Format: Three players try to earn cash and merchandise by stopping a flashing cursor on a colossal electronic game board, whose 18 spaces constantly change their contents. Also on the board are a group of evil, pint-sized, red monsters known as "Whammies." When a player lands on one, they lose all of their current winnings. The first round is a game of chicken in which the players alternate "spinning" (stopping the cursor) until each player has either landed on a Whammy or has frozen with their current score. The second round is the question round: five jump-in trivia questions are asked, and when a player buzzes in and gives their answer, that answer is added to two other possibilities for the other two players (who answer in turn) to pick from. A correct answer earns three spins for the player who buzzed in and one spin for the players who guessed at the multiple choice. The last round comes from the original Press Your Luck. The player with the highest money score from the first round has the advantage of going last in this round. Each player, in turn, takes all of their spins (one by one). At any time the spinning player may pass their remaining spins to the player currently in the lead in an attempt to force them to land on a Whammy (which now include "Double Whammies," which while not counting as two Whammies, humiliate a player who lands on one by dumping some objects or a strange substance all over them). Anyone landing on a total of four Whammies is eliminated from the game. When all three players have exhausted their supplies of spins (or have been eliminated), the player with the highest money score wins and keeps all of the cash and merchandise they have scored during the game.

Game Show Man Says: <Elmer Fudd>Kill the Whammy! Kill the Whammy! Kill the Whammy!</EF> I have a special place in my heart for this show, the first of these four shows to debut, as I was part of an early run-through as a contestant. Most game show fans have a love/hate relationship with the Press Your Luck format in general, based on a combination of what critics perceive to be a weak (even annoying) format, and (to say the least) over-enthusiastic fans who are overprotective of the show, even hostile to those who try to voice criticism of the series (constructive or otherwise).

Host: "Mr. Hollywood," Todd Newton, former perennial voice of E! and ex-host of Hollywood Showdown. As many folks know, Newton beat out original Press Your Luck host (and early GSN stalwart) Peter Tomarken for the host's slot on this show. Newton does every bit as good a job as Tomarken did, with his jovial manner and constant grin-on-his-grill. I have as much of a special place in my heart for Newton as I do for Whammy! itself as I had an opportunity to interview Newton for my radio show on Titan Internet Radio about a year ago.

The Good: The nifty new chicken round to start the game helps gets things cooking early. Otherwise, very true to the classic big-bucks-no-whammies format.

The Bad: Where's the cash? WAY TOO MANY prizes on this show (and too many cheap-ass prizes as well). The theme needs to be replaced by the original Lee Ringuette theme (with full instrumentation instead of synthesizers). The "Double Whammies" also need to either be rethought or removed altogether.

The Verdict (Season One): B+

Format: Six contestants, playing for themselves, form three teams in an attempt to win money by answering questions, and later decide how to split the team's winnings by voting "friend" or "foe." Each team is placed in an isolation booth, armed with an initial "trust fund" of $200, and then asked a series of four multiple choice trivia questions, each worth $500. Both players must agree on an answer and lock it in to the computer simultaneously. After all four questions are asked, the lowest scoring team is eliminated. The remaining teams are asked four more questions, now worth $1,000 each. Again, the lowest scoring team is knocked out of play after the fourth question. The last team then has 60 seconds to earn more money by answering a series of questions with two possible answers, with each correct response paying $500. If the team answers ten questions correctly before they miss three (or time runs out), their overall trust fund (including the money from the final round) is doubled. After each team is eliminated, they step to a large table-shaped object known as the "Trust Box." After lamenting on how trustworthy they are, they then vote either "friend" or "foe." If both players vote "friend," they split the trust fund evenly. If one player votes "friend," and the other votes "foe," the player who voted "foe" gets the entire fund and the "friend" gets nothing. If both players vote "foe," neither player gets any money.

Game Show Man Says: Probably the worst of the new shows, but still not that bad. The earlier questions were a bit pedestrian, but later material was fairly interesting. The element that really kills the show is actually the very thing that defines it: the Trust Box. I find myself wanting to jump through the TV screen and put the scumbags who vote "foe" and steal all the money from their teammates to a horrible, gruesome, painful death. In this respect, it is an effective device, since it elicits emotion and reaction from the viewer, but frankly, I prefer to experience positive emotions when I watch game shows, thank you very much.

Host: Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, aka "Kennedy." Most viewers remember her as the obnoxious, overly sarcastic wench of a VJ she was on MTV. Thankfully, she is far more toned down here (and strangely enough, a great deal more attractive). I shudder to think what would've happened if ever she had ever been called on to sub in for George Gray on Weakest Link, however. Kennedy actually does a good job as host here, playing devil's advocate at the Trust Box, and staying neutral and asking the questions smoothly and quickly during the regular game.

