1965 saw the debut of an unassuming little word game called PDQ. The game was easy to understand. One team, called the Home Team, was made up of two celebrities. The other team, called the Challengers, was made up of a celebrity and a civilian. The civilian was the only player who could win anything. The teams alternated turns. One player of each team sat in an isolation booth so if the other team played first that player would not learn the answer to that round’s phrase. Dennis James, the host, would tell the players how many words were in this round’s phrase and one player would put the plastic letters one would see on a theater marquis on the team’s gameboard. Three letters would be placed to start and every few seconds the player would be given a cue to add another letter. The object is to solve the phrase using fewer letters than the opponent.
I have the pilot episode in my tape collection. The show is fun if one enjoys playing along. The show is best enjoyed with the sound low. Although the players get into the spirit of the game most of their guesses are incoherent noises repeated ad nauseam. The winning team of each phrase would receive the difference in the letters used added to the team’s score. The first team to score ten wins. The civilian plays the bonus game solitaire whether or not winning the main game. However, the civilian plays for a bigger prize if the Home Team is defeated. In the bonus game the player must guess each of ten words after being shown three letters of each word. Rather than being given a time limit for the entire round, sixty seconds, say, a player is given five seconds for each word.
The pilot proved promising and PDQ went into syndication with some positive changes. The scoring system was scrapped and the civilian won a small prize each round every time the Home Team was tied or beaten each round. The third, fourth and sometimes fifth rounds were the PDQ Special. This was a best of three series for a slightly larger prize. My favorite rule change involved actual gameplay: a player was forced to begin a round using the first letter but not the first three letters. For example, if the answer is “Mississippi”, “MIS” and “MSI” would be illegal. There was a penalty of two letters for breaking this rule. The bonus game remained the same except the prize was trading stamps (remember those?). Every correct answer was worth $25 worth. If the Challengers used as many or fewer letters during the entire game then the value was doubled.
I have the home game by Milton Bradley but have never played it. The game uses the rules from the pilot. Both teams play simultaneously with the letters used shielded from the opponents. The guesser has to write down the guesses. With the rules from the series and a strickly enforced time limit for letter placement I think you would have a decent simulation of the television series that would be fun.
PDQ ceased production in 1969. The game would be revived and revamped in the seventies as Baffle. Baffle had several changes. First, it had the more conventional teams of celebrity-civilian versus celebrity-civilian. Second it made the mistake for changing the scoring system from letters used to time used. Now a close game of 15 letters used to 12 letters used is now a blowout at 45 seconds used to 30 seconds used. Third, the host was sports announcer by-trade Dick Engberg. He brought enthusiasm and kept the game moving but was not nearly as charming as seasoned veteran Dennis James. Concentration was cancelled to make way for Baffle but Baffle was hardly a replacement for Concentration.
I would like to see PDQ revived with some changes. Two civilians versus two civilians would bring some intense competition. The gameboard would probably be a electronic character generator so partners could not signal each other. Cryptic clues such as those used in Scrabble or Definition would bring an added dimension to the game. The closest the original PDQ ever came to a cryptic clue was when the target phrase was “See My Agent” rather than saying, “Three words.” Mr. James would ask each celebrity in the isolation booth, “Would you come back to be a guest on PDQ?” Scoring would revert to the original letters used. The Bonus Game would give one player a word and that player would choose which three letters to give to the partner as a clue.
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