Lingo

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Lingo is yet another game that I came across on Game Show Network. I first saw it around 2004, and watched it on and off, especially in the summer, LoL. My brother watched it with me a few times, but I really tended to watch it alone. The rules make it sound like it's pretty complicated, when really the game is pretty basic.  

Brief history: Lingo has had two different incarnations, with a third soon forthcoming. It first ran 1987-1988, with Michael Reagan as the host. Then, in 2002, it was revived until 2007, featuring Chuck Woolery as the host, and several co-hosts, most notably Shandi (Miss USA 2004) during the final three seasons. The revival actually spawned off the Dutch hit, and most of the first season was recorded in the Netherlands. Bill Engvall will be the newest host when the show comes back this summer, and there will be at least 40 episodes.

The game: There's two teams of two players, and they're trying to guess words based on the starting letter. Every word is 5 letters long, and you get 5 chances. Correct letters in the correct spots are marked with red, letters that are in the word but in a different position are marked with yellow. When you guess, team members take turns, and they must pronounce and spell the word. If the team doesn't get it in five guesses, or repeats a guess, or uses an illegal word (not real, not the right spelling, a proper noun, etc.), takes longer than five seconds to guess, or uses a word that does not start with the designated letter (they could, however, use letters other than those already deemed correct), it switched to the other team's turn, AND they get another letter revealed. All team members can confer before each guess.

The team that completes the puzzle draws two numbers from a bucket, and they cover up numbers on their Lingo card [each team has one with 25 numbers on it (either all odd or all even), 7 (10 in the revival) of which are immediately covered]. They then retain control and begin the next puzzle. But, if they draw one of three red balls (the numbered balls are all blue), their turn is immediately over and the other team goes on to the next puzzle. When the team gets 5 in a row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal), they get a "Lingo," and earn (in the original) a trip to the bonus round or (in the revival) 25 points. In the revival, the team with the most points played the bonus... each Lingo on your Lingo card got you another 50 points. Multiple puzzles (and sometimes multiple Lingo boards) were played for "round 1" of the revival, and "round 2" began where the cards left off, but winning a word got you 50 points; winning a Lingo got you 100. Additionally, you got a "bonus letter" for each completed Lingo, and one for winning the game... entitling you to at least one opportunity to get an extra letter revealed when playing for the bonus round.

The team that wins the preliminary rounds then goes on to a final round... and these vastly differ between versions. In the original, a 25-square Lingo card was shown, this time with 16 squares covered already, and the balls to pick from contain numbers not on the board (the prelim rounds only featured numbers that matched those visible). The goal was NOT to get a Lingo. They could take $500 and walk, or try to double that money, up to five times. They were given the first letter of a five-letter word as well as one of the other letters. They guess the word, but if they're wrong, they draw a ball. If they run out of tries, they have to draw two extra, for a total of seven. If they get a Lingo, it's game over. If they don't, they can take the $1,000 and walk, or try to double it again. The winning team used to come back up to three times, and in their second appearance, making it to the bonus round started their money at $1,000... and a third time started at $2,000. Now, in the revival, the team just tried to get as many words as possible (up to 10) in two minutes, earning a ball for each completed word - and try to get a Lingo on a 25-square card with 12 numbers covered. If you got it on the first pull, you won big - a trip, $10,000, or a progressively-growing jackpot (that got as high as $41,000!). If you got it at all, you won $5,000. If you didn't get it, you earned $100 for each correctly-guessed word.

Notable changes to the way the game is played: In the original game, the object was to get the first "Lingo," but in the revival, the object is to score the most points. The original game had "prize" balls that could be pulled and you could get extra prizes if you later won the whole game. This concept changed several times during that one season, and was pulled completely from the revival. In the original, winning the game got you between $250-2,000, depending on what kind of line won the Lingo.

Special contestants & situations: There was a Hawaiian week (in the revival), and it seems to run more often than many of the other reruns, since I've seen some of those episodes about three times, LoL. (there were also other themes that had everyone dressing up... I vaguely remember ponchos or something for a fiesta week, LoL.) Something I've never seen, however, is a tie after the second round. It only happened three times in the revival series, but apparently a 7-letter word was used, and teams took turns guessing it - one team guessed, but if they were wrong, another letter was shown to the other team before the original team could guess again, etc. There were also celebrity episodes for charity, and tournaments of champions, and even a way to win online at home.

Favorite Rounds: I really enjoyed watching people completely mess up. Like, trying to fit 6-letter words in, but not realizing it until they get to the 4th letter or so. Or people who are really bad at spelling. Or people who just can't sound things out. I also really like the Hawaiian episodes, as corny as they sound. But, I think this kinda carries across the board.. I just like gimmicky costuming on game shows, haha.

My take: I'm actually pretty bad at this game. I think having three humanities degrees does that to you... takes away all of your abilities to think about simple words. My husband is better than I am, but he doesn't really like to watch this one (we will sit and watch Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy! from time to time, but otherwise he's not a big game show person). I don't know too many people who have watched this game (and those who have are also admittedly poor at it), so it's hard to think of additional potential partners, LoL. But, who knows how the new version will pan out... maybe it'll make more sense to me and the words will come more clearly... But, at least I'm not as bad as some of these guys... below is a 4-5 minute clip of some great spelling errors, and the last team on there demonstrates how you can use the rules to your advantage, LoL.

Did you ever watch Lingo? Are you going to be watching the new version in a few months? Who would you partner with if the show was still on the air and you were competing?

