Broadcast Info

AIRDATES: September 1983-September 1986 (CBS), September 1987-October 1996 (USA Network Repeats), September 2001-Current (GSN Repeats)

HOSTS: Peter Tomarken

ANNOUNCER: Rod Roddy

MUSIC: Lee Ringuette

PACKAGER: Carruthers Company Productions

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Question Rounds (Segments 1 and 3)


Question #1: What color is the sky?
 Three players competed. Each contestant tried to earn spins to be used for the “Big Board” rounds later in the show. Host Tomarken would read a question. The player who buzzed in first gave his/her answer. Tomarken would then take that answer and add two of his own to be used as a multiple choice for the other two player. A correct buzz-in answer was worth three spins, one spin for a correct multiple choice answer. One question round consisted of four questions.
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“Big Board” Rounds (Segments 2 and 4)

Each player took his/her spins to earn cash at a light randomizer board consisting of 18 squares. Each square contained either cash (which sometimes also had an extra spin attached), a prize, or the dreaded Whammy. If a player hit a Whammy, a cartoon character would appear and mock the contestant, and then erase their winnings. Hitting four Whammies eliminated a player from the game. A player could pass their remaining spins to the opponent with the most money, which they were forced to take (hitting a Whammy converted any remaining passed spins into “earned” spins). Values in the first Big Board round ranged from $100-$1500 ($100-$1250 in earlier episodes), while Round Two values ranged from $500 to $5000!

She's Pressing Her Luck!

Ouch, the Whammy's wipes out her score!

Apart from cash, prizes, and Whammies; the board contained special “directional” squares: “Move One Space,” which gave the player a choice from the two squares adjacent to the space, “Advance/Go Back Two Spaces,” which sent the cursor two squares in the direction noted, and “Big Bucks,” which sent the player to the highest cash square on the board directly north. “Pick-A-Corner” was added in early 1984, and “Across the Board” was added in February 1986.

The player with the most earnings after the second round won the game, kept their earnings, and returned on the next show. Players who won a total of $25,000 or more retired. This was raised to $50,000 or five days in November of 1984 when most champions usually broke the $25,000 milestone in two shows (some even on their first game).

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