The Joker's Wild

The Joker's Wild was a popular American game show of the 1970s and early 1980s, billed as the game "where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen".

Other Versions

Original 1969 pilot

This pilot episode, hosted by Allen Ludden, was very different from the eventual series. Most notable was the fact that categories on the wheels were each represented by a different celebrity panelist, each of whom asked the questions in his or her specific category. A somewhat confusing points system was used for scoring in place of money, with the first player to reach 13 points winning the game.

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For a bonus round, the game's winner spun the wheels, each of which contained different prizes of various quality - anything from a five-cent piece of chewing gum to $500 cash. After the spin, the player could elect to keep the prizes shown, or give them all back for a second spin. This offer was then repeated after the second spin, but if a third spin was taken, the player was stuck with whatever prizes came up in that spin. This pilot did not feature returning champions.

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1972-1975

Initially, triples were worth $150 instead of $200; this soon changed. Also, three Jokers originally won the game automatically, without a question being asked. From episode 1 until around mid-1973, the champion went first instead of the challenger.

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The bonus round went through a few different permutations. For the first two episodes, it was a variation of the game seen in the 1969 pilot, but with only two spins allowed and most of the gag prizes replaced with decent ones. Additionally, some prizes appeared on the wheels inside of circles; if all three prizes in a spin were thus circled, the player also won a new car. Beginning with the third aired episode, the circles were eliminated and the car became a regular prize on the wheels. Not long after that, the endgame was completely overhauled again - this time, the wheels contained Jokers and Devils. The player was given up to three spins, and each time three Jokers came up, a different prize was won, increasing in value with each spin taken. If a Devil appeared, the player lost it all. Amusingly, for Christmas 1972, the graphics for this game were altered to become "Santas" (Jokers) and "Scrooges" (Devils). By the end of the CBS run, the "Face the Devil" round described above had been implemented.

Related Topics:
Christmas - Santas - Scrooges

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In 1973, to avoid confusion between the category wheels and the bonus game reels, the Jokers in the "Jokers and Devils" era were marked with the word "Joker" instead of the word "Wild".

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Early in the show's run, returning champions were competing for a chance to win the "Joker's Jackpot," an accruing jackpot of cash that started at $2,500. Players won this jackpot if they won four consecutive games (later three plus a new automobile). However, if they were defeated, all of their cash winnings to that point were forfeited to the Joker's Jackpot (prizes won in the bonus round was his/hers to keep). Thus, after every game, the champion decided whether to play on for a chance to win the Jackpot, or play it safe and retire from the show with their current winnings. The Jackpot continued to build until it reached $25,000 or more, which was at the time CBS's maximum "winnings cap" for game show contestants.

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After winning the Joker's Jackpot, the champion was retired undefeated, but later the rules changed in which champions can continue playing until either defeated or reaching the maximum CBS winnings limit. Plus any Joker's Jackpots won was his/hers to keep.

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Upon implemention of the "Money and Devils" bonus round, the "Joker's Jackpot" was abandoned, and players kept whatever they earned, and five wins were needed to win a new automobile.

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1977-1986

There were a few alterations to the syndicated show over the years. One of the most notable was the addition of a "Natural Triple Jackpot" in 1983. This was an accruing prize package offered to a contestant who had spun a triple of any category, without Jokers. Prior to that, a bonus prize, usually around $500 in value, was given to any contestant who spun a natural triple.

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Special categories were introduced during the course of the syndicated era; the most famous of which were the "Mystery" category (which if picked would double the value of the question), and the "Fast Forward" category, in which a player can answer as many questions as he/she wished, stopping after a correct answer--a wrong answer forfeiting the money won in that turn and giving his opponent a chance to steal. "Stumpers" was introduced in 1983, which featured questions missed by both players from previous episodes; the player could elect to answer the question straight up, doubling the dollar value, or answer the question with the help of two wrong answers for the face value of the question (originally when this category was selected, an extra $100 was added to the value of the question, but was changed during the Cullen era). Other special categories played over the years included "Bid", in which a player had to answer a certain amount of questions (a la Bullseye); "Fact or Foto", in which the player had the option of seeing a photo he would have to identify or hearing a fact--an incorrect answer giving his opponent both the fact and the photo; "Multiple Choice", in which a player is given three possible answers, and he/she had to choose which answer is correct; and "How Low Will You Go?", wherein a question with a list of clues was asked, and the player had to decide how few clues he would need to answer it (similar to "Bid A Note" on Name That Tune)--a wrong answer giving all the clues to his opponent.

