Rules

Legalese

This net game is a premise based on the television show "The Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour" (hereby referred to as "the Game Show").  The Game Show was a joint venture of Mark Goodson Television Productions and Orion Television. "Match Game" is a trademark of Mark Goodson Television Productions, a division of FremantleMedia North America.  "Hollywood Squares" is a trademark of Henry Winkler/Michael Levitt Productions in association with King World Television.  The creators of (1) the net game, (2) this HTML page, the related HTML pages, and any image files in this directory, (2) posts to Net Game Central relating to the net game neither express nor imply ownership of the Game Show, "Match Game", "Hollywood Squares" or any of their respective rights or trademarks.

In other words...

We're big fans of game shows, and we're just playing a game.  There isn't any real money involved here.  We'll stop if someone threatens to sue.  But please don't sue - we don't have any money to give you.  It's all for the love of the game.  Understand?  Good.

Also, as with any other game at Net Game Central, the contestants are not playing for real money and/or prizes.

Before an episode

The co-hosts will invite a number of netizens to the panel or play as civilians in Channel 3 of  Net Game Central.


Part 1: "Match Game"

The "Match Game" (MG) half of the show will be played like the PM version of "Match Game" with six stars, two players and three rounds of play. In the first round, Player 1 selects one of two questions. With each new round, the player in the lead makes the first pick; if a tie, whoever didn't go first in the previous round picks first.

The host will read a statement with a BLANK in it somewhere. The object of this part of the game is for the player to match as many stars as possible.

Once a player matches a star, the player cannot match that star again for the rest of the MG part. Each time a player matches a star (s)he earns $100 or a total of $1000 for all six stars matched. The player with more cash wins and goes on to play in Part 2 ("Hollywood Squares") against the returning champion.

Note: The winning score from MG doesn't carry over to HS.

MG Tie-breaker: If both players match all six stars before the third round, the remaining round(s) serve(s) as the tie-breaker. The match count is reset to zero (as both players build on $1000 or perhaps $2000 each), all six celebrities are back in play and gameplay continues as normal. Since the players would (obviously) be equal in score, the player who did not start the previous round picks first.

If the score is tied after the third round, we'll break the tie with a short fill-in-the-blank question and four choices to complete the phrase. As an example, BLANK WAY, and (1) THE GREAT WHITE, (2) MY, (3) ONE, (4) ANY would be offered to the players out of the stars' site.  Player 2 selects first in the tie-breaker -- with Player 1 selecting from the remaining three answers.

After each player has selected an answer, the host will call for answers, one at a time, from the panelists -- starting with the top row going left to right -- and continuing with the bottom row left to right.  The moment a star's answer matches a player's answer, the matched player wins. 

If there's no match after six different answers from the stars, we'll play a second and final tie-breaker.  The two contestants will still choose answers as before.  The chosen answers will then be disclosed to the guest in the top center seat of MG who, eventually, will be the center square on HS -- but, of course, not be informed as to which player chose which answer.  Once the guest matches a player, the successful player wins.

The winner of MG collects a bonus of $500 on top of other MG winnings.

Part 2: "Hollywood Squares"

Three more stars are brought in for the "Hollywood Squares" (HS) half of the show. The champion will be represented by the X's, the winning MG challenger by the O's.

This part of the game will be played much like the HS of the original "Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour" series.  The first round of HS starts with Player X and turns alternate from there.  When a new round starts, the runner-up of the previous round starts.

When a player has control of the board, (s)he selects a star and the host asks the star a question.  After the star gives his/her answer, it's up to the player to determine if the star's answer is right or wrong by saying "I'll agree" or "I'll disagree".

A correct judgement by the player means (s)he captures the star's square and scores a randomly determined amount of cash from $250 to $1000.  An incorrect judgment means the square and the money are awarded to the opposing player -- even if it leads to a win for the opposing player. A contestant wins a round by capturing three squares in a row across, down, or diagonally -- or by capturing any five out of the nine squares -- whichever comes first.

The first two rounds of HS are worth $2500 each.    Each round after the second round is worth $5000.

The second round of HS will have a secret square in play.  Before the show, one of the nine squares will be randomly determined to be the secret square.  The first player to pick the secret square and then capture it with a correct judgement earns at least one bonus prize.  The value of the prize(s) is not calculated into the score of the game.

The game will continue until the host signals that time is up. The player with the higher money score when time is called will go on to play "The $100,000 Super Match".

HS Tiebreaker: If both players have the same amount of money when time is called, the board will be cleared and a coin toss will determine who picks a star and plays the tie-breaker question.
If this player correctly agrees/disagrees with the celebrity, he/she goes on to the Super Match; if incorrect, his/her opponent goes on to the Super Match. 

Part 3: "The $100,000 Super Match"

The first part of the "Super Match" is the "Audience Match". Prior to the show, an Internet audience will be polled for its best response to a short phrase with a blank in it (e.g. GIVE IT BLANK). 

The three most popular answers will be taken for this poll. The player can then call on as many as three celebrities, one at a time, for assistance to complete the phrase. Then, the player fills in the blank as best as (s)he can. If the player picks the most popular answer, it will be worth $2,000. The second most popular answer will be worth $1,000, and the third most popular answer will be worth $500. If the player's answer is not among the top three, the player will still collect $250.

The second part of the "Super Match" is the "Head-to-Head Match". A virtual spin of the star wheel determines the designated star for the question and the total value of the question via simple multiplication.  The wheel has nine 50s, thirty-six 30s, and thirty-six 20s.  The number the wheel lands on will be multilpied by the payoff from the "Audience Match" to determine the grand prize in "Head-to-Head".   The star's and player's answers must match each other exactly to win.

After the Super Match, the champ returns to the next episode and is represented by the X's in Hollywood Squares. 


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