EYE GUESS
NBC January 3, 1966- September 26, 1969


A clever twist on "Concentration", "Eye Guess" marked the first production by Bob Stewart (who later gave us "Jackpot!", "Chain Reaction", and of course, "Pyramid" versions).
Two contestants play. Bill shows a game board with nine hidden answers and the contestants have eight seconds to study the board with all the answers, except the middle "Eye Guess" space.


One of the contestants is chosen (presumably by coin toss) to start the game. Bill asks a question, and the contestant selects, by number, which space hides the correct answer. A correct guess is worth 10 points and continued control of the board. A wrong answer gives control to the opponent. The show's humor aspect came from the wrong guesses. (Who is the biggest ape in the jungle? Nikita Kruschev!)
If a contestant thinks the correct answer is not among the eight shown at the beginning of the game, s/he can call out "Eye Guess", at which point the middle Eye Guess space opens, revealing either the answer (if the contestant is correct) or a blank space (if the contestant is wrong.)


If a contestant gives five consecutive correct answers, s/he wins the "jackpot prize", which changes from week to week. The contestants are asked a total of eight questions.


Round two is identical to Round one, except the contestants have seven seconds to study the board and right answers are worth 20 points.


The first contestant to score 100 points wins the game & plays the bonus board.


The bonus board is the front game's board, now hiding prizes instead of answers. There is a total of seven prizes on the board, along with a "Stop" card. The contestant calls out a number to reveal the hidden prize and continued so until finding the Stop card (in which case the game ends and the contestant keeps whatever prizes had been won up to that point) or revealing all seven prizes, in which case s/he also wins the prize hidden behind "Eye Guess," a brand new car.

During the show's final year the format changed. The front game was played identically, with the exception that each question was worth a prize instead of points, with seven prizes needed to win. The end game board had seven "Go" cards in place of prizes and one "stop card." The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows states that another bonus game was used in the earlier episodes where the contestant had to match a celebrity's name with his/her spouse's name, hidden on the board.



Note: Whether they won or lost, all contestants received the "Eye Guess" home game. :-)


If the one surviving episode is an average show, then I'm definitely sorry that this show is gone, because I would love seeing more episodes. Bill is at his peak here, goofing off with Jack Clark and the contestants all throughout, and making it fairly obvious that he doesn't care what's going on around him. He's here to have a good time with his friends, the audience.
 

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