Related Topics:
Bullseye - Name That Tune

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Other popular categories over the years included "Grab Bag" which is a potluck category, "Crossword Definitions", "Spelling Bee", "Alphabet Soup", "News of the 70s", "Television" and "Who, What or Where?".

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Beginning with the 1981-82 season, an audience game was played at the final segment each show (originally two or three shows per week, including the week-ending show). Three members of the studio audience were selected for a chance to win bonus money and a chance to spin against the devil. Each audience member was given one spin to get as much money as possible (originally two spins were given; meaning the audience member can take another spin if he/she did not like the amount spun or wasn't enough to take the lead). The wheels contained money amounts ranging from $10 to $100, with $250 the highest amount possible in one spin. Whomever had the highest score went on to face the devil for a bonus prize and an additional $1,000. When Bill Cullen took over the reins of "The Joker's Wild" in 1984, the third contestant became a home viewer playing from his or her touch-tone telephone. The audience end game was discontinued following the 1984-85 season.

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Joker! Joker!! Joker!!! (1979-1981)

This was a special once-weekly version of The Joker's Wild with children for contestants and appropriately themed subject matter for questions. The format was basically the same, with only some slight alterations. In the main game, the children would play for points, not dollars. The winning child received a $500 education bond. The children's parents played the bonus round, presumably to avoid giving the kids the vice of gambling.

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1990-1991

When "The Joker's Wild" returned to syndication in 1990, virtually everything about the show had been changed.

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In the first round, three contestants (one a returning champion) competed to be the first to reach $500. The game began with a toss-up definition, and whomever buzzed in first with the correct answer gained control of the machine. The wheels contained various dollar amounts (generally $5-$50 in each window), with a Joker in the third window tripling the value of the first two if it came up (and giving that player 15 seconds to come up with as many correct answers as possible). After spinning, the player was given a series of rapid-fire definitions and had to figure out what those definitions referred to. Each correct answer earned the current value of the wheels. If a definition was missed, the other two players can buzz in and attempt to steal control of the board, which if successful, the wheels were spinned again. When one player reached the $500 target number, the low-scoring contestant was eliminated.

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The two remaining contestants advanced to the second round, which was played much like the first, with higher dollar amoounts on the wheels, and a choice of one of two categories after each spin. Additionally, an "Opponent's Choice" card could appear in the third window; as the name suggests, this gave the spinning player's opponent the choice of categories the spinner would have to answer questions from. The first to reach $2,000 or more won the game.

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In the bonus round, the champion was given up to three definitions to different words starting with the same letter. Each correct answer given within sixty seconds earned one spin of the wheels. The wheels, this time, contained prizes (including various cash awards of $1,000 or more) and Jokers. The object was to get three of a kind of any prize in order to win it. After each spin, the player could "freeze" windows containing a prize he or she wanted to win, and only the unfrozen windows would continue to spin. Jokers could be used to match any prize showing; spinning three Jokers won a "Joker's Jackpot" that started at $5,000 and increased by $500 each day until won. (This had to be done in one spin, as Jokers could not be frozen.)

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About halfway through this show's run, the front game format was reworked to incorporate elements of the original "Joker's Wild" game. Although still played with the "definition" format, categories at least had returned to the wheels - $25 for a single, $50 for a double, $100 for a triple. Spinning three Jokers here won an automatic $250 bonus and selected one of three categories for $100 a question. The winning score for the first round was increased to $1,000 at this point.

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Thomas Van Dyke holds the record for most money won and for most appearances on this version of the show.

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