The $100,000 Pyramid

Gameplay

The Pyramid's game boards feature six categories arranged in a triangle (referred to as a pyramid), with three on the bottom row, two on the middle row, and one on the top. Most variations of gameplay feature two teams, each composed of a contestant and a celebrity. The game's central premise involves teams taking turns, with one player attempting to describe mystery words or phrases to their teammate against a time limit. The higher scoring team wins the game and plays the bonus round, known as the Winner's Circle.

Main game

At the beginning of the game, the host reads off six categories from which the team in control picks. These denote the common subject of a series of words or phrases to be described within that category, and usually take the form of wordplay (such as "Playing footsie" leading to a category of "things you do with your feet"). One member of the team is then displayed one word or phrase at a time on a monitor, and must describe each to their partner within a time limit. The team member giving the clues may use verbal clues that do not contain any part of the answer (for example, using "high up" for "height"), as well as non-verbal clues such as gestures. One point is scored for each item correctly guessed, and words for which illegal clues are given are eliminated from play. The clue giver may also choose to pass on a word; while a point is still awarded for any word correctly guessed after passing, no further clues may be given on a passed word unless time remains after all other words are guessed. All versions of the show feature a maximum of seven words and a 30-second time limit for each category, except for the 2002-04 version, which used six words and 20 seconds.

Three rounds are played, with each team playing one category per round until all six have been played or one team has attained an insurmountable lead, whichever comes first. Teams decide which member will give and receive for the first round; the roles are reversed for the second, and they again choose for the third.

In versions prior to the 2010s, tie scores were broken by an additional round of gameplay. The team that scored the tying point was offered a choice of two different letters of the alphabet. That team then played seven words beginning with that letter, after which the opposing team played words beginning with the other letter. The tie was then broken by whichever team scored more points or, if both teams solved all seven words, whichever team did so in a shorter amount of time. The 2016 version breaks ties by whichever team achieved their score in the shorter total time.

The winning team proceeds to the show's bonus round, known as the Winner's Circle. Once this round is completed, a second main game is played with the celebrities switching teams and a new set of six categories. The winners of this game play the second and final Winner's Circle of the episode.

The game board has often featured a number of spaces which award bonus prizes to the contestants.

Winner's Circle

The winning team from the main game plays the Winner's Circle, in which one member must describe six categories, ostensibly of increasing difficulty, to their partner within 60 seconds by giving a short and concise list of items relating to each category in play. (For instance, the category "things that clean" could be described with clues such as "soap", "a vacuum", or "a maid's broom".) The team is credited with solving a category as long as the guesser says some form of its key word (any form of the word "clean") before time runs out. Some categories offer a synonym for the key word, such as "things that disappear (vanish)"; either one may be said to gain credit. Although it has not been stated in official rules, since Strahan has been hosting, the contestant gives the clues and the celebrity must guess the categories. In prior versions of the show, celebrities usually gave the clues. In the earliest episodes of the show, the host would ask the contestant whether they wanted to give or receive clues.

The clue giver may pass on a category and return to it after playing through all six if time remains on the clock. Giving an illegal clue removes the category from play. These include using gestures (which were permitted until 1974); using any part of a key word in the category, an acronym, a direct definition, or a direct synonym of it; using a descriptive prepositional phrase or adverb (unless the category implicitly allows it, e.g., "on a table" or "in my pocket" for "Where You Keep Your Keys"); or listing an item that does not fit the category. Each category in the Winner's Circle has a cash amount attached to it; successfully playing all six categories wins the top cash prize for that round, while failing to do so awards the cash amounts attached to all solved categories.

Originally, every Winner's Circle was played for the $10,000 prize, and contestants left the show upon winning it. When the show became The $20,000 Pyramid, contestants would play the first Winners' Circle for $10,000; if unsuccessful, their next visit would be for $15,000, and any future tries would be for the full $20,000; however, players left the show after winning whichever amount they were competing for at the time.

For the syndicated and CBS $25,000 and the two syndicated $100,000 series, the first visit to the Winner's Circle for either player would be for $10,000. If one contestant won both front games, their second visit would be to play for the entire $25,000, whether they had won the $10,000 or not. (If they won the $25,000, that amount replaced whatever total they scored on the first trip, but not any bonuses won in the main game.)

