.gif)
Three on a Match (game show)
Encyclopedia
Three on a Match was an American television game show created by Bob Stewart
that ran on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974 on its daytime schedule. The host was Bill Cullen
and Don Pardo
served as announcer on most episodes, with Bob Clayton
and NBC staffers Wayne Howell
and Roger Tuttle substituting at times.
The series was produced at NBC's Rockefeller Center in New York City
. The program's title is wordplay on the superstition of the same name
.
A player could win the bidding in two ways: either by having the highest bid or by having his or her opponents bid the same number, which canceled out their bids. If all three players chose the same number, another round of bidding was conducted to break the deadlock. The pot for the round was calculated by totaling the number of questions bid by all three contestants and then multiplying by $10 (for example: 4, 3, and 2 totals 9, which becomes $90), making for a maximum possible pot of $110.
When a contestant won the right to answer questions they selected one of the categories. If a contestant failed to correctly answer as many questions as they bid, control passed to the next highest bidder, then the lowest bidder if the second player was unsuccessful. If the two contestants matched bids and canceled each other out, and the remaining contestant failed to fulfill their bid, the canceled players were given a chance to re-bid, with the highest bidder having a chance to answer questions from the two remaining categories. If they canceled each other out again, the game moved on to a new set of categories. When a contestant fulfilled the bid, the contestant won the pot.
Some categories had a special feature hidden behind them, which was revealed when it was selected. The most frequent was "Double Pot" which doubled the value of the pot the contestant was playing for (up to $220). Another offered "One Free Box", "Two Free Boxes", or "Three Free Boxes", which gave the contestant extra free selections on the gameboard. However, the contestant could only take the free boxes after buying as many boxes as possible with their money. Creator Bob Stewart devised these to help speed up the pace of the game by enabling a lucky contestant to win more easily.
After winning a pot, the contestant kept the money and continued playing, or could used the accumulated money to try to win the game at the bonus board. If the contestant won any free boxes in the previous round, they had to be used immediately after winning them, or the free boxes were forfeited. The minimum amount required in a contestant's bank to play the board was $90, unless the contestant had earned free boxes during that category.
The contestant used their money to spend on the boxes in an effort to reveal three matching prizes, one in each column. A contestant selected a box using a specific phrasing on the program, such as "I'll take $20 on the blue", and continued until revealing three identical prize cards (winning the game), or until running out of money and free boxes before matching a prize. If a contestant did not match a prize, the game continued with more question rounds. Additionally, when selecting boxes, contestants could only select three out of the four boxes in any one column.
A contestant who made a match on their first three picks after winning a question series won a new car in addition to whatever prize was matched.
Any champion who won five consecutive matches retired undefeated and received an additional $5,000.
An additional game, called "The Big Match", was also occasionally played and offered contestants the chance to win a cash prize by matching two halves of a bill hidden among the 12 boxes. In turn, the contestants called out a box hoping to find one half of the bill. Gameplay continued until either nine blank boxes were revealed (ending the round) or until one player found one half of the bill. That player was given one additional choice of the remaining boxes in order to find the second half, winning $1,000 if they were successful. For each fifth game the money went unclaimed, an additional $1,000 was added to the jackpot.
Another bonus was later added awarding $5,000 in cash and a new car to any player who made seven consecutive matches at the board. In addition, champions were no longer retired and continued to play so long as they continued to win matches. Under thus format, the highest amount won was over $30,000 by Fred Abrahams in February 1974.
Other bonuses and features were added and removed throughout the run. During the second format, home viewers were invited to send in postcard entries for theme-writing contests. The three funniest entries won prizes.
Also during the second format, a symbol (such as a heart) would appear on the board in every game during certain special weeks regardless of whether it fit the category. Each contestant who matched the symbols would be entered into a drawing for a special prize at the end of that week.
to rival ABC
, which placed it in the same slot it had aired in on NBC. A soap opera (Hidden Faces
), three game shows (You're Putting Me On
, Words & Music, and Memory Game
), and a comeback attempt by Art Linkletter
(Life with Linkletter) were the preceding shows that failed over a two-and-a-half-year period. Three on a Match replaced Memory Game, a Joe Garagiola vehicle.
Three on a Match was not only the first show since the Deal defection to run for more than a year against the ABC version and CBS
' top-rated As the World Turns
(then a half-hour soap opera
). It also brought several affiliates that had preempted the slot back to the network feed for that half-hour, which pleasantly surprised NBC executives.
Although finishing solidly in third place, Cullen's perennial popularity drove the appeal of Three on a Match which, typical for NBC games in that era (and especially those staged in New York), emphasized game play over large prizes and ostentatious sets. On April 23, 1973 the series became NBC's only game to be exempt from the network's five-game limit for returning champions.
