Digging deep into archive.org, we find from Randy Amasia's rules release
This quote comes from the
Whew! on Buzzr thread. I never knew that the full rules to the game were once published. I'm fascinated by game show rule bibles, and I'm sure there are others like me who were similarly unaware, so I'm posting them here (instead of clogging the discussion thread.) so they may be saved for non-defunct posterity. Credit to
whew.tv for posting them many years ago.
I understand and agree that:
1. The game is played with a Charger and a Blocker. When charging, I attempt to get through the sixth level within 60-seconds by correcting at least one blooper on each level. When blocking, I attempt to stop the Charger from getting to the top by means of six blocks which I can place anywhere on the board, with the only limitations being that I may place only one block on the sixth level and no more than three blocks on any other level. If the Charger runs into any of these blocks, the Charger loses five-seconds on the clock.
2. As the Charger, I gather money by being credited with the dollar amount attached to the bloopers that I answer correctly. As a Blocker, I am credited with any moneys attached to the blocks my opponent runs into.
3. During the course of the game, money is only credited to me, not won by me, unless I win the game.
4. Winning one game is defined as winning two rounds. A round is won as a Charger by getting through the sixth level of the board (answering one blooper correctly on the sixth level) within 60-seconds. A round is won as a Blocker when the Charger fails to do the above.
5. At the beginning of any game, the challenger (new player) will have the option of charging or blocking the board after hearing what the first two board categories will be. The only exception that will occur is when both players are new, in which case the option will go to the winner of the backstage coin toss. Whoever charges the first board will block the second, and if there is a tie-breaking round, whoever didn’t have the option to charge or block at the beginning will have the option for the third board — in most cases, this will be the champion. On the board, within a level, the larger the dollar amount, the more difficult it will be to correct the blooper. Difficulty increases horizontally, not vertically, i.e., level four will not be any more difficult than level one.
6. When charging, I may not proceed to the next level until I have correctly answered at least one blooper on that level or selected every blooper on that level. The only exception is the sixth level, where a right answer is mandatory in order to win the round.
7. When charging, I must call the level and the dollar amount, e.g., “Level 4/30,” and that if I fail to do so, the M.C. may use my time to insist that I do.
8. When charging, I must wait for the M.C.’s cry of “Charge!” before proceeding with the game, and that if I fail to do so, the M.C. may use my time to insist that I do.
9. When charging, I can not answer a blooper before the M.C. is finished reading it, and if I answer prematurely, the M.C. will disregard my answer and may take up my time asking for the answer after the blooper is read.
10. When charging, any instructions the M.C. is forced to give me by virtue of my failure to play the game correctly will be charged against my 60-seconds.
11. When charging, I may call for the Longshot while on any of the first five levels of the board. A Longshot may not be called on the sixth level. The moment I call “Level Six,” I am committed to the sixth level.
12. If I call the Longshot, the clock will stop, my opponent will insert a secret block somewhere on the sixth level, and I will pick one of the positions on the sixth level. If the position is free of a block, I will be given the same time to answer the blooper as I would any other blooper on the board. If I am correct, I win the round automatically; if I’m not, or the position is blocked, I lose the round automatically.
13. When charging and sent off-stage, I will be put in “isolation,” my view obstructed by a scenic flat or some other device and unable to hear by virtue of a headset that will be playing music or white sound, etc. It is my obligation to report immediately to the Program Practices department or the producer any malfunction in the above-mentioned devices.
14. When charging, I must begin with level one and proceed up the board by consecutive levels.
15. All bloopers in the main game will be underlined as to the offending part of the blooper, e.g.,
“In World War II, the Japanese bombed Pearl
Bailey.” Everything not underlined is factually correct and should not be changed.
16. In the course of a charge, an error (mechanical or otherwise) may occur, causing the charge to be interrupted. I understand that said error will be corrected in a manner agreed upon by CBS Program Practices and the producer. The charge will be continued from that point on.
17. When blocking, I may start on any level, but having selected a level, I can not put a block on a lower level.
18. A block may be accidentally revealed, causing an interruption in the charge. In that situation, the Charger will be sent out of sight and hearing, and the Blocker will be asked to reconstruct setting their blocks, putting the same blocks in the same places except for the exposed block; this they may insert in a new position or the same position.
19. If I lose the first game I play, I will be given a merchandise prize valued at between $400 - $1,200. If I lose a game after having won at least one game, I will leave the show with the moneys I have won up to that point.
20. When running the “Gauntlet of Villains,” I understand that any of the money I have won in the main game will be mine to keep and in addition will be converted to seconds at the rate of one second per $100 won (e.g., $860 converts to eight seconds). These seconds will be added to a basic 60-seconds, and the resulting amount of seconds will be the total time I have to beat the villains. In order to win $25,000, I must proceed from villain one through villain ten in the following manner: the M.C. will read the blooper, and I will have two seconds before the right answer appears in the villain’s Telly Belly (viewing screen). If I beat the villain to the answer, the villain’s arm will lower, and I move on to the next consecutive villain. If the answer appears in the villain’s Telly Belly before my answer, or if I am incorrect, I must stay with that villain for as many bloopers as it takes to beat him.
21. When running the Gauntlet of Villains, all the bloopers will be heard and not seen. IMPORTANT: In the Gauntlet, there will never be more than one word wrong in a blooper.
22. If I win the $25,000, I will be retired as a contestant.
23. If I lose in the running of the Gauntlet of Villains, I will be paid $100 for every villain I have beaten.
24. In all facets of the game, the producer’s decision is final.
25. If I am champion, I agree to return to whatever tapings the producer schedules, and I understand that failure to do so may result in the forfeiting of any prizes or moneys I have won. (N.B.: This was later changed to the contestant only being allowed to win five games before being forced to retire undefeated.
