ABC Carnival '74
Across the Board
Baloney
Bamboozle
Be What You Want
Beat The Genius
Beat The Odds (1962)
Beat The Odds (1975)
Bedtime Stories
The Better Sex
The Big Money
The Big Payoff
Big Spenders
Blank Check
Body Language
Body Talk
The Buck Stops Here
Bullseye
Call My Bluff
Card Sharks (1996)
Casino
Caught in the Act
Celebrity Billiards
Celebrity Doubletalk
Celebrity Secrets
Celebrity Sweepstakes
Chain Letter (1964)
The Challengers (1974)
Change Partners
Child's Play
The Choice Is Yours
Combination Lock (1996)
Comedy Club
Concentration (1985)
The Confidence Game
Cop Out
Countdown (1974)
Countdown (1990)
The Couples Race
Crossword
Decisions, Decisions
Dollar a Second
Duel in the Daytime
The Fashion Show
Fast Friends
$50,000 a Minute
Finish Line (1975)
Finish Line (1990)
Get Rich Quick
Going, Going, Gone!
Head of the Class
High Rollers
Hollywood Squares (1965)
Hollywood Squares (1985)
The Honeymoon Game
Hot Numbers
Hot Potato
House to House
How Do You Like Your Eggs?
Jackpot (1984)
Jeopardy (1977)
Jokers Wild
Jumble
Key Witness
Keynotes (1986)
King of the Hill
Let's Make a Deal (1963)
Let's Make a Deal (1990)
The Love Experts
M'ama Non M'ama
Match Game (1962)
Match Game (1973)
Match Game (1990)
Match Game (1996)
MatchGame (2008)
Mindreaders
Missing Links
Monday Night QB
Money Words
Money in the Blank
Moneymaze
Monopoly (1987)
Nothing But the Truth
Now You See It (1986)
Oddball
100%
PDQ
Party Line
People On TV
Play For Keeps
Play Your Hunch
The Plot Thickens
Pot O' Gold
Pressure Point
The Price Is Right (1972)
Pyramid (1996)
Pyramid (1997)
A Question of Scruples
Quick as a Flash
Razzle Dazzle
Riddlers
Run For The Money
Says Who?
Scrabble (1990)
Second Guessers
Second Honeymoon
Sharaize
Shoot for the Stars
Shoot the Works
Shopping Spree
Show Me
Showoffs
Simon Says
$64,000 Question (2000)
Smart Alecks
Smart Money
Spellbinders
Spin-Off
Split Decision
Star Cluster
Star Play
Strictly Confidential
TKO
Talking Pictures (1968)
Talking Pictures (1976)
Tell It to Groucho
Temptation (1981)
$10,000 Sweep
Three of a Kind
Tic Tac Dough
Tie-Up
Top Secret
Twenty One (1982)
Twenty Questions
Twisters
Up and Over
The Waiting Game
We've Got Your Number
What Do You Want?
What's On Your Mind
Wheel of Fortune
Whew!
Whodunit
Whose Baby
Wipeout
Word Grabbers
Write Your Own Ticket
You Bet Your Life (1988)
You Bet Your Life (1991)
You're Putting Me On
Show a Random Pilot
Show Unreviewed Pilots
Bob Stewart Flow Chart
Casino
Producer: Merrill Heatter for King World
Host: Ron Pearson
Assistants: Tanya Meme
Taping Info: April 16, 2002 at KTLA for GSN
Other Pilots: This was marked as #3.
Made it to Air: No, but the 2008 GSN show Catch 21 is heavily based on this format.
Availability: A Two minute demonstration of the game's graphics is available on the Entec Systems web site.
Gambit was a show that was one of three long-running staples that joined the CBS lineup together in September 1972 along with The Joker's Wild and The Price Is Right. However, it was the shortest-lived of the three, dying out in 1975 and having a one-year 'Las Vegas' run in 1980. An attempt to revive with Bob Eubanks failed in 1990. In 2002, with card games being hot, maybe it was time to try again, albeit with a new name. Ron Pearson, whose career pretty much consists of playing cops on sitcoms, is your host. Tanya Memme, currently the host of A&E's Move This House, is your dealer.
The major difference between this show and the prior Gambit incarnations is that the game now starts with three players. Also, each player is dealt a starting card. After the initial card, players are asked trivia questions. If a player buzzes in and answers the question, the player is awarded $100 and is shown the next card and decides whether to keep or pass the card. A player may also ask for a 'freeze question' after receiving a card, which if answered correctly then freezes the player. Once all players have either frozen or busted, the round is over, with the highest non-busted score considered the winner of the round and earning an extra $1,000. If a player got to 21, an extra $2,100 was awarded.
Round 2 was played like Round 1, except the point values were doubled, and the player in last place was eliminated from the game once the round was over. The third round was played with the remaining two players for $300 per question and $3,000 for the round. The winner moved onto the bonus game.
In the bonus game, the player was playing for an additional three prizes. Each prize was staked with a card, and a player was given three cards to place towards any prize, and could earn up to four more by answering questions correctly. Once a prize's card total got between 18 and 21, the prize was won. However, a bust on any line stopped the game and caused a loss of all prizes earned. A player could also stop the bonus game once one prize was won. An extra $2,100 was awarded for 21 on any of the three prizes while a bonus of $100,000 was given for three 21's.
Overall, a fun little game. Nothing obnoxious, and the bonus game was very innovative. Of course, in the 21st century, fun little games are not allowed, so this show didn't make it to GSN's schedule, while Cram and Friend or Foe did. The prize budget may have also been a little to rich for GSN's taste.
This pilot has been viewed 17135 times since October 6, 2008 and was last modified on Dec 12, 2009 14:46 ET
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