Lingo is back on GSN

[BillCullen1]

Hey there. If you're a fan of Lingo, good news. It's back on GSN, weekdays at 11 am EST with Chuck and Shandi. Two eps, back to back.  So there you go.

[parliboy]

It's not the best Lingo, but it is the one where the contestants got paid.

[Sodboy13]

But since it's the Woolery version, it's also not the worst Lingo!

[Scrabbleship]

If only the formatics of the 80s version could have been combined with the host and ability to pay of the 2000s version.

[MikeK]

It's not the best Lingo, but it is the one where the contestants got paid.

Your opinion.  I think Woolery's Lingo is the best version.  The 80s version dragged, especially with the 2 out of 3 game matches.  I'm also not a fan of the No Lingo round.

[TLEberle]

Just had this thought and I wanted to get it out there before I forgot: given that the more recent version used giant balls rather than racquetball sized ones in the hopper--how much work would it have been to take the balls from Bingo America, spray paint the colors so they're all silver and identical without painting over the numbering?

[clemon79]

Just had this thought and I wanted to get it out there before I forgot: given that the more recent version used giant balls rather than racquetball sized ones in the hopper--how much work would it have been to take the balls from Bingo America, spray paint the colors so they're all silver and identical without painting over the numbering?

More work than it would be to spray paint the balls entirely and slap new number labels on them

[TLEberle]

I don't remember how long ago it was (2011? Does that sound reasonable?), what I remember was how silly it looked that contestants turned their back to the camera to grab a ball from the wine racks, but not that they were probably being repurposed because America can only take so much of Richard Karn: Game Show Host.

[PYLdude]

It's not the best Lingo, but it is the one where the contestants got paid.

Your opinion.  I think Woolery's Lingo is the best version.  The 80s version dragged, especially with the 2 out of 3 game matches.  I'm also not a fan of the No Lingo round.

Seconded. Although the No Lingo Round issue for me was that it was such a slog. It has grown on me.

[TLEberle]

Seconded. Although the No Lingo Round issue for me was that it was such a slog. It has grown on me.

But to win $64,000 you have to start with $2,000 and work your way up. That's just the nature of a multi-step game.

As it happens, this is in fact my opinion because we all get them and I'm lining up behind Gene.

I remember years ago we were talking about end games and Matt O. made a comment that No Lingo was one of the better ones, and I'm happy to agree given the strategy, the luck, the tension and excitement. I just thought of it tonight but Catch 21 needlessly made several of the same errors that Lingo did: scoring points for each smaller event and a larger bonus for the main event, loud and obnoxious contestants who were inept at the game. The thing about the Lingo bonus game that irked me is that after the rip-roaring two-minute drill was over you had an idea of whether the team would win the $5,000 or not based upon how many words they got right.

Like someone said upthread if there was a way to take the good parts of Lingo '87 and drop them into 2003 and have the game played by competent folks I think it would have been a terrific show. As it was I always enjoyed playing along because anyone who knows how to spell can pick it up. The 2011 version rendered the bingo element nearly irrelevant, given that I don't recall what the reward was--just play the word game.

[PYLdude]

I have no problem with needing to work your way up. But I do have a problem with walking around the block to go visit your next door neighbor who lives on the left side of you. And that's what No Lingo is in its presentation.

I think the format of the Bonus Lingo round would've worked so much better. You start with the 2:00 guessing round, assign a certain value to each guessed word, that becomes your stake for No Lingo. You then offset that by reducing the number of covered spaces, limit the amount of balls in the hopper to those appearing on the board, and each time you draw and don't form a Lingo your money doubles. You could even keep the gold ball in there to help you along.

[TLEberle]

I haven't even read far enough to know whether I agree or disagree with what you've put forward, but the metaphor you describe tickles me greatly.

And I like it. I'd want to test out the various elements, and I'm not completely sold on having just the numbers on the board in the bin, but those are just quibbles. I dig it.

[Matt Ottinger]

I remember years ago we were talking about end games and Matt O. made a comment that No Lingo was one of the better ones, and I'm happy to agree given the strategy, the luck, the tension and excitement.

I'm not sure whether I said "better" in general, but it's definitely one of my personal favorites.  It's different than most, and there's just so much going on.  Sure, for those of you who prefer the 30 or 60 second clock, it feels slow.  But when it works, it's pretty awesome.

This is when it worked.  "Moment" is a tricky word for something that's nine minutes long, but this is easily in my top ten all-time game show moments.  The only down side, of course, is the knowledge that by all indications, the contestants never saw the money.

[Sodboy13]

I'm definitely of the mind that both formats left something to be desired. Here, humor me for a moment, as I fiddle with the Woolery version a bit:

Round 1:

• $25 for each word, $100 for a Lingo.
• In addition to the number balls and stoppers, each hopper contains a Prize Ball. Draw that, pop it on your podium, and reach back in for a number. The first team to Lingo after drawing the Prize Ball wins, say, a pair of midrange tablets, or two $250 gift cards, something along those lines.

Round 2:

• 6-letter words. Hey, we're casting smarter this time, and if the Dutch could handle the change on a show they loved, Americans could on one they barely remember.
• $50 for each word, $100 for a Lingo.
• The Prize Balls are out of play, but now we add in the two "?" Balls, and two Green Cash Balls. Pull one of those, it's $25 added to your score, and another pull from the hopper.

Bonus Round:

• Back to 5- letter words, 2 minutes on the clock, and a counter on the screen that starts at 12 and goes down by 1 for every word correctly guessed.
• Once time's up, bring in the No Lingo board, and cover up 16 spaces.
• 20 balls in the hopper: The 19 unused numbers (GSN only used 1 through 70 on their cards), and one Gold Ball.
• Whatever you got that counter down to, that's how many balls you have to draw. Survive all the draws and win $5,000; pull the Gold Ball at any time for the Super Jackpot; bomb out and get $100 per word.
• If the team cleans house and gets all 12 words in 2 minutes, that's an automatic $5,000 win, plus three no-risk pulls to try for the Gold Ball.

[TLEberle]

Keep in mind that you put it out there and I like you, so that's where this is coming from:

I like that you realize that the lingo is the point and not the words, and that just doubling the dollar values is more than a cliche. I also like no mention of the red balls, which seemed like a lazy cliche way to make sure that a team doesn't get steamrolled. (If it's me I would make every word worth $100, and whoever gets more lingoes moves on to the jackpot round. Prize balls would win spiffy effects in the end game like more time, free words, bonus letters and more money in the jackpot.) What I don't like is a $5,000 secondary prize in 2016. Similarly to how Millionaire increased the first threshold amount (my guess is to get some people who are good at the game), I think if there was a larger prize on offer you could get some players from farther away than thirty miles out to have a go. I like that you have a feel for what makes both a good game and show.