However, by spring 1974 daytime head Lin Bolen, who had overseen the cancellation of several games started before her arrival a year and a half earlier, asked Stewart to overhaul Three on a Match. The two decided instead to start from scratch with a new game, titled Winning Streak
.
The new show replaced Three on a Match and swapped time slots with Jeopardy!
, a decision that would prove to be fatal to both programs. Both shows ended on January 3, 1975.
made only one edition in 1972, which followed the first Prize Board version.
bought the rights to produce an Australian version hosted by Bob Moore. It was dubbed as "Australia's first colour game show", although Australian television was still in black and white during that time. Gameplay remained the same with a similar set as the American version used. However, the question and board values were divided by ten, meaning each pot was worth $1 per number of questions. Also, the Prize Board was played as a standard end game, with a vacation as the top prize.
. Five episodes from February 1974 featuring Fred Abrahams have been released on the internet, and are from his own library.
Bob Stewart (television)
Bob Stewart is a former American television game show producer. He was active in the TV industry from 1956 until his retirement in 1992....
that ran on NBC from August 2, 1971 to June 28, 1974 on its daytime schedule. The host was Bill Cullen
Bill Cullen
William Lawrence Francis "Bill" Cullen was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades...
and Don Pardo
Don Pardo
Dominick George "Don" Pardo is an American radio and television announcer. He is best known as the voice of the long-running late night sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live....
served as announcer on most episodes, with Bob Clayton
Bob Clayton
Bob Clayton was an American television game show announcer and host of several shows...
and NBC staffers Wayne Howell
Wayne Howell
Wayne Clay Howell Chappelle , known professionally as Wayne Howell, was a voice-over announcer for the NBC television and radio networks from 1947 through 1986...
and Roger Tuttle substituting at times.
The series was produced at NBC's Rockefeller Center in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The program's title is wordplay on the superstition of the same name
Three on a Match (superstition)
Three on a match is a supposed superstition among soldiers during the Crimean War to World War I. The superstition goes that if three soldiers lit their cigarettes from the same match, one of the three would be killed or that the man who was third on the match would be shot...
.
Gameplay
Three contestants competed to determine who could answer the most true-or-false questions in one of three categories. After Cullen announced the categories, each contestant bid a number between one and four based on how many questions he or she could answer on that turn.A player could win the bidding in two ways: either by having the highest bid or by having his or her opponents bid the same number, which canceled out their bids. If all three players chose the same number, another round of bidding was conducted to break the deadlock. The pot for the round was calculated by totaling the number of questions bid by all three contestants and then multiplying by $10 (for example: 4, 3, and 2 totals 9, which becomes $90), making for a maximum possible pot of $110.
When a contestant won the right to answer questions they selected one of the categories. If a contestant failed to correctly answer as many questions as they bid, control passed to the next highest bidder, then the lowest bidder if the second player was unsuccessful. If the two contestants matched bids and canceled each other out, and the remaining contestant failed to fulfill their bid, the canceled players were given a chance to re-bid, with the highest bidder having a chance to answer questions from the two remaining categories. If they canceled each other out again, the game moved on to a new set of categories. When a contestant fulfilled the bid, the contestant won the pot.
Some categories had a special feature hidden behind them, which was revealed when it was selected. The most frequent was "Double Pot" which doubled the value of the pot the contestant was playing for (up to $220). Another offered "One Free Box", "Two Free Boxes", or "Three Free Boxes", which gave the contestant extra free selections on the gameboard. However, the contestant could only take the free boxes after buying as many boxes as possible with their money. Creator Bob Stewart devised these to help speed up the pace of the game by enabling a lucky contestant to win more easily.
After winning a pot, the contestant kept the money and continued playing, or could used the accumulated money to try to win the game at the bonus board. If the contestant won any free boxes in the previous round, they had to be used immediately after winning them, or the free boxes were forfeited. The minimum amount required in a contestant's bank to play the board was $90, unless the contestant had earned free boxes during that category.
Prize Board
The board consisted of three columns boxes: the first worth $20, the second worth $30, and the third worth $40. Each column had four rows of boxes in colored rows (red, green, yellow, and blue). Originally, each box concealed a prize. Three prizes appeared in each column, and two (or three) others appeared in some columns but not others. One box on the board contained a "No Match" sign.The contestant used their money to spend on the boxes in an effort to reveal three matching prizes, one in each column. A contestant selected a box using a specific phrasing on the program, such as "I'll take $20 on the blue", and continued until revealing three identical prize cards (winning the game), or until running out of money and free boxes before matching a prize. If a contestant did not match a prize, the game continued with more question rounds. Additionally, when selecting boxes, contestants could only select three out of the four boxes in any one column.
A contestant who made a match on their first three picks after winning a question series won a new car in addition to whatever prize was matched.
Any champion who won five consecutive matches retired undefeated and received an additional $5,000.
