''The Guinness Game'' is an American

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

that aired in weekly

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

from September 17, 1979, to September 1980 for a total of 24 episodes.

Bob Hilton Robert Wesley Hilton (born July 23, 1943) is an American television game show personality. He hosted ''The Guinness Game'', a revival of '' Truth or Consequences'', and the 1990 revival of ''Let's Make a Deal'' for one season and replaced by Monty ...

was the host, later replaced by

Don Galloway Donald Poe Galloway (July 27, 1937 – January 8, 2009) was an American stage, film and television actor, best known for his role as Detective Sergeant Ed Brown in the long-running crime drama series '' Ironside'' (1967–1975). He reprised the ...

. The announcer was Charlie O'Donnell who was then later replaced by Tony McClay. One of the show's producers was

Bob Eubanks Robert Leland Eubanks (born January 8, 1938) is an American disc jockey, television personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show ''The Newlywed Game'' on and off since 1966. He also hosted the successful revamp version o ...

Gameplay

Three contestants were asked to predict if a live, record-breaking stunt could be performed or broken by guessing if they would succeed or fail. Each player began with $1,000 and could bet up to 90% of what they had. The player with the most money after three rounds kept it and played for a bonus prize by predicting whether the final stunt would succeed or fail. A player who placed a maximum bet on each stunt, and was correct all three times, would win $6,859. All stunts that were completed successfully were entered into the next installment of

The Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

, hence the name of the show. Two of the program's musical cues were recycled from other shows: one was the theme to ''

The Money Maze ''The Money Maze'' is an American television game show seen on ABC from December 23, 1974, to June 27, 1975. The show was hosted by Nick Clooney and was announced by Alan Kalter. It was produced by Daphne-Don Lipp Productions, of which Dick Cav ...

'' and the other was ''Bean Bag'', which is also the theme to the UK game show ''

It's a Knockout ''It's a Knockout!'' is a British game show first broadcast in 1966. It was adapted from the French show '' Intervilles'', and was part of the international '' Jeux sans frontières'' franchise. History The series was broadcast on BBC1 from 7 ...

''. The show featured long time WABI-TV (Bangor, Maine) sportscaster Tim Throckmorton. He attempted to break the world coin snatching record.

Closings

''The Guinness Game'' is notable for the host's unprecedented sign-off: Hilton and Galloway both normally ended each episode by saying "We hope you join us when ''The Guinness Game'' returns in exactly 167 hours, 31 minutes and 15 seconds...and you can bet on that!" (the figures used varied with each airing); the length given translates to seven days minus 30 minutes, a unique way of saying "See you next week".

External links

YouTube clip of the game show
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States 1970s American game shows 1979 American television series debuts 1980 American television series endings 1980s American game shows Television series by 20th Century Fox Television {{US-game-show-stub