Games - Concentration

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	Games - Concentration

Concentration is a TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name.

It aired on NBC for 15 years (1958-1973) the longest run of any game show on that network, and aired in syndication for 5 more (1973-1978). A remake of the game, called Classic Concentration, aired first-run on Concentrations old network, NBC, from 1987-1991, with reruns airing through the end of 1993. Various hosts starred in the first Concentration, including Jack Barry
, Hugh Downs and Bob Clayton
. Jack Narz
hosted the syndicated version; Jeopardy!
's Alex Trebek
hosted Classic Concentration.

Barry and game show-partner Dan Enright along with Robert Noah and Buddy Piper, created Concentration. The first daytime episode (hosted by Downs) aired August 25, 1958. Barry later that year hosted a prime-time edition that debuted October 30, 1958 (replacing Twenty-One) , but when the quiz show scandals broke, Barry was forced from his hosting duties. NBC eventually assumed production of the show.
What's a rebus?
In all versions, two contestants competed to solve a rebus behind doors of numbers. For instance:

Picture of a 2 of clubs = "TOO"

"LI" plus a picture of a cash register till = "LITTLE"

Picture of a hand holding up two fingers = "TOO"

Picture of a hen "lay"ing eggs plus "T" = "LATE"

equals "Too little, too late."
Rules of the game
Two contestants (one a returning champion) sat before a board of 30 squares, which concealed the rebus, names of prizes and special squares (see below).

One at a time, the contestants called out two numbers. If the prizes or special action didn't match, the opponent took his/her turn, and so on.

However, if the player did match, whatever prize was printed on the card was placed on a board behind the contestant; or, he/she could perform an action.

More importantly, a match also revealed two pieces of the rebus, which identified a person, phrase, place, thing, etc. The player could try to solve the rebus or choose two more numbers, but even if he/she was wrong, he/she kept control. Usually, a player waited to solve the puzzle until they had exposed a good portion of the rebus through several matches.
Special spaces
In addition to the prize cards, there were the following action cards:

WILD CARD - Self-explanatory; provided an automatic match. In the original game this left the natural match "orphaned", matchable only by the other wild card (there were only two). In Classic Concentration, the other half of the natural match was also given at that point, allowing three pieces of the rebus to be revealed at once.

:Players uncovering two WILD cards also won a bonus. In the original game, players uncovering two WILD cards won a $500 bonus and chose two additional numbers; the prizes went on that contestant's side and four pieces of the rebus were revealed. Late in the run, getting two WILD cards in the same turn won the player a new car – usually the Chevrolet Nova – which he/she kept, regardless of the game's outcome.

Take One Gift - The contestant at that moment was allowed to take a prize his/her opponent might have in their possession and put it in his/her own rack. Usually, there were two sets of these per game.

Forfeit One Gift - The player immediately had to give up one of the prizes he/she had in his possession to his/her opponent. Also two sets per game.

Also included were two or three joke prizes (such as a banana peel or torn teddy bear). These actually served as insurance markers against opponents' Take cards and the Forfeit cards he/she might stumble upon.
Winning the game
A player who offered a correct guess won his/her gifts; he/she also earned $100 if there were no prizes in the rack. The loser forfeits all his/her gifts.

During the early years of the run, there was no bonus game; the returning champion simply faced a new opponent. The bonus game - first played in 1960 - went thus:

The Envelope and its Mysterious Contents - A contestant selected one out of several possibilities. The prize was either cash or a grand prize such as a car.

The Cash Wheel' - A player spun a carnival-type wheel, containing various dollar amounts. The top prize was $2,000.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Concentration (game show) ]

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