Pyramid

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PYRAMID
The opening titles for The $20,000 Pyramid, the $100,000 Pyramid, and Pyramid (2002-2004 version).
Airdates:	CBS March 1973 - March 1974 ("The $10,000 Pyramid"), ABC May 1974 - June 1980 (January 1976 to June 1980 as "The $20,000 Pyramid), Syn. September 1974 - September 1979 ("The $25,000 Pyramid"), Syn. January 1981 - September 1981 ("The $50,000 Pyramid"), CBS September 1982 - December 1987 and April 1988 - July 1988 ("The New $25,000 Pyramid"), Syn. September 1985 - September 1988 and January 1991 - March 1992 ("The $100,000 Pyramid"), Syn. September 2002 - September 2004
Hosts:	Dick Clark, Bill Cullen, John Davidson, Donny Osmond
Announcers:	Bob Clayton, Steve O'Brien, Fred Foy, John Causier, Alan Kalter, Dick Heatherton, Scott Vincent, Ed Jordan, Jack Clark, Johnny Gilbert, Charlie O'Donnell, Charlie Tuna, Dean Goss, Jerry Bishop, Rod Roddy, Bob Hilton, John Cramer
Regular Guests:	Sal Viscuso, William Shatner, Vicki Lawrence, Betty White, Markie Post, Henry Polic II, Shelley Smith, David Graf, among many others
Producers:	Bob Stewart/BASADA Productions (1973-92), Sony Pictures Television (2002-2004)

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 1973-1980 versions 1.1.1 Network format ("The 10,000/$20,000 Pyramid") 1.1.2 Syndicated format ("The $25,000 Pyramid") 1.2 1981 version ("The $50,000 Pyramid") 1.3 1982-92 versions 1.3.1 Network format ("The New $25,000 Pyramid") 1.3.2 Syndicated format ("The $100,000 Pyramid") 1.4 2002-2004 version 2 Notes

Gameplay

1973-1980 versions

Network format ("The 10,000/$20,000 Pyramid")

Two contestants played, each with a celebrity partner. A board with six categories were offered to both teams, and the challenger's team chose first. Each category contained a list of seven (originally eight) items that all fit into a specific category that the clue-giver had to convey to his or her partner through verbal description in 30 seconds or less. Clue-givers were allowed to describe the word or phrase in great detail as well as use gestures, so long as the clues did not "convey the essence" of the answer (such as giving part of the word, a rhyme, etc.) In the first round, the celebrities gave clues to the contestants. In the second round, the contestants gave the clues, and in the third round the contestant had the choice of who would give clues. The team with the highest score after all six categories were played won the game and advanced to the Winner's Circle bonus. In the event of a tie, further categories were played using words that all started with the same letter, until one team outscored the other. In the $20,000 version, a $500 bonus was awarded to a player who scored a perfect 21 points, and one category in each episode concealed a "Big 7" bonus, which was also worth $500 if the player got all seven items correct.

The Winner's Circle was another board or six subjects. The clue giver would face the board while his or her partner would sit facing away. The object was to provide the receiver with a list of items that fit into each category. Judging was much more strict in this part of the game, however; a player could be disqualified for giving the following clues:

• Hand gestures (straps were provided to restrain the clue giver's arms; in the first season, gestures were allowed)
• Clues that conveyed the essence of the answer (i.e., "Just sit right there" for "Things a babysitter might say")
• Clues that used prepositional or compartmental phrases (i.e., "The middle of the road" for Things with Lines)
• Clues that used a synonym of the answer (i.e., "A crooked stick" for Things that are bent)
• Clues that were explicitly descriptive (i.e., "A toy that plays music" for Things you wind up; typically adjectives were allowed to describe objects, however, so "A musical toy" would be accepted)
• Clues that did not fit the subject (i.e., "An elephant" for "Things you remember"; reason being that elephants aren't particularly memorable)
• Coining a phrase (i.e., "Your yearly cake" for Things at a birthday party)

If an invalid clue was given, that category was forfeited and the team could only earn money on the remaining eligible categories. The three subjects on the bottom each won $50, the two on the center row were worth $100, and the top subject was $200. If all six subjects were identified in 60 seconds, the player won $10,000 and retired from the show. When the show became The $20,000 Pyramid, the Winner's Circle was worth $10,000 on the player's first try, $15,000 on the second and $20,000 on the third. If the player failed to clear the board, he or she returned to the game against a new challenger, partnered with the other celebrity. The contestant was given the option to give clues at the Winner's Circle if so desired, though few did so.

Syndicated format ("The $25,000 Pyramid")

The syndicated version of the show was played in a similar fashion. However, a few changes were present. The Big 7 bonus was now worth a prize, occasionally even a new car. Both contestants played in both games on that episode, but did not return regardless of their performance. The payouts for the Winner's Circle were $100 for the bottom three subjects, $200 for the middle two and $500 for the top. Finally, clearing the Winner's Circle was $10,000 on the player's first trip and a total of $25,000 if that player won both front games. (If the contestant had already cleared the Winner's Circle once, he won an additional $15,000 for the second trip.)

1981 version ("The $50,000 Pyramid")

When the syndicated show returned, a tournament was added to the competition to highlight the game's best players. Unlike any other version, there were no bonus categories. Each week, the player who got a perfect score of 7 on a front game category in the fastest time earned a bonus prize and qualified for the $50,000 tournament (to demonstrate this, the ticking clock would count up rather than down as the team played.) Winning the front game earned a trip to the Winner's Circle, which was worth $5000 on the player's first trip and $10,000 on the second. As in the first syndicated version, both contestants played both games, but did not return the next day.