The Good: Okay game mechanics, good payoffs, and improving game material. The set is stylish and cool looking without the foreboding aura of many game shows with a similar theme.

The Bad: No one to root for except poor Kennedy…the Trust Box tends to elicit homicidal tendencies.

The Verdict: C-

Format: Four players attempt to be the last contestant in play by challenging their opponents to answer questions, and by answering the questions themselves when challenged. Each player is armed with $150 and is placed on a circular trapdoor, one of six lowered into a larger platform. The six platforms arranged in a circle, similar to the ammunition cylinder of a six-gun. One player is designated "the challenger," and is read a question. The challenger selects an opponent who they think won't be able to answer the question correctly. When a contestant is chosen, they are given three possibilities (one of which is the correct answer), and ten seconds to respond. If they answer correctly, they earn more money ($150 in the first round, $200 in the second and $300 in the third). If not, they lose all of their money to the challenger, and are forced to play "Russian roulette." Before each question, a series of red neon lights outlining each trapdoor are lit to indicate their activation (trapdoors so lit are referred to as "drop zones," unlit doors are called "safe zones"); one for the first question in each round, and an additional drop zone for each question afterward. When a player must play Russian roulette, they pull a large lever, which in turn (electronically) spins the lights around the "cylinder." If that player's trapdoor ends up lit, the door opens, and the player drops through, eliminating them from play. If their door is not lit, their door remains closed, and the player stays in the game. Either way if the challenged player has not been eliminated after a question, they themselves become the challenger. The round ends when a player is eliminated, or when time runs out, at which point only the player with the most money is guaranteed to move on to the next round, and the remaining players must participate in a random selection to find out who is eliminated from play. The second round is played the same way as the first (except that the questions have four possible responses), and the third is played the same way as the second, except that with only two players in play, the challenger has the option to answer the question themselves and add to their score, or to pass to the other player in an attempt to knock them out of play. The sole remaining player (who gets to keep ALL of the money earned in the main game, including their eliminated opponents, who forfeited their winnings when they dropped) has the chance to earn $10,000 by answering five difficult questions in 60 seconds or less. Players may "think out loud" to come up with the answers (locking in a response by saying "my answer is"), and may pass and come back to a question later. Each correct answer pays $500 if the player loses. If the player misses a question or runs out of time, they drop through their trapdoor like their opponents did. If the player succeeds in winning the $10,000, they can use it as an entry fee for one last game of Russian roulette. Every ten seconds the player used to answer the questions in the bonus game activates one drop zone for the last pull. If the player spins, and survives the spin, they win $100,000. If not, they lose only the $10,000, and drop through the trapdoor.

Game Show Man Says: Talk about German ingenuity and American know-how. Newcomer Gunnar Wetterburg came up with this game, a mutant hybrid of The Joker's Wild and Hot Potato. Whether he came up with it for American television originally is unknown (it premiered on Hong Kong television before premiering on GSN). The American know-how comes from its veteran producers (Chuck Barris regular Mike Metzger in the first season and Family Feud alumnus Michael Canter in the second). If you're put off by the description above, don't be; it only sounds confusing. In practice, while a seeming a little gimmicky at first (due to the trapdoors), the game is actually quite simple and subtle. The $100,000 top prize is colossal for cable TV and while difficult to win, is still quite possible to win (it's already been done TWICE as of this article). Like Whammy!, this show has earned a special place in my heart due to having been a participant myself.

Host: Mark L. Walberg, formerly the announcer on Shop 'Til You Drop, and host of the infamous Temptation Island, and The Bachelor. After a long string of losers, Walberg, a former gofer for Dick Clark Productions, gets a winner. Here, Walberg (ordinarily a somewhat goofy fellow) tones himself down and, like most hosts, takes a neutral stance in the proceedings (rooting both for and against the players). When the players try to crack wise, he fires back with a quick sarcastic wit.

The Good: A simple, subtle format, with lots of room for strategy. Luck and skill are equally important here. Great atmosphere (announcer Burton Richardson's ultra-LOW (and extra-evil-sounding) opening shocked many of his critics, who have accused him of being a top-40 DJ rip-off) and AWESOME payoff for cable television. The questions are a cut above the rest; only Jeopardy! and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? rival this show for range of both difficulty and categories.

The Bad: Sometimes good players get the boot undeservedly; this isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it fosters a "survival of the fittest" attitude (hence good competition). The trapdoor exit has the possibility of becoming stale. The musical score needs a few more cues.

