"Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour" married elements from the two classic game shows in a star-studded one-hour format. Rayburn hosted the "Match Game" segment, while Bauman, best known for his stint on "Sha Na Na," presided over "Hollywood Squares." Two new contestants played "Match Game," where the format was similar to the 1973-1982 run...a funny fill-in-the-blank statement is read. It was up to the contestants to try to match the five celebrities and co-host Bauman. One point was scored for each match; three rounds were played, with celebrities matching in earlier rounds sitting out the later rounds. The high-scorer after three rounds (or after a tie-breaker, if necessary), advanced to the "Hollywood Squares" version to meet the returning champion. Two more celebrities were introduced and Rayburn took his seat in the "Hollywood Squares" panel. "Hollywood Squares" was played just like the classic NBC game show of tic-tac-toe and celebrity bluffs, with these exceptions: each contestants' mark was worth $25; an incorrect judgement in agreeing or disagreeing with a celebrity always meant the opponent claimed the box, even if it meant the game (in the original format, the contestant had to earn wins himself), and the first game was worth $100, with each subsequent game worth $100 more than the previous one. The contestant in the lead when an undefined time limit expired was champion and went on to play "Super Match." As before, Rayburn read a simple fill-in-the-blank phrase (e.g., "Chicken *blank*"), and the contestant called on up to three celebrities to provide suggested answers. The contestant could then choose one on them or reject them all and give their own answer. Matching the most popular response was worth $1,000, with lesser answers worth $500 and $250; not matching any of the given answers still netted the contestant $100. In the "Head-to-Head Match," played immediately afterward, the contestant chose one of the eight celebrities (or Bauman), each of whom had a concealed multiplier in front of him/her. Four of the multipliers were 10s, four were 20s and one was a 30, meaning a possible jackpot of $30,000. One more fill-in-the-blank statement, with an exact match required, was read. If both the contestant and celebrity matched, they won whatever they were playing for. At the end of the show, the celebrity having the 30 multiplier was announced. |