History

Broadcast history

On March 26, 1973, The $10,000 Pyramid, with host Dick Clark, made its network debut and was a ratings hit, sustaining its ratings even when episodes were delayed or preempted by the Watergate hearings. A year later, the ratings temporarily declined (against the original version of Jeopardy! on NBC) and CBS canceled it. The show was quickly picked up by ABC and began airing on that network on May 6, 1974. As per CBS custom at the time with celebrity game shows, three weeks of episodes for CBS were taped in Hollywood at Television City, Studio 31. The remainder of the CBS episodes originated in New York City at the Ed Sullivan Theater, moving to ABC's Elysee Theatre after Pyramid switched networks. Initially slotted on ABC at 4:00pm, replacing reruns of Love, American Style, it was moved to 2:00pm on December 23, 1974, replacing The Newlywed Game in the timeslot, and filled the old 4:00pm timeslot with The Money Maze, as part of a plan by ABC daytime vice president Michael Brockman to reorganize the daytime lineup to counter on its youth identity.

Beginning on January 19, 1976, the series doubled its top prize and was retitled The $20,000 Pyramid. On January 16, 1978, due to the expansion of the soaps One Life to Live and General Hospital from 45 minutes to one hour, the show moved to noon, while continuing to produce higher ratings. From October 1 to November 9, 1979, the series briefly became Junior Partner Pyramid, which scrapped the usual celebrity-contestant pairings in favor of children playing the game with a parent or other adult relative. Its last episode aired June 27, 1980, with Family Feud subsequently moving up a half-hour to take over the 12:00 noon (EST) slot formerly occupied by The $20,000 Pyramid.

A weekly syndicated The $25,000 Pyramid aired concurrently with the daytime version from 1974 to 1979 with Bill Cullen as host. On September 20, 1982, a new $25,000 Pyramid premiered on CBS in daytime, replacing reruns of One Day at a Time, with Dick Clark returning as host. From November 8, 1982 to January 25, 1985, the word New was added to the title in order to distinguish it from the earlier Cullen-hosted version, which was still airing in reruns in some markets. The series taped in Los Angeles full-time at CBS Television City's Studio 33 (formerly used for The Price Is Right, now known as the "Bob Barker Studio"). The series remained there for the entire run (except for some episodes that were filmed in studio 41 in September 1983) until its cancellation. The last episode of the series aired on Friday, January 1, 1988. Blackout replaced this version of Pyramid and began airing in the series' 10:00 a.m. timeslot on Monday, January 4, 1988; however, Blackout was canceled after thirteen weeks, and Pyramid returned to the CBS daytime schedule for thirteen additional weeks, beginning on April 4. (Its quick return was aided by the continuing production of the nighttime $100,000 version.) The final episode of The $25,000 Pyramid aired on July 1, 1988, and was replaced by a revival of Family Feud, hosted by Ray Combs, the following Monday.

Later developments

In late 1996, Sony Pictures Television (then-Columbia TriStar Television) produced a pilot for a new version of Pyramid, with Mark L. Walberg as host, which featured a format radically different from the earlier versions, including an increase of the number of celebrities to six, each of which would be assigned to a different main game subject. It did not sell, but Sony tried again the following year, this time with Chuck Woolery at the helm and a format closer to the original, although the six-celebrity motif from the previous pilot remained. This version also failed to sell, but two years later, after the success of its series Rock & Roll Jeopardy! on VH1, Sony attempted to give Pyramid similar treatment with a 1999 pilot called Pyramid Rocks. Hosted by Bil Dwyer, the format likewise attempted to incorporate music into the game, but proved no more successful than the previous two attempts at reviving the series.

The show would remain off the air until 2002, when a syndicated series, simply titled Pyramid, successfully sold its pilot and was ordered for a full season. The series was hosted by Donny Osmond and ran for two seasons from September 16, 2002 to May 21, 2004, with reruns airing until September 10, 2004. The show was taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.

Following CBS's cancellation of the long-running soap opera Guiding Light in April 2009, Pyramid was one of three potential series considered as a replacement for the veteran soap opera. (Let's Make a Deal and The Dating Game as The New Dating Game or The Newlywed Game as The New Newlywed Game were the other two, with a pilot shot for the former series.) During the tapings that took place in June of that year at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York, the top prize was raised to a potential $1,000,000 with a tournament format similar to the $100,000 format. Dean Cain and Tim Vincent were tapped as hosts, with Sony Pictures game show legend Ken Jennings serving as a panelist. Alan Kalter, who announced The $50,000 Pyramid and was now working for CBS through Late Show with David Letterman, returned as the announcer for the pilots.

