Author Topic: less game for your buck (Read 3697 times)

toetyper · « **on:** October 11, 2010, 02:31:29 PM »

in its current format. AYSTA5G asks 8 or 9 questions per half hour. what game shows have gotten by with less gameplay than that?

DrBear · « **Reply #1 on:** October 11, 2010, 02:47:44 PM »

Maybe "You Bet Your Life."

TLEberle · « **Reply #2 on:** October 11, 2010, 02:52:05 PM »

I think your winner is "Anything for Money." Three discrete events over the whole show.

BrandonFG · « **Reply #3 on:** October 11, 2010, 03:14:55 PM »

How many did Street Smarts ask? Although, I think AFM wins...

Joe Mello · « **Reply #4 on:** October 11, 2010, 03:29:48 PM »

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'249023\' date=\'Oct 11 2010, 03:14 PM\']How many did Street Smarts ask?[/quote]
I think at least 10.

whewfan · « **Reply #5 on:** October 11, 2010, 03:29:51 PM »

The Cheap Show only asked 3 questions, but the game could be won with 2. The rest of the half hour was filled with schtick, some of it funny, some not so funny... never saw more than the episode in circulation but I imagine it was for the most part a one joke show.

The early HS episodes usually fit in no more than 10 questions, until NBC insisted they fit in at least 20 a show.

parliboy · « **Reply #6 on:** October 11, 2010, 03:34:31 PM »

I give Anything for Money a pass, because it was about the laughs more than the game. Same for You Bet Your Life or Liar's Club. For the sake of something current, Don't Forget the Lyrics is arguably less about the game than about the music.

5th Grader, on the other hand, has no such crutch on which to rely.

For me, Art James' Temptation is really the king of this. Just a handful of decisions per game, with very little knowledge on which to base that information. And mathematically, 2/3rds of the time someone will win a game of "pick a number from 1 to 3" to win everything on stage and render the rest of the show moot. James was the only redeeming feature of that, and while I'm glad to have finally seen a full episode, it's something I can now cross off my checklist for good.

Mr. Armadillo · « **Reply #7 on:** October 12, 2010, 10:04:12 AM »

[quote name=\'Joe Mello\' post=\'249024\' date=\'Oct 11 2010, 02:29 PM\'][quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'249023\' date=\'Oct 11 2010, 03:14 PM\']How many did Street Smarts ask?[/quote]
I think at least 10.
[/quote]
Double that, if you consider "Which of them knew the answer to "What color is the sun?"?" a separate question than "What color is the sun?"

Fedya · « **Reply #8 on:** October 12, 2010, 02:50:36 PM »

How many "games" were played on Treasure Hunt each day?

parliboy · « **Reply #9 on:** October 12, 2010, 02:56:52 PM »

[quote name=\'Fedya\' post=\'249072\' date=\'Oct 12 2010, 01:50 PM\']How many "games" were played on Treasure Hunt each day?[/quote]
Exactly two. Didn't consider this one at first given the "skit" nature of the show. But having watched an episode last night, and having seen enough filler for a third game, I agree that it does fit the bill.

clemon79 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 12, 2010, 03:09:08 PM »

I'm not inclined to count Treasure Hunt since there's absolutely no pretense that it's providing any game in the first place, and pretty much zero play-along, unless you consider "No, pick the jack-in-the-box in the middle, moron!" play-along, or the contestant picks the exact same box you would have.

That said, discrete decisions per game: which jack in the box to pick, what box to select, and whether to keep the money bribe outside the box or take whatever is in it. Three per game, times two games is six. Anything For Money is still our leader.

Jay Temple · « **Reply #11 on:** October 12, 2010, 10:55:58 PM »

At various times in its history, it was possible to win Family Feud in only 3 questions.

clemon79 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 12, 2010, 11:56:46 PM »

[quote name=\'Jay Temple\' post=\'249089\' date=\'Oct 12 2010, 07:55 PM\']At various times in its history, it was possible to win Family Feud in only 3 questions.[/quote]
Yes, but a Family Feud question has a number of answers.

Jimmy Owen · « **Reply #13 on:** October 13, 2010, 06:38:34 AM »

The Jim Peck version of "3's a Crowd" had three questions a day, IIRC.

Neumms · « **Reply #14 on:** October 13, 2010, 12:09:18 PM »

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'249095\' date=\'Oct 13 2010, 05:38 AM\']The Jim Peck version of "3's a Crowd" had three questions a day, IIRC.[/quote]

But nine people had to answer each one. You're right, though, it seemed like they could put in one more.

On the same topic, Peck's "Hot Seat" had even less content. Two, maybe three main game questions to each of only two couples, plus an end game question.