Front Game RulesTwo players competed. The object was to clear a board composed of 25 spaces, each space with a prize on it, and then solve the rebus behind it. On a player's turn, s/he picked two spaces from the board, each of which held a prize, "Take!" card, or "Wild!" card. If the two prizes matched, they were added to the player's list of prizes and those spaces were removed, revealing part of a rebus. Otherwise, the spaces were covered up again and the other player received control. |
If a "Wild!" card came up among the two choices, it was ruled an automatic match, and the "natural" match was revealed and removed from the board as well. Picking two "Wild!" cards in a row added $500 to your bounty and removed four pieces from the board. Picking three "Wild!" cards added another $1000 to your potential stake and removed five spaces from the board. Upon the winning of a "Take!" card, a contestant could steal one prize from his/her opponent's list (although the player could wait and use it after any match). Solving the rebus won all the prizes collected from the board. |
End Game RulesA player was shown 8 cars, and then a board of 15 spaces behind which the names of each car were hidden. The object was to match the 7 pairs of cars on the board before time ran out (there was 1 odd car that didn't match anything). If successful, the player won the last car that was matched and retired. Otherwise, the player returned to play another game. The base time was 35 seconds, and 5 seconds were added after each game until a car was won. Also, there was occasionally a prize on the board which gave the player 5 bonus seconds in the end game. |
As the show went on, the rules for advancing to the end game and facing new challengers changed. Originally, any win sent you to the bonus round, while you were eliminated after losing two games. Later on, the game was structured as a best-of-3 match, and only by winning two games would you go to the endgame. |
Tournament of Champions |
At several points during the run, tournaments were held between the 10 champions who had won cars in the shortest amounts of time. Each player played one match against another champion, the winner of which went on to the endgame. The player who could win a (second) car in the fastest time also won a grand prize ($25,000 cash, a trip around the world, etc.) |
I hate to do this, because all the other elements of the show were pretty darn good, but I have to flunk this show in its Execution grade. Why? They couldn't hold firm on any element of the gameplay! First they had two Wild cards, then three; Sometimes the round began with two or three spaces being revealed from the outset, other times they leave the entire board up; And they went from having one Take to two. Plus, they didn't know when winners should go for the car or losers should be sent home. Alex Trebek does a good job hosting the show, and brought a touch of civility to the atmosphere, but there were just too many changes to the format.
Gameplay: 3 pt.
Host: 3 pts.
Presentation: 2 pts.
Execution: 0 pts.
Total Score: 8 pts.