Format changes
On April 23, 1973 the prizes on the bonus board were replaced with images (e.g., slot machine symbols, celebrity faces, or even humorously altered photos of Cullen). A player who matched three symbols won that round. The first player to win three matches, or to get an instant match, won the game and a prize package worth at least $5,000.An additional game, called "The Big Match", was also occasionally played and offered contestants the chance to win a cash prize by matching two halves of a bill hidden among the 12 boxes. In turn, the contestants called out a box hoping to find one half of the bill. Gameplay continued until either nine blank boxes were revealed (ending the round) or until one player found one half of the bill. That player was given one additional choice of the remaining boxes in order to find the second half, winning $1,000 if they were successful. For each fifth game the money went unclaimed, an additional $1,000 was added to the jackpot.
Another bonus was later added awarding $5,000 in cash and a new car to any player who made seven consecutive matches at the board. In addition, champions were no longer retired and continued to play so long as they continued to win matches. Under thus format, the highest amount won was over $30,000 by Fred Abrahams in February 1974.
Other bonuses and features were added and removed throughout the run. During the second format, home viewers were invited to send in postcard entries for theme-writing contests. The three funniest entries won prizes.
Also during the second format, a symbol (such as a heart) would appear on the board in every game during certain special weeks regardless of whether it fit the category. Each contestant who matched the symbols would be entered into a drawing for a special prize at the end of that week.
Broadcast history
Three on a Match had the unenviable position of being the sixth show NBC had aired in the 1:30 PM (12:30 Central) time slot since December 30, 1968, when the network lost Let's Make a DealLet's Make a Deal
Let's Make a Deal is a television game show which originated in the United States and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The show is based around deals offered to members of the audience by the host. The traders usually have to weigh the possibility of an offer being...
to rival ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, which placed it in the same slot it had aired in on NBC. A soap opera (Hidden Faces
Hidden Faces
Hidden Faces is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from December 30, 1968 to June 27, 1969. The series was created by Irving Vendig, who also created the long-running Procter & Gamble serial The Edge of Night....
), three game shows (You're Putting Me On
You're Putting Me On
You're Putting Me On! was a short-lived Bob Stewart NBC game show in which celebrities tried to communicate the identities of famous people through odd and interesting clues...
, Words & Music, and Memory Game
Memory Game
Memory Game was a short-lived American television game show that aired on NBC...
), and a comeback attempt by Art Linkletter
Art Linkletter
Arthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years...
(Life with Linkletter) were the preceding shows that failed over a two-and-a-half-year period. Three on a Match replaced Memory Game, a Joe Garagiola vehicle.
Three on a Match was not only the first show since the Deal defection to run for more than a year against the ABC version and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' top-rated As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
(then a half-hour soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
). It also brought several affiliates that had preempted the slot back to the network feed for that half-hour, which pleasantly surprised NBC executives.
Although finishing solidly in third place, Cullen's perennial popularity drove the appeal of Three on a Match which, typical for NBC games in that era (and especially those staged in New York), emphasized game play over large prizes and ostentatious sets. On April 23, 1973 the series became NBC's only game to be exempt from the network's five-game limit for returning champions.
However, by spring 1974 daytime head Lin Bolen, who had overseen the cancellation of several games started before her arrival a year and a half earlier, asked Stewart to overhaul Three on a Match. The two decided instead to start from scratch with a new game, titled Winning Streak
Winning Streak (US game show)
Winning Streak is an American television game show hosted by Bill Cullen and announced by Don Pardo. It aired daily on NBC from July 1, 1974 to January 3, 1975 and was produced at the NBC Studios in New York's Rockefeller Plaza.-Gameplay:...
.
The new show replaced Three on a Match and swapped time slots with Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, a decision that would prove to be fatal to both programs. Both shows ended on January 3, 1975.
Merchandise
Milton BradleyMilton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
made only one edition in 1972, which followed the first Prize Board version.
International versions
Reg GrundyReg Grundy
Reginald Roy "Reg" Grundy, AC, OBE is one of the most successful Australian entrepreneurs, and media and television moguls of his generation.He was the only child born to Roy Grundy and Lillian Lees...
bought the rights to produce an Australian version hosted by Bob Moore. It was dubbed as "Australia's first colour game show", although Australian television was still in black and white during that time. Gameplay remained the same with a similar set as the American version used. However, the question and board values were divided by ten, meaning each pot was worth $1 per number of questions. Also, the Prize Board was played as a standard end game, with a vacation as the top prize.
Episode status
The series is believed to have been wiped, as per network practices of that era. Six episodes from March and April 1973 are held at the UCLA Film and Television ArchiveUCLA Film and Television Archive
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...
. Five episodes from February 1974 featuring Fred Abrahams have been released on the internet, and are from his own library.
External links
- "Three on a Match" description by Matt Ottinger