Wordplay (game show)

A game show, which ran on NBC from December 29 1986-September 4 1987. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy, and was the last game show he hosted prior to his retirement.

Related Topics:
Game show - NBC - December 29 - 1986 - September 4 - 1987 - Tom Kennedy

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The game was played by two contestants on a board with 9 words. A contestant would select a word, and each of three celebrity panelists would give a definition of the word. The contestant would then have to guess which celebrity's definition was the correct one. Correct responses earned cash. The board was arranged in such a way as that some words connected to other words. Connecting words would be worth cash in the amount of all the spaces connected to the word selected. However, if a contestant guessed wrong, the challenger could get the money if they guessed correctly. In the event that both contestants guessed wrong, the space became a block, preventing connecting dollar amounts through that space.

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Dollar amounts were doubled in round 2, and doubled again in round 3. At the end of the third round, the player with the most money played a bonus round, in which a the player would play on a different board for an increasing cash jackpot. Also, in the main game, one word was designated a bonus word. The contestant who picked that word AND got the right definition would win a trip.

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The bonus round was called Double Definition (although it was called Speedword in the first episode, a name already used by fellow NBC game show Scrabble). The contestant is shown 24 connecting boxes on a 4-row/6-column grid. Behind each one were two definitions, each defining a common word (i.e. "Writing Implement/Animal Enclosure" would be "Pen."), and the contestant would have to guess that word. The contestant had 45 seconds to start at the left and make a connection to the right (not unlike the Gold Run in Blockbusters). S/he could make as many guesses as wished, but if s/he passed, a block would go up and s/he would have to work around it. Each correct guess paid $100, but if the connection was made, the contestant won a jackpot which started at $5,000 and increased by $2,500 when unclaimed (the highest jackpot was $27,500).

Related Topics:
Scrabble - Blockbusters

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