Verdict: A-

Format: Two teams of contestants try to earn points by solving logic-based word puzzles, and by getting five a row on a bingo "Lingo" card. One team is shown a five-letter word with the last four letters missing. They have five opportunities to guess the word, spelling out their guesses to help them find out which letters are in the mystery word (letters in the word, but not in the correct position in the word get a yellow circle; letters in the correct position get an orange square). If the team runs out of chances, takes too long to guess, misspells their word or tries to use a phony word, they lose their turn, and the other team gets an extra correct letter in word. When one team guesses the word correctly, they earn 25 points and the right to draw two numbered balls out of a hopper in front of them. The numbered balls correspond to those on a 5X5 bingo card (called a "Lingo Board") which has 10 of its 25 numbers already marked off at random as the game starts. The numbers marked on the drawn balls are covered on the team's card (unless they draw a red "stopper" ball, which costs them control). If they connect five covered numbers in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally (a "Lingo") they earn 50 points, a new Lingo Board, and pass control to the other team. In the second round, the point values are doubled (50 points per word, 100 for a "Lingo"), and three "?" balls are added to the hoppers which can be used to cover any open number. At the end of the second round, the team with the high score wins the game and plays "Bonus Lingo." The winners have two minutes to guess as many words as they can, earning for each word $100 and a ball to try to use get a Lingo on the bonus game Lingo Board (with 13 numbers marked off in a specific static pattern). If the team gets a Lingo, they win a bonus package of cash and merchandise worth about $4000.

Game Show Man Says: I have no idea where this game came from. I do know of its history as a short-lived American game taped in Canada, which went bankrupt, and was cancelled, went to Europe where it is a giant hit, was revived by GSN, the first season being taped in the Netherlands, and the second and third seasons taped here in California. A wild and wacky path to be sure, but Lingo is a wild and wacky game. The "soap opera" promos made for this show are priceless. The smash-hit success (for GSN, anyway) of Lingo may usher in a new era of word games on TV.

Host: The king of letter-based guessing games, Chuck Woolery, who as the title of this article says, kicks ass. Woolery, a former singer/songwriter who started hosted game shows as the ORIGINAL host of Wheel Of Fortune, has made his name hosting relationship shows like Love Connection and the 80's classic based on the famous crossword game, Scrabble. He is also well known as the host of the late Fox Network super-quiz, Greed. On Lingo, Woolery is in top form, and has managed to revive some of the magic from his Scrabble days.

The Good: Like the commercials say, Lingo is ADDICTIVE. The gameplay is a weird mix of bingo, Mastermind, the old pencil-and-paper game Ghost, and it works shockingly well, and has insane amounts of play-along value. The contestants, while somewhat dim from time to time, still play the game quite well.

The Bad: I just hope the American production designer has a better set in mind for the Los Angeles tapings in the second season. It would be nice to have a larger prize budget as well, but for such a small, intimate style game, it isn't really necessary.

The Verdict: A

Season Three Changes: Changes? What changes? Oh, yeah…there's a new set (which reminds me less of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, like others have accused, and more of Bullseye, one of my favorite shows). The gameplay is identical to season two, other than a promised Tournament of Champions, and the fact that a different vacation (sponsored by the Harrah's casino chain) is now awarded. Big Chuck is now Big SLIM Chuck, having apparently lost a lot of weight during the off-season. Also, the show has a new co-host, Stacey Hayes, who we only know is pretty, blonde and British. Oh, yeah, and no more Lingo Butt Dance. Awwww.

Format: Three players compete in a hard quiz to try to win $50,000 for a college education. Players start with 500 points. The first round is a toss-up round, with four questions worth 100 points (earned for a right answer, lost for a wrong one). The toss-up round ends with a three-part visual question; one part for each player, worth 100 points for a right answer. The second round is a list-the-answers round. Three questions are asked, each with several answers (the first two have four answers each; the last has seven). Each answer is worth 250 points. The first player to buzz-in for each question starts the rotation, with the other players answering in turn. At the end of the second round, the player with the lowest score is eliminated. The last round is a strategy round, with each player getting two questions that they can either answer or "cut class" on one, forcing their opponent to answer. After this round, a "senior-year showdown" is played with all the questions on one subject, chosen by the score leader at that point. High score at the end of this round wins the game, and moves on to the endgame. The endgame is a standard 10-questions-in-60-seconds lightning round. Winning this round earns the grand prize of a $50,000 scholarship.

Game Show Man Says: Oy. Too generic, too slow, and too bland. What a waste of thirteen weeks of television…especially for…

Host: Marc Summers, the amazing former host of Double Dare. Ordinarily funny, exuberant and energetic, here he is encumbered by a bad excuse for a quiz show format. He is stiff, uncomfortable and probably wanted to be somewhere else. Poor man.