My Top Ten Game Shows

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

A couple days ago I read an article giving logical ideas on how to win various games within The Price is Right. I thought it was a clever thing to talk about, and even as a six-year-old, I would yell at players making dumb decisions. Even now, there are times when I look at the players like they're idiots on Wheel of Fortune when I've known the answer for 2-3 turns and they're still buying vowels. This whole thing got me thinking about my favorite game shows, which have changed somewhat over the years. The Price is Right would have been in the top 5 if Bob Barker was still hosting. Drew Carey isn't a bad host, but I just can't stand him, so it's been knocked from the Top Ten.

10. Classic Concentration. My brother and I were into memory games when we were kids. In fact, we had like a mega-memory game and the generic one that all six-year-olds seem to own, that came in the plastic container with slots for each card. Our mega set had over 50 cards to it, since we had a hard time even laying all of them out. So, I had a good time watching other people try to remember where cards were. BUT, what made this a great game show was the rebus puzzle behind the cards. This was the first rebus I had ever seen, and I still love them. I think that I have a slight advantage over other people in reading them because of this show, LoL.

9. Wipeout. I love a good physical challenge show. And while this one may be incredibly goofy sometimes, I think it's awesome. When we lived in California I downloaded the application to apply to be on it, knowing full well that it would be more of an experience for me than a win, since I'm not that strong of a swimmer (and that's important in the final round), and I'm kinda paranoid about knocking out teeth and things like that. I think it's interesting that some of the rounds change from time to time, but I really enjoy the creativity in some of those gags! It's not like you could ever try it at home, LoL.

8. Lingo. This isn't one of the most popular games, and it's strictly words and a little luck (regarding what numbers you pull to get points and then win prizes). Basically, you stand around guessing 5-letter words. In the first two rounds, two teams of two are pitted against eachother, and they only ever get a letter to start with. They find out which letters are in the right positions and which are correct but in the wrong places, and get 5 chances to guess the word. In the final round, the better team tries to do ten of these in two minutes (you still get the first letter, but now also get a random second letter). They rarely get all ten, but that usually doesn't matter, they still win something. I'm not that good at the game, but I do get excited watching it.

7. I'm Telling! If there was one game on this list that I'd bet you hadn't heard of, it's this one. It ran on cable only, and only a season or two were made. It was a children's game show, specifically geared for brother-sister pairs. The set-up is like the NewlyWed Game, in that the brothers answer questions about the sisters and vice versa, and you get points when you're right. The losing two teams all got 10-speed bikes. The two winners took turns running through a "prize arcade." See, before the show, each kid had written down the six prizes they thought their sibling would want (out of ten). When you chose six in the final round, you were choosing the six that you wanted. If it matched, you won it. You'd always win two prizes because of the overlap in the math on that, and if you matched 10/12, you'd win all of the prizes. The only real catch? There were "boys' prizes" and "girls' prizes" so it was very sexist. My brother and I played along ALL THE TIME.

6. Supermarket Sweep. In case you haven't seen a pattern yet, my brother and I played along with this one, too. The game was pretty easy... some general questions to bring up your points, and each of the three teams rotated the players' turns. The real excitement was in the end, when you ran around the supermarket throwing foods in your cart to ring up the highest bill. There were also certain items that were announced that could get you extra stuff. Depending on how much time you had banked in the beginning, you could get extra time in the aisles. In theory, it shouldn't have been hard to rack up the bill, but you'd always see people throwing crap in their carts.

5. Wheel of Fortune. This one's a classic, and I don't think you can really argue with that. I love Vanna, mostly for her clothing. The contestants aren't always that exciting, but I generally like the puzzles, although there are certain categories that I like much more than others. Plus, it's still on, so I can catch it five times a week if I'm really bored, LoL.

4. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? So when I list this one, I'm only referring to the Regis Philbin-hosted version. This is because I believe that, arguably, most people agree he's the only true host of that show. I rank it so high for several reasons. First, the gimmick of only having it on for a couple weeks and then taking it away again was interesting. Plus, the lights and the concept and the ten possible contestants in the beginning were neat. Lastly, it came on when my now-husband and I were first starting to date, so we'd often watch the show at our respective parents' houses and talk about it on the phone.

3. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? This show was supercool, especially from the seven-year-old's point-of-view. There was the mysterious storyline going on, plus some neat facts to learn, and lastly the running around putting the sirens on different countries/states. I always wanted to be on that show, and would have done really well since I knew my US map like the back of my hand by the time I was eight-years-old. PLUS, the prize was a trip to anyplace in the continental US! How neat!

2. Jeopardy! I love a good quiz show. I particularly love this one for several reasons, but the main ones at this point in my life are that the clues are always shown on the screen so I can read them while at the gym on the treadmill, and I have a wide berth of knowledge so this is a game I always have an excellent and a sucky category in. And I think this tends to be true for many of the contestants on the show. It's always good to watch when you're bored or on vacation and have no cable, or when you're with strangers and need an icebreaker on television, LoL.

1. Legends of the Hidden Temple. OF COURSE this is my #1 game show. It was THE COOLEST gameshow EVER. I may be too old to go on it now (in the event they bring it back), but it's still super mega awesome. There were six teams (of two) to start out with, and it always began with a physical challenge - crossing a moat. The first four teams to make it moved on. Then, on to some knowledge and listening comprehension, then some more physical stuff. But the end level was made up of running through a fun house of sorts (there were like seven different set-ups too, so it's not like you could memorize it beforehand... although there are websites out there with maps of each... I'm serious), collecting the artifact of the day by completing a task to open most of the doors, and avoiding the temple guard. Sometimes they'd also have to find part of their Pendant of Life, too. Both team members got to go in, and it just looked like so much fun! The only qualm I have about the game is that it always seemed the teams struggled with putting together the Shrine of the Silver Monkey, LoL. Oh, and it was another one that my brother and I would always talk about how we'd do each challenge if we were on a team, LoL.