Concentration (game show)

Concentration is a venerable TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name.

Prizes, prizes and more prizes

Both versions of Concentration offered an impressive array and variety of prizes. One retrospective of the original series reported the following prize tally:

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• 512 cars.
• 397 boats.
• 1,287 domestic and foreign trips and cruises.
• 12 trips around the world.
• 857 fur coats.
• Numerous diamonds.

Additionally, there were countless gift certificates, travel trailers, airplanes, swimming pools, furniture, kitchen appliances (large and small), rooms of furniture, clothing, stereos and televisions, fantastic nights out on the town and virtually any other item seen in any mail-order catalog. One history of the 1958-1973 series reported the total prize giveaway at $10 million.

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Speaking of prizes, the prize values were deliberately much, much smaller than those of the big-money quiz shows implicated as part of the Quiz show scandals of the late-1950s. Barry and Enright deliberately kept the winnings low-value to avoid any suggestion that it, too, was tainted.

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Usually, there was at least one prize worth more than $1,000; however, nearly all the other prizes were worth less than $500, with many in the $10-$100 range. A board of prizes rarely totalled more than $2,000-$3,000 and champions rarely took home more than that in merchandise during their stay (though some longer-lived winners approached $10,000).

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