Take the Cake was a live, interactive

Interactivity

In the fields of information science, communication, and industrial design, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:...

 game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 on BET

Black Entertainment Television

Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

. The one-hour program featured interactive games where the viewers could win cash

Cash

In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...

 prizes. The show aired from 12 midnight - 1 a.m. Eastern

North American Eastern Time Zone

The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

 every Monday night through Friday night. The program was produced by Endemol

Endemol

Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...

, who produced Midnight Money Madness

Midnight Money Madness

Midnight Money Madness is an interactive game show on TBS, hosted by Jerilee Bonner, Danny Seckel and Craig J. Jackson. Featured in the two-hour program were interactive games where the viewers can win cash prizes. The show aired around 12 a.m...

for TBS in 2006.

The show aired its finale on November 2, airing a total of 85 live shows.

Rules

The contestants on Take the Cake were home viewers. United States residents 18 or older could have entered the program by text messaging

Text messaging

Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...

 a request or using the network's website. BET charged a fee for each text message entry, in addition to standard text messaging rates charged by the wireless provider. Entries on the website were free. Regardless of the method of entry, each entry had an equal chance of being selected. An entry did not necessarily guarantee an opportunity to appear on the show. Residents of certain states may have been ineligible to play various entry methods.

Games

Take the Cake featured various minigames that were played throughout the program. The rewards for the games were usually cash prizes ranging from $100 – $2,000 in cash.

To speed up the games at certain points, various methods were employed:

• Hints given by the hosts to viewers.
• A "speed round" where more calls are accepted than normal.
• The host increasing the prize amount as an incentive.
• A timer will start to represent how long the game will remain and a new one will begin.

These games were featured on Take the Cake.

Game	Instructions
A-List	An "A-List" celebrity is shown, along with the first letter of the title of a movie he/she starred in. The caller must identify what movie was pre-chosen.
All Mixed Up	Similar to an anagram Anagram An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who... , a word, name or phrase with the letters mixed up is given. The contestant has to identify what the unscrambled words are.
Baby Momma Drama/Boo'd Up	One of the hosts will have their photo mixed with another celebrity, or a famous couple will have their images mixed, creating an odd picture. The caller must identify who the celebrity/couple is.
Black Don't Crack	A digitally aged photograph of a black celebrity is shown. The caller must identify who that celebrity is.
Body Double	The host's face is superimposed over the face of a celebrity with the body still visible. The caller must identify who the celebrity is.
Caketown Scoop	A celebrity gossip story will be discussed, along with a pixelated photo and a hinting headline of the celebrity subject. The caller must identify who the celebrity is.
Cast Away	A photo of a television show's cast is shown, with each cast member being revealed in 20 second intervals. The caller must identify what the program is.
Clued Up	Similar to a crossword puzzle, this features a number of horizontal words with one letter in each word replaced with a question mark. Vertically, the letters behind the question marks make the name of a popular celebrity. The contestant must identify the hidden name.
Hot Moves	A popular hip hop dance Hip hop dance Hip-hop dance refers to dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture. It includes a wide range of styles notably breaking, locking, and popping which were created in the 1970s by African Americans and made popular by breaking, locking, and...  is demonstrated. The caller must identify, from three choices, which dance is being performed.
Murder on Wax	A parody of a real rap Hip hop music Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...  song is performed by comedian Kel Mitchell Kel Mitchell Kel Johari Mitchell is an American actor, comedian, singer, rapper, screenwriter, producer, parodist, dancer and musician. He was best known for his work as a regular cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, his portrayal of Kel Kimble on the Nickelodeon sitcom Kenan & Kel,... The caller must identify what the song being lauded is.
Say What You See	Three images are placed side-by-side. When the content of these images is said aloud, they formulate the name of a celebrity, movie or television program. The caller must identify the name.
Snake Word	A 3x3 of grid of letters is present. The contestant must make "snake" the letters in order to form the name of a celebrity.
Strip Tease	A picture of a celebrity is hidden behind 25 squares in a 5x5 grid. As the squares begin to disappear, the caller must identify the celebrity.
Twisted	A picture of a celebrity is morphed into various forms. The contestant must identify the celebrity.
Vowel Movement	The name of a celebrity is shown, with all of the consonants removed. The caller must identify who the celebrity is.
What the Blank?/Shooting Blanks	A word that may begin many words or phrases is given. Callers gave the answer that they thought would fill the blank. If he/she picked one of the pre-chosen answers, he/she won its designated value.
Who Am I?	Someone performs an impersonation of a celebrity. The caller must identify who the celebrity is.
Word Up	Sixteen letters are given. A contestant must make a smaller word using any of those letters. Choosing one of the pre-determined words will win a prize.

These games were featured in separate segments outside of the normal rotation.

Game	Instructions
The Big Spin	Some nights, at the end of the program, a trivia question is given. The contestant has to answer that question correctly. If he/she does, one of the hosts spins a wheel with nineteen spaces containing values of $100, $150, $200, $300, $400 and $500 while the other simultaneously spins an eight-spaced wheel with values of "single", "double" and "triple" . The money value and multiplication the flipper of the wheel landed on is awarded to the contestant. The wheel may also be used to determine cash prizes during regular play, as well.
Jackpot	Occasionally, winners of normal games in the show are given a chance to play a special game for a designated large jackpot. There are two variations on the Jackpot game: Guess the Celebrity: Ten clues are hidden on a board, each with a riddle-style clue describing a celebrity. The caller picks one of the hints to reveal and may use that clue along with any other previously revealed information to identify the celebrity. Memory: Names of celebrities are hidden behind ten panels on the board, three of which are identical. The hosts will identify which name is hidden three times. In order to win the jackpot, the caller must identify the three panels, in secession, the name is hidden behind. The Jackpot starts at a $1,000 base. For each unsuccessful attempt, the jackpot will raise $100 per clue or in the Memory game, per episode. If guessed correctly, a new Jackpot game is started on the next episode.

Other features

During the regular program, celebrities often appeared to help as performers during the game or to help with clues in the games.

The show also featured chances to win when it was not airing. During the daily programming, "Daily Game" questions aired in which viewers could have won cash. The entry methods and regulations were the same as the regular Take the Cake program. This feature ended October 5.

External links

• Take the Cake at BET.com