Shuffle (game show)

Shuffle is an American game show that aired on The Family Channel. It ran from March 7^[1] to June 10, 1994.^[2] Wink Martindale hosted, and Randy West announced.

Wink Martindale and Bill Hillier created and produced four "interactive" games for the Family Channel, with Wink hosting every one of them. Besides Shuffle, the other three were Trivial Pursuit, Boggle, and Jumble.

Shuffle premiered on the same day as Boggle. The two shows were quite similar; besides their similar formats, they shared the same theme song, sound effects, and set. (After Boggle finished taping, the set was re-decorated to make Shuffle's set). Shuffle was the less successful of the two, being replaced with Jumble after 14 weeks.

Gameplay

Four players competed, each with a telephone keypad built into their podium. A shuffled list with four items is given, and a question relating to the list is asked, usually in the vein of "Who is the oldest?", "Which one of these came first?", or "Which is the most popular?". The players had 10 seconds to punch in their answer (either 1, 2, 3, or 4) on their keypad. They would win points depending on how quickly they answered correctly, starting at 1,000 points and counting down as the seconds ticked on. After the right answer is revealed, they have 5 seconds to find the item ordered second. The contestants would again win points for a right answer, starting at 500 and ticking down for each passing second. After this, Wink would mention which items were ordered third and fourth, and a new list would be played.

Three lists are played this way, and the player with the lowest score at the end of three lists would be eliminated.

In the second round, the three remaining players had their scores reset to zero. Three more lists would be played, and the lowest scoring player would be eliminated.

For the third and final round, the scores were reset to zero again, and the two remaining contestants played three more lists. The contestant with the highest score at the end won two prizes, one of which was always a trip. The runner-up won a smaller prize.

Interactive component

After each round with the studio players, home viewers could call a special 1-900 number and for $4.98, play a game of "Interactive Shuffle". The game was played exactly like a round of the studio game. Home viewers would answer by using their touch-tone telephone, and the one with the highest score would receive a small prize and the right to enter a weekly playoff. The playoff would be played exactly as before, and the ultimate winner would receive a trip.

References

1. ↑ The Intelligencer - March 7, 1994
2. ↑ The Intelligencer - June 10, 1994