After A Month Of Whew,...Random Observations:

[Neumms]

No. I think Whew! has possibilities if completely restructured.

GSN reboot idea: Three rounds. Three contestants on buzzers for 100 points apiece in the first, double the points in the second, knock out the lowest scoring player, then double the points again. For the bonus, 10 in 60 seconds. Rather than amusing painted villains, supered squares change color to indicate progress. Winners get their take bumped to $10,000, or around $2,600 in 1979 dollars.

[chris319]

Here is a nugget which completely modifies the game play.

Each "level" contains three bloopers.

Starting at the bottom level, the player is presented with the three bloopers in the open (i.e. they are revealed). Player chooses one of the bloopers and must correct it. If successful, he picks one of the two remaining bloopers and must correct it, then the third blooper.

No clock.

If the player is unable to correct a blooper, a strike is awarded.

The object of the game is to advance from the bottom level to the top level without accumulating (three?) strikes.

[Neumms]

Starting at the bottom level, the player is presented with the three bloopers in the open (i.e. they are revealed). Player chooses one of the bloopers and must correct it.

No blocks?

[Jeremy Nelson]

Whew is (unintentionally?) modeled after a football game in that you're trying to make it from start to finish while avoiding blockers in a timed game. Could you revamp it by giving it a fresh coat of paint and making it sports themed?

[Nick]

Whew is (unintentionally?) modeled after a football game in that you're trying to make it from start to finish while avoiding blockers in a timed game. Could you revamp it by giving it a fresh coat of paint and making it sports themed?

The problem is that the moment you make the theme sports, you're tuning out most of the female demographic, whether you're in daytime, syndication or anywhere else.

I agree.  The blocks are a necessary part of the game, and the race against the clock is what puts the exhilaration into the game.  How about this, if we're going to dump the clock: Keep the conventional board, and both players get to place six secret blocks on the board under the usual conditions (e.g., no more than three on the first five levels and no more than one on six).  If the contestants both try to block the same blooper, their blocks cancel each other out and the space is left free (so then strategy becomes coming up with a blocking pattern that is different from your opponent so that you don't cancel each other out).

The goal remains the same: Clear one blooper per level to win.  The challenger gets first pick.  If the blooper is blocked, the opponent who placed the block gets a free guess at whatever blooper was there and gains control if correct.  If the blooper is free, the one who picked it gets a guess at it.  If he's right, he maintains control and gets to charge.  If he's wrong, control passes his opponent.

Completing a path sequentially would be too onerous, I think, so once you clear a level, you don't have to go back to it (e.g., You clear level 1 and lose control on level 2.  You gain it back on level 3 when your opponent hits your block and you solve the blooper.  You've already cleared level 1, so you go back to 2 and can pass 3 once you clear 2 since you've already solved a blooper on that level).

I like the longshot, so I think it should remain.  If level 6 has not been touched, one player can call longshot and advance to level 6.  Usual longshot conditions: A secret block is placed by the opponent and there may be a previously-placed block there.  If the longshot caller finds the blooper and corrects it, he wins.  If not, the game goes to his opponent.  Winner of the best two out of three match goes to the Gauntlet.

I know it needs some more fleshing out, but am I onto something?  Yea or nay?

[BrandonFG]

Off the top of my head, make the "charge" board a football field. Put the player at their 25* - starting point after a touchback - and each correct answer advances you 15 yards. You get it wrong, you lose a down. Hitting a block is a five-second penalty. After 3rd Down or if you're too far back, you can call a Longshot (Hail Mary?).

The Gauntlet is still 10 questions, but you start at your own end zone and move 10 yards for every correct answer.

*Or the 50. Less confusion for those who don't understand how you got from the 25 to the 40 to the 45.

[Dbacksfan12]

Whew is (unintentionally?) modeled after a football game in that you're trying to make it from start to finish while avoiding blockers in a timed game. Could you revamp it by giving it a fresh coat of paint and making it sports themed?

The problem is that the moment you make the theme sports, you're tuning out most of the female demographic, whether you're in daytime, syndication or anywhere else.

40% of NFL fans are female.  There's plenty of programming that targets one gender or another.  Your generalization is both outdated and overestimated, in my opinion.

[Nick]

40% of NFL fans are female.

I would say most of that 40% would be probably be only interested in watching football, not a game show themed around football.

Demographic ratings on Sports Jeopardy! would be awfully handy right about now.

[chris319]

Starting at the bottom level, the player is presented with the three bloopers in the open (i.e. they are revealed). Player chooses one of the bloopers and must correct it.

No blocks?

Keep the blocks. What I described is after the blocks have been placed. Keep the long shot.

I don't think you want to make Whew! any more complicated than it already is.

On a football field all of the players are in plain view. On Whew! the blocks are hidden from the charger until he encounters one. That's where the football analogy falls apart.