The Good: "Gorgeous George" Davidson (the balding, longsuffering "teacher's aide") tries his best to interject some humor, and a rockin' theme song.

The Bad: Everything else.

The Verdict: F!!!! (The worst show on GSN since Burt Luddin's Love Buffet.)

Format: Two pairs of contestants, each consisting of a male and a female, are called upon to answer questions based on material they have studied. Prior to taping, the teams are locked in a storefront "cramatorium" located at the Hollywood and Highland Mall in Los Angeles for 24 hours, where they are required to remain awake and study the various material in their rooms for the entire duration of their "stay." During the show, the two teams are stationed on a pair of gigantic hamster wheels, which they must keep moving at all times during round one when they are not playing in round two. The teams are given 100 points to start. The first round is the "Rant." Each team must talk about an article they read the night before, attempting to guess eight "keywords" chosen by the show's producers. Each word successfully guessed earns 10 points. However, the players cannot blindly guess at the words; they must talk continuously, otherwise, each pause of any kind (such as a stutter, an "uh," or an "ah") garners a buzz from the judges and a loss of 5 points. Each team gets 40 seconds to play their article; one player gets the first 20 seconds to play, and the other jumps in for the second 20 seconds. The second round, called "Double Trouble," consists of a matching game, which represents a test each team must take whose answers come from one of the books they had to read the day before; each team has a different test to take. The team with the lower score from round one gets to pick which of the two tests they want (in the first season it was done blindly, with no knowledge of which test they were going to take; currently, the teams know what the tests are when they pick). For each test, the team has 40 seconds (45 in the first season) and are presented with a series of seven items (usually arranged on a wall or table; sometimes the teams must perform seven poses, gestures or other physical positions with their bodies) which they must match to seven answers. Each correct match is worth 20 points. However, while they are trying to match the items, they must alternate answering a series of word-association questions, which come from the show's infamous "Big Dumb Book of Stupid Lists." Correct answers to these questions are worth 10 points. In the third round, one team sits in a bizarre contraption consisting of a sidecar (where the player who answers questions sits) and (usually) a stationary muscle-powered vehicle, such as an exercise bike or rower. The other team sits in a pair of recliners, drinking beverages brought in by the show's sexy blonde co-hostess Icey (Nordic swimsuit model Berglind Olafsdottir, who while mainly serving as eye-candy, does have her comedic moments), waiting for their chance to play. The team in the contraption has 40 seconds to earn more points by answer more questions; usually these questions entail providing the punch line to a joking riddle. Correct answers earn 30 points. However in order to answer, the player operating the vehicle must maintain a certain level of activity, and incorrect answers increase this minimum level. The team with the high score at the end of the third round is shuffled off to the sleep zone, where they lay down on a pair of beds, and must stay awake while the show's soft-voiced "resident sleep therapist," Miss Pickwick (comedianne Andrea Hutchman), reads them a series of new facts. On a prearranged signal ("reveille" and Icey making noise in some bizarre fashion), the winners must bolt out of bed and balance themselves on whether strange object has been provided for them (ranging from a small single stump to a balance beam to a mechanical log to surfboards on top of spring among others) and answer questions about the new facts they were given. Correct answers earn a "level," while wrong answers lose a level. If the team can earn five levels in 45 seconds or less, they win $10,000 in cash. If not, they win $1,000 for the game and $100 for each level they've earned.

Game Show Man Says: Upon first watching this show one tends to be quite annoyed and confused. However, repeated viewing quickly wears the annoyance factor away and reveals a game requiring a great deal of teamwork and stamina, not to mention a very good memory. It's also one of the few studio game shows without an audience, which frankly that helps this show a lot, since an audience on this show would surely degenerate into one from The Jerry Springer Show. While the show is not airing presently at press time, the show is quite popular and is slated to return with new episodes soon.

Host: Stand up comedian Graham Elwood. Originally best known as the host of the USA train wreck called Strip Poker (which actually had good game mechanics in blending the card game of poker and a quiz show but had a horrible gimmick behind it), Elwood does a good job keeping things light, the action moving and does well in asking the rapid-fire Remote Control-esque word association questions. He gets extra coolness points for being a Jim Perry fan.

The Good: Hilarious, fast-paced, and fun to watch. Also fun to try to answer the Big Dumb Book of Stupid Lists questions.

The Bad: The set's a little too spartan, the music's repetitive, and Icey needs more to do other than just stand around and be eye candy. Would it be too much to ask to have on set scoreboards?

The Verdict: B+

As always, comments, questions, suggestions, insults, and anything else you have for me (except spam) can be sent to gameshowman@winning.com.

Additional information on these shows can be found at the official Game Show Network Website.

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