Get ready for our game of skill and strategy . . .
and here's the star of Blockbusters,
Bill Rafferty!
BROADCAST HISTORY: Jan. 5, 1987 - May 1, 1987, NBC
Daytime
HOST: Bill Rafferty
ANNOUNCER: Rich Jeffreys
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Robert Sherman
PRODUCER: Diane Janaver
DIRECTOR: Marc Breslow
SET DESIGNER: Dennis Roof
MUSIC: Music Design Group, Stanley Blits
ORIGINATION: NBC Studios, Burbank, CA
PACKAGER: Mark Goodson Productions
 |
Blockbusters is a fast-paced Q&A game in which players try to
get control of a board that consists of 20 hexagons, interlocked like the
hexagons in this background. This version is a remake of the 1980
version, hosted by Bill Cullen. |
The Main Game
Let's take a look at our game board!
Two players compete. The returning champion is White, the challenger
is Red. The game starts with a randomly chosen letter, and Bill reads
a question in the following format:
"What B is the game show being discussed on Caleb Nelson's web page?"
Whichever player buzzes in with the correct answer ("Blockbusters"
in this case) wins the space and chooses another space. If neither
player answers correctly, the question is thrown out, and another question
is asked with that letter.
The object of the game is for a player to complete a path across
the board between his two goals:
The White player can do this in as few as 5 moves. |
The Red player can do this in as few as 4 moves. |
Whichever player does this first (there is no possible way a tie can
be achieved; try to figure it out yourself) receives $100 for each game.
In Game 2, the colors are switched, where White tries to connect top-to-bottom,
and Red tries to connect side-to-side. If necessary, a Tiebreaker
Game is played, with a specially modified board:
Both players can connect their goals in 4 moves in the Tiebreaker
Game.
Whoever wins the best-2-out-of-3 match goes on to the Gold Run.
The Gold Run
In the Gold Run, the champion has 60 seconds to connect a path left-to-right
across the board.
The player calls out the initials in the answers (which are now usually
multiple-word), Bill reads the question, and the player responds.
If he's right, the block turns gold. If not, the block is removed
and must be worked around. If the player makes the connection across
the board, $5,000 is awarded.
Otherwise, $100 per gold block is awarded, and the player meets a new
challenger.
Other Goodies
If you have any comments on this page, any material to contribute, or
any suggestions, please direct them to ccnelson@arn.net;
please visit the page dedicated to the Bill Cullen years of Blockbusters,
hosted by Michael Klauss.
This is Rich Jeffreys, speaking for the
Fan Page,
Some information is courtesy of The Encyclopedia of TV Game
Shows, Second Edition.
Sounds and pictures from "Blockbusters" are ©1987 The Blockbusters
Company.
No challenge to ownership is implied.
Original content of this page ©1998 Caleb Craig Nelson.
This way back to the Game
Show Headquarters!
visitors since March 31, 1998.