After eight weeks, the weekly winners played a series of qualifying matches to narrow the field to three players. From that point on, two players would play one game, the winner of which would go to the Winner's Circle for the $50,000 grand prize. If unsuccessful, that player played the next game against whichever contestant had sat out the previous game.

1982-92 versions

Network format ("The New $25,000 Pyramid")

The 1980's version of the show had a few differences in the gameplay. Namely, both contestants would play both games, and the contestant would scores the most money in the Winner's Circle would continue playing the next day, up to a maximum of five days. If both players tied for Winner's Circle earnings, they both got to come back. There was also now a bonus in each game played that day; the first game offered a "7-11" bonus which won $1100 for a player who got a perfect score in that category. (In the opening months of the show, players had the option of taking $50 for each point scored or $1100 in an all-or-nothing fashion. The $1100 bonus became the default when the vast majority of players opted for it.) The second game had a "Mystery 7" bonus, where the team would not be given the common thread of the subject before they played, but would win a merchandise prize or trip if they managed a perfect score. (The Mystery 7 started as being in plain view with the other categories, but switched to a hidden bonus when nearly everyone played that subject first.) Finally, if the game ended in a tie, the teams would play one tiebreaker category in an attempt to get all seven words in the fastest time. The player who did so won the game; if the tie was a perfect 21-21 game, he or she also won $5,000.

The payouts for the Winner's Circle were changed again. The first subject was worth $50, and each subsequent subject was worth $50 more than the last. As in the original syndicated version, clearing the Winner's Circle in the first game won $10,000, while winning both games made it worth a total of $25,000.

Syndicated format ("The $100,000 Pyramid")

The tournament element was brought back in the 1985 syndicated version of the show. The front game was played in exactly the same way as the network show; the only change was that a 21-21 tie was worth an additional $5000 to the player that broke it. Within a six-week period, the three players who cleared the Winner's Circle in the shortest time were invited back for the tournament. During the tournament, the front game was played without the bonus cards, and the winner of each game would play the Winner's Circle for an additional $100,000. If neither game ended with a win, the player who won the most at the Winner's Circle returned the next day to play against the contestant who had sat out the previous day. (If the day ended with a tie, a coin was flipped to determine who came back.) This would continue until the $100,000 was won.

During the 1991-1992 version of the show, the front game bonuses were changed. On some days, the Mystery 7 was played first, and the second game offered two "Double Trouble" categories in plain view. Each team was obligated to play one of the Double Troubles, which contained seven two-word phrases (that were otherwise unrelated to each other). The team had 45 seconds to get all of them, and won $500 if successful. Later, the 7-11 was replaced with "Gamble for a Grand", in which the team could opt to only have 25 seconds to get all seven words, but won $1000 if they did.

2002-2004 version

The most recent version of the show had a similar format to previous versions, but featured major changes in the gameplay. In the front game, each category had six answers instead of seven, and the teams were only given 20 seconds to guess them all. One category in both games hid a "Super Six" bonus, which won a bonus prize if the team got all six answers. The front game tiebreaker again reverted to the one used in previous versions, with multiple tiebreakers played until one team score more than the other. (Any tiebreakers that did not produce a winner were edited out.) Payouts were for the Winner's Circle were $200 for the bottom three subjects, $300 for the middle two, and $500 for the top. If the Winner's Circle was cleared, the contestant got $10,000 for his first win and an additional $15,000 for his second, for a total of $25,000. Both contestants played both games, but did not return the next day.

The most notable change came in the tournament format. In order to qualify for the tournament, the contestant had to win both front games and clear both Winner's Circles on his or her episode. If the tournament had six contestants, two players per day would compete over a 3-day span. A contestant would win $25,000 if he or she won the Winner's Circle once and an additional $75,000 if he or she won both Winner's Circles, for a total of $100,000. If no contestant did this within the 3 day limit, then whoever had the fastest Winner's Circle time in the tournament would win a guaranteed $100,000. If the tournament had four contestants, two players per day would play on Day 1 & 2, and the two winners from each day would compete on Day 3. On the first two days, a contestant would win $25,000 for either Winner's Circle won; and on Day 3, a contestant would win $50,000 for either Winner's Circle won. This made it the only tournament format that did not guarantee that its top prize would be awarded; in fact, the November 2003 tournament failed to give away $100,000 to any player.

Notes

• When the show was in its formative stages, the Winner's Circle was supposed to contain ten subjects rather than six. Just before the show went to air, the producers realized that guessing 10 subjects in a minute would be almost impossible, and so a large plywood board was nailed onto the Winner's Circle set to conceal the bottom four boxes. When the show moved to ABC in 1974, the set was fixed.
• During the ABC run, several weeks were filmed using children as contestants. One such week was "Junior Pyramid", in which guests Jimmy Baio and Susan Richardson played with adolescent contestants. Later, several weeks of "Junior Partner Pyramid" were taped, featuring family teams of one adult and one child (making it the only rendition of the show to not use celebrities). In the 1980s, several weeks were taped using blind contestants. Naturally, the celebrities gave clues in every round.
• The record for the fastest Winner's Circle time is 26 seconds, held by Billy Crystal. His former "Soap" castmate, Sal Viscuso, once had the second fastest time at 28 seconds; the two of them were invited to play a week against each other during the $20,000 run. In 1985, however, Barry Jenner cleared the board in 27 seconds - especially remarkable given the audience's penchant to applaud between each subject by this time.
• Bill Cullen's last television appearance was as a celebrity guest for a week in 1987. Incidentally, while celebrity guests were shown walking onstage from behind the set at the show's opening and walk to the Winner's Circle area just before the commercial, both guests were shown already seated at their desks when the show began, and they would not make their way to the Winner's Circle until after the show went to a break, in deference to Bill's lifelong bout with polio.