’ve ever owned.
I wish that Deluxe Wheel of Fortune had expansion modules with new wedges and materials but it was not to be. Also I have the Millionaire for Game Boy Color within arm’s reach. I’ll never sit across from Reege but damn if it doesn’t remind me of those nphalcyon days.
I always wanted Deluxe Wheel as a kid. Just because of those new wedges you could add. I wound up having the red box Junior version. The same with the Nintendo game...I don't know why my parents wouldn't let me get the adult versions since I watched Vanna/Pat since I was a young'un. I remember my aunt had the first Wheel Nintendo game and I was so disappointed...like where was the $5000 space in the 3rd round? lol
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I'll throw an odd one into the pool - Password Plus and Jeopardy on the Omni.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OMNI_Entertainment_System
To my knowledge, those two titles were the first 'interactive' home versions of a game show.
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A version of 5th Grader was released for the PS2. Jeff Foxworthy hosted and it was based on the FOX prime time version. The first time I played it I made it to the million dollar question. I forgot the question but I remember my answer was "horsepower" and I won a million in make believe money.
Checking my PC collection of game shows, I see there was a version of Million Dollar Password. So that's two game shows with Reege you could play at home.
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I remember my aunt had the first Wheel Nintendo game and I was so disappointed...like where was the $5000 space in the 3rd round? lol
It actually could've been there (or anywhere, for that matter; it's in the ROM data alongside a bunch of other unused cash spaces (https://tcrf.net/Wheel_of_Fortune_(NES)#Unused_Wheel_Wedges)), but it's not used for some reason.
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EDIT: I couldn’t stop myself. Giving Jellyvision the license to make Millionaire games was a masterstroke and it is a shame and a half that no other developer sought to use them to make other home games.
But I disagree fairly strongly with you about Millionaire. The adaptation of Fastest Finger was clever, but enough other aspects missed the mark that it didn't feel enough like playing the show. (I acknowledge they were probably under a tight deadline to capitalize on the show's popularity.)
My fault for not providing clarity- My claim was directed towards the atmosphere/presentation more than the gameplay itself. Truth be told, I couldn't pick up on the issues you pointed out at 13, but they definitely make sense. Now knowing the deadline they were under, I'm actually more impressed and wondered what they could've done with more time.
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The two games I hold in high regard are specifically the 1998 PC versions of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! Both were very true to their shows while also running great on even lower end machines. FMV Vanna and Alex, along with Charlie and Johnny, elevated what was mind-blowing in the 1995 PC games. It really felt like they were made by a team (Artech Studios) that understood the source material, seen previous games, and knew how to make new ones sing. My high school buddies and I played the hell out of J!. To this day, when someone is taking too long for anything, we will hand wave them and say, "...Pick again" in our best Alex voice. And did I mention you had to type in the response? It seems a robust game material database in 2025 only needs include multiple choice Q&A...
Unfortunately, the Playstation versions, the 2nd and 2003 editions didn't keep everything as smooth as the 1st. The Playstation would have to stop to load the video and it made for a disjointed experience. The later PC editions tried to be bigger with more video and features but at the cost of smoothness and optimization (even on beefier comps). The 2003 versions were just reskinned 2nd editions with new videos, but they were just a little sloppier than the previous outing.
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The one to me that was game-changing was the first one I ever played and knew about - the original WoF computer game in 1987. I spent literally hours the first night playing it. At the age of 12, I had a few board games, but that was the first computer game I ever had that was based on a game show.
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EDIT: I couldn’t stop myself. Giving Jellyvision the license to make Millionaire games was a masterstroke and it is a shame and a half that no other developer sought to use them to make other home games.
It's funny... as I read the first part of your post, my immediate thought was You Don't Know Jack, but that's just an example of a well-executed computer game, not a game show home game.
I had the package that came with the slam buzzers (and also Jeopardy??) so I feel that was particularly revelatory.
The peripherals for Buzz and its offshoots still feel like the gold standard for hobbyist game show hosts.
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Additionally, I'm honestly surprised, back in the '90s, that the longest-running daytime game show never got little more than a piss-poor GameTek version (that couldn't even get the pricing game names right). In the mid to late '90s, I always envisioned a version with the real pricing games and computer graphics superimposed over certain spots in the game when needed.
Arguably the best version was the unofficial one that BugJon made.
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Instead of giving plaudits to someone who wrecked more computers than a live reenactment of Office Space, I would rather give my backing to Travis Griffin and his game controls. Yes you have to have someone write materials, but you can hook up buzzers at a convention or sleepover weekend, or have somebody running everything behind the curtain and play via voice chat.
I think that is the paradigm shift. No poorly designed NPCs and no million bucks but it is the closest thing to being on stage under the lights.
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Additionally, I'm honestly surprised, back in the '90s, that the longest-running daytime game show never got little more than a piss-poor GameTek version (that couldn't even get the pricing game names right). In the mid to late '90s, I always envisioned a version with the real pricing games and computer graphics superimposed over certain spots in the game when needed.
I always thought this was more due to licensing than anything else. Easiest thing to do would have been to sign deals with Unilever or some other big conglomerate so you wouldn't have to do a ton of legwork, but that still would've required a handful of those deals to span all the different prize types.
Arguably the best version was the unofficial one that BugJon made.
Instead of giving plaudits to someone who wrecked more computers than a live reenactment of Office Space, I would rather give my backing to Travis Griffin and his game controls. Yes you have to have someone write materials, but you can hook up buzzers at a convention or sleepover weekend, or have somebody running everything behind the curtain and play via voice chat.
I think that is the paradigm shift. No poorly designed NPCs and no million bucks but it is the closest thing to being on stage under the lights.
Por que no las dos?
There was a pretty dry spell between 2003 ish and 2008, when Ludia came on the scene. We got (semi)annual Wheel and Jeopardy, and not much else. Jon's home versions weren't perfect, but I give him a TON of credit for his releases, especially as a one man operation. I would have rather he spent more time smoothing out the top quartile of his offerings than creating shovelware that didn't make it past v1.02, but I can't fault him for trying, and some of his higher end stuff still holds up to this day. Travis's software is par excellence from a presentation and usability standpoint, but requires someone to write, stack, program, and run the games; sometimes you just want to play.
Both are great in their own right.
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I would have rather he spent more time smoothing out the top quartile of his offerings than creating shovelware that didn't make it past v1.02, but I can't fault him for trying, and some of his higher end stuff still holds up to this day.
When Flash was sunset I was part of a group of GS nerds that started learning Unity Engine together. This would've started during the end of either 2020 or 2021. (My brain says the latter but it's probably the former.) For fun I wanted to check my project folder to see how many different programming projects I started since I began working with the software. Assuming I counted correctly, I have forty-seven.
Not that there aren't people who have a singular focus, but I feel like most of "us" are simply compelled to make.