Two teams, each composed of a celebrity guest and two
studio contestants, tried to match answers to a question
for cash prizes. If two players matched, the answer was
worth twenty-five points and if all three players matched,
it was worth fifty points. The first team to reach one
hundred points won the game and $100. The winning team
then went on to play the "Audience Match," where each
correct guess about how the studio audience would
respond earned $50.
"The Match Game" returned to television four years later
with a revised format. First called "Match Game 73" with
annual numerical updates, this version featured two studio
contestants and six guest celebrities. The contestant with
the most matches after playing two rounds of questions won
the game and played the Audience Match where he or she
tried to guess the audience's response to a fill-in
question for either $500, $250, or $100. Three celebrities
were chosen to give suggested answers. The contestant could
either pick one or create a new one. The player was then
given the opportunity to win ten times the money won on
the first part of the audience match by matching one
celebrity head-to-head on another fill-in question.
A weekly primetime version called "Match Game P.M.," was
syndicated from September 1975 to September 1981.
When CBS dropped the daytime version in April 1979, the
show continued with new daily episodes for syndication
until September 1982.
Click on the image above to purchase The Best of Match Game DVD Collection!
Match Game returned October 31, 1983 to July 27, 1984
as part of "The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour" on
NBC with hosts Gene Rayburn and Jon Bauman.
This new series of Match Game is based on the classic
fill-in-the-blank game show from Mark Goodson Productions
which was the most popular daytime game show of all time.
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