''Matches 'