''Hollywood Squares'' is a

quiz game A quiz is a form of mind sport in which people attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and skills, or s ...

based on the television game show

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...

. Versions were released for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

, and

Apple II Apple II ("apple Roman numerals, two", stylized as Apple ][) is a series of microcomputers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1977 to 1993. The Apple II (original), original Apple II model, which gave the series its name, was designed ...

. The game is based on the 1986-1989 version hosted by John Davidson (entertainer), John Davidson. The photo of the set is from the 1985 series pilot (the actual show had no gold stars on the studio floor and more elaborate risers for the cars).

Gameplay

Players have to either agree or disagree with fictitious celebrities to earn squares and make

tic-tac-toe Tic-tac-toe (American English), noughts and crosses (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), or Xs and Os (Canadian English, Canadian or Hiberno-English, Irish English) is a paper-and-pencil game for two players who ta ...

.''Hollywood Squares''
game overview at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

Much like the TV series, winning one of the first two games is worth $500, the third game is worth $1,000 and the second game is always the "Secret Square" game. The winner then goes on to the bonus round, where they have to choose one of five keys and insert it into the proper car among the five offered.

Reception

David & Robin Minnick reviewed '' Double Dare'' and ''Hollywood Squares'' for '' Compute!'s Gazette'' and said "Any fan of the TV games will enjoy these 64 versions. And even if you're not a fan, we think you'll get a kick out of these games anyway." Jeff Hurlburt for ''RUN Magazine'' said "Maybe you won't toss out your trusty ''Trivial Pursuit'' cards, but they're sure to get a much needed rest. For information, value and just plan fun, it's three in a row for Hollywood Squares." Leslie Mizell for the ''Game Player's Encyclopedia of Nintendo Games'' said "''Hollywood Squares'' doesn't have the necessary substance to be a videogame that remains enjoyable with repeated playing."

Later releases

In 2010, Ludia released a game based on the 2002-2004 era of the show. The game features the voice of host

Tom Bergeron Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, comedian, and game show host, best known for hosting ''Breakfast Time'' from 1994 to 1997, '' Hollywood Squares'' from 1998 to 2004, '' America's Funniest Home Vid ...

and video clips of celebrities

Brad Garrett Brad H. Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Garrett was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the la ...

Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television series, comedy specials and has released multiple comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her rea ...

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

, and

Martin Mull Martin Eugene Mull (, August 18, 1943 – June 27, 2024) was an American actor, musician, and painter. He became known on '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,'' its spin-off '' Fernwood 2 Night,'' and '' America 2 Night.'' Other notable roles included ...

as the center square. The game was first released for the PC and

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

, followed by releases for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

devices. In 2011, a port was released onto

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

. All versions have multiplayer options, except for the PC version. Much like the 2003-2004 season, each of the three games are worth $1,000.the second game is always the "secret square" round for a bonus $1,000. The winner from the best two out of three games goes to the bonus round where Tom will ask each celebrity a question while the player has to correctly either agree or disagree with their answer in order to remove one of the wrong keys from the pool of nine (the actual bonus round had a contestant choose a celebrity by correctly either agreeing or disagreeing statements about that particular celebrity). Then the player has to pick a key that would open the chest in order to win $20,000 plus a new wardrobe item for their avatar.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollywood Squares (video game) 1988 video games Apple II games Commodore 64 games DOS games GameTek games Hollywood Squares Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Entertainment System games North America-exclusive video games Quiz video games Rare (company) games Video games based on game shows Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games developed in the United States