Way Out Games was a weekly athletic competition game show where a total of 51 teams representing the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 competed in a series of athletic events, with emphasis based on humor and the unexpected.

Way Out Games aired on 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...

 from September 11, 1976 to September 4, 1977 and was hosted by Sonny Fox

Sonny Fox

Irwin "Sonny" Fox is an American television host, executive and broadcasting consultant, who was the fourth full-time host of the children's television program, Wonderama.-Biography:...

. The show was produced by Barry & Enright Productions

Barry & Enright Productions

Barry & Enright Productions , was a United States television production company that was formed in 1947 by Jack Barry and Dan Enright.-History:Jack Barry and Dan Enright first met at radio station WOR in New York, where...

 in association with MGM Television

MGM Television

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television is an American television production/distribution launched in 1955 and a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc....

, and originated at Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain is a theme park located in Valencia, California north of Los Angeles. It opened on Memorial Day weekend on May 30, 1971 as Magic Mountain, by the Newhall Land and Farming Company. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added the name Six Flags to the park's title. In...

 in Valencia, California

Valencia, California

Valencia is an affluent planned community located in the City of Santa Clarita, California and Los Angeles County, California, U.S. in the northwestern corner of the Santa Clarita Valley, adjacent to Interstate 5. In 1987, it was one of the four unincorporated communities that merged to create the...

.

Gameplay

Every week, three different teams representing three different states or Puerto Rico would compete in various athletic events and would earn points for winning an event. The team with the most points at the end of that day's show would come back on a later show to compete against other winning teams. Prizes and trophies would also be given to the winners.

There would be 17 weeks of regular competition, 6 weeks of Quarterfinals, 2 weeks of Semi-Finals and a Championship final, with one match each week.

On the Championship finals in April 1977, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 played Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 for the Championship and Oregon won the Championship.

Broadcast history

Unfortunately, due to low ratings this was the only season for Way Out Games.

Way Out Games aired Saturdays at 12:30 P.M. Eastern from September, 1976 to January, 1977. It then moved a half hour later to 1:00 P.M. Eastern from February to April, 1977. Then it aired at 7:00 A.M. Sundays from April to September, 1977.

Some CBS affiliates even dropped Way Out Games midway through its run in favor of syndicated series (like Soul Train

Soul Train

Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from October 1971 to March 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared.As a nod to Soul Trains...

) and sports, such being commonplace among Saturday morning series after 12 Noon and on Sunday mornings.