CBS passed on Pyramid and opted to pick up Let's Make a Deal, hosted by Wayne Brady, as Guiding Light's replacement. Several months later, in December 2009, CBS announced the cancellation of another long-running soap opera, As the World Turns. Pyramid was once again among the series being considered as a potential replacement. CBS ordered a third pilot on April 9, 2010. Andy Richter was identified as a potential host. On May 18, 2011, TBS announced development of a possible new version of Pyramid, again to be hosted by Richter, who by then was associated with TBS through his work on Conan O’Brien’s talk show. It was later announced that the show was not picked up.

Conception

Television producer Bob Stewart developed The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973. The show's format was adapted from an unsold television pilot Stewart had filmed earlier titled Cash on the Line.

Personnel

Bob Clayton was the series' original announcer and performed these duties until his death in 1979. Alan Kalter and Steve O'Brien shared the primary announcer role until The $50,000 Pyramid ended production in 1981. Substitutes included Fred Foy, John Causier, Dick Heatherton, Scott Vincent, and Ed Jordan.

When the series was revived and production moved to California in 1982, Jack Clark became the announcer and held the position until 1985. Johnny Gilbert became the primary announcer for The $25,000 Pyramid while Charlie O'Donnell took the job for The $100,000 Pyramid when it launched that fall. Both Gilbert and O'Donnell substituted for each other on their respective series; other substitutes included Jerry Bishop, Rod Roddy, Bob Hilton, Charlie Tuna, and Dean Goss. In 1991, Gilbert and Goss were both featured announcers and frequent panelist Henry Polic II also announced for several weeks. John Cramer announced the 2002–04 version, and JD Roberto announced The Pyramid (2012). The 2016 ABC primetime version is announced by Brad Abelle.

Mike Gargiulo directed through 1981, with Bruce Burmester replacing him until the end of the 1991 version.

The original theme tune was "Tuning Up" by Ken Aldin. In 1982, it was replaced by an original, similarly styled composition by Bob Cobert, which was also used in 1991. Barry Coffing and John Blaylock composed the theme and incidental music for the 2002–04 version, while Alan Ett composed a cover of Bob Cobert's 1982–91 theme for The Pyramid. Bleeding Fingers Music composed a separate cover of Cobert's theme for the 2016 version.

International versions

The British version was called The Pyramid Game and ran intermittently from 1981 to 1990, with Steve Jones as host. Donny Osmond hosted a short-lived incarnation in 2007, which used a similar set and the same music package as the 2002 American version.

In 2009, Sony created an Australian version of The Junior Partner Pyramid called simply Pyramid. This version was hosted by Shura Taft until 2012, with Graham Matters taking over the following year.

A German version titled Die Pyramide aired on ZDF from 1979 to 1994, and was hosted by Dieter Thomas Heck. A new version aired on ZDFneo in 2012, and was co-hosted by Micky Beisenherz and Joachim Llambi.

Versions in French, both titled Pyramide, were produced at different times in France and in Canada.

Home games

The first board game of The $10,000 Pyramid was released in 1974 by the Milton Bradley Company, with a total of eight editions produced through 1981. Beginning with the fourth edition, like its TV counterpart, the title and top payoff changed to The $20,000 Pyramid, while the final edition was titled The $50,000 Pyramid. However, due to concerns about players easily memorizing possible Winners' Circle subjects, the format of the board game's Winners' Circle endgame was changed to mirror that of the TV version's main game.

Cardinal Games released a new home version of The $25,000 Pyramid in 1986, this time using the actual Winners' Circle rules and format, which was also given to all contestants who appeared on both the daytime and nighttime versions for most of 1987 and select 1988 episodes. This version was reissued in 2000 by Endless Games, which later released a new edition based on the Osmond version in 2003.

The $100,000 Pyramid, a video game adaptation, was released in 1987. Developed and published by Box Office Software, it was originally released for Apple II and then ported to MS-DOS and Commodore 64. Sierra Attractions released a Microsoft Windows version of The $100,000 Pyramid in 2001, which was followed by a DVD game from MGA Entertainment in 2006.

A version titled The $1,000,000 Pyramid was released by Ubisoft for the Wii in 2011.