top of page

An American Journey Through the History of Game Shows

The Fat Big Quiz 2020.jpg

Description

The America's are responsible for a huge catalogue of globally distributed game shows. In the 1940's while Europe was at war, the U.S.A. found themselves in game show hysteria, developing a list a of titles that can still be round on television today. The pace never slowed, and the the America's have been developing history, iconic and awe-inspiring game shows that the world love and enjoy on a weekly basis.


As of late, game shows are evolving, becoming more interactive and coming to stage or laptop near you! With breakthroughs in hardware, increases in internet speed, and familiarity with technology exponentially increasing over the past decade, it only seems natural for one of human's earliest television formats to be at the front of the curve!


Get ready to go head-to-head in a range of challenges, quizzes and betting rounds, inspired by some of the most popular game shows found from around the globe. All wrapped up in chronological storyline, which travels from the 1930's to modern day, accompanied by a live themed host. So stoke the fire and crack out the egg nog for our Christmas game show extravaganza.


A Journey through the history of game shows usually comprises of 13 game show mock up rounds. Below we have listed the game shows built for this particular game, accompanied by a brief explanation of the question styles found within that round.


Mock-up game show rounds


Spelling Bee (1930)

Spell the words correctly.


You Bet Your Life (1940)

Pick a subject, and try to answer the questions correctly. Once the first round has finished, you’ll have the option to stick or swap. If your team decides to stick, you can sit back and relax, while any teams who swapped are presented with two additional questions. If your team decides to swap, and if you answered the first two questions correctly, you’ll risk your initial points, to earn an additional set of two points.


Name That Tune (1950)

Name the tune, by hearing and seeing a snippet from its intro.


Let's Cut A Deal (1960)

This is an all out betting round, where you’ll be placing your bets on a series of live events broadcast from our studio, or laid out on stage. After each event, you’ll have the choice to stick or swap. If you stick, you’ll keep any points you earned in the previous events, if you placed your bets correctly. If you swap, you’ll have the chance to place a new bet for the next event, which will be worth more points; however, you will lose any points you’ve already won.


Price It Right (1970)

Can you accurately guess the price of a series of items we show you? In the first part of this game you’ll need to answer the prices exactly correctly to earn points. In the second part you’ll be playing cliffhanger. If you manage to answer the prices exactly with no margin of error you’ll earn 3 points, if you answer within a 10% margin of error you’ll earn 2 points, and within a 20% margin of error you’ll earn 1 point.


Match It Game (1970)

Team will need to try and match their answers, with answers celebrities gave in the 1970s on fill in the blank statements.


Reel Of Fortune (1980)

First of all you’ll need to try and solve our word wall to earn your team 1 point. Then one lucky team will have the opportunity to spin our reel of fortune, to try and earn some extra points! But don’t worry if your team doesn’t get picked, they’re still in the game. They will need to guess the colour the spinning team will land on.


Doubly Dare (1980)

Get ready to get your gunge on. In this round you’ll need to find an item from within your own home, or from our on stage game pack to use to complete a challenge. If you complete the challenge correctly you’ll need to send us a video as evidence. Our team will check the video, and award your team the points.


SuperMarket Suite (1990)

Get your trainers… or slippers on, and get ready to rummage through the shelves in your house to earn your team points. In this round you’ll need to solve a riddle, and the answer to that riddle will be an item you can find in the home; however, you’ll need to think fast, because each riddle only stays on screen for 30 seconds, and you’ll only have two minutes overall to solve all four riddles, and find all four items, to earn your team the points.


Geo-parody (1990)

We will give you a selection of 5 specialist subjects to choose from. Then you will have 2 minutes to answer the 5 questions found within that subject. Each question is subsequently more difficult than the last and worth more points, but there's a catch. If you answer a question incorrectly, you’ll lose the same amount of points that you would gain if you answered it correctly.


You Want To Be A Millionaire? (1990)

The most successful game show of all time! Unlike the original version of this game show, if you get a question wrong, you can continue, and remember there are no lifelines. The questions range from the easiest to the hardest, and the harder the questions are, the more points they are worth.


Bankers Deal (2000)

Teams have to decide whether to stick, swap or take the bankers deal. One box contains +3 points, the other contains -3 points. See if you can beat the banker!


2 Minutes To Win It (2010)

The final round ends with a challenge, and you’ll have 2 minutes to bring together the necessary components, complete the challenge and send us the video evidence! So cameras at the ready!


Optional Bespoke Rounds


People Are Funny (1950)

If you want your players to get warmed up for the game in advance, why not set them the challenge of showing us their best party trick? Before your game, players will have the opportunity to get in the game show spirit by sending us their favourite party stoppers before the game show begins. Then our judges will build a compilation of all the videos, and showcase that to your group on the day. The best three party tricks will earn points for their team.


BucketRace’s Generational Game (1970)

A series of items will pass across the screen. Each team will need to try and remember as many items as they can. Once the items have finished passing by the screen, teams will have one minute to remember as many items as they can.


Megamind (1970)

Before the game, you’ll send us your group's specialist subject. We will go away and create a bespoke list of questions and answers. Teams will receive 1 point for each correct answer.


Match Phrase (1970)

This round work’s great if you’re celebrating an organisation or individual. Before the game you'll send us some images related to your group, and we will edit them into a Match Phrase. The less squares you need to reveal to answer the Match Phrase correctly, the more points you will earn for your team.


BucketRace’s House Party (1990)

This involves setting up someone in your team, or a friend in a BucketRace gotcha moment. You will need to send us their phone number and email address, and we will take care of the rest. You will then see a showcase of how the events unfolded on game day.


Scrap Pile Challenge (2000)

Time to get creative using items found within your own home. We may ask you to put together the fanciest cocktail, build a household suit of armour, or bring a food source to life. Once the time has ended, you’ll need to submit a photo of your creation, with a description explaining your decision making. Our judges will then decide on the top three submissions, and award each team points.


Should I lie to you? (2010)

Can you tell if the host’s (or a player from your groups) story is true or a lie? You’ll have the chance to chime in and ask the host questions about their story, to try and work out if they’re telling you a porkie. If you answer correctly whether the story is a truth or lie, you will earn your team 2 points.


Completely Bespoke

For big occasions we can also create you a completely bespoke round from scratch. Here is an example of a game show round we create for Bacardi for their 160th anniversary: Bacardi Celebrates 160 Years: Bacardi Bespoke Game Show Round


What you'll need

We advise having x 2 smart devices e.g. laptop, iPhone, iPad, a good internet connection, and players must be comfortable with using Google forms to play the game!


Bookings

Public Events

Available on seasonal dates, check out our schedule here: Public Tickets


Private Events

Available all year round.

For private bookings you can enquire by filling in this form: Enquiry Form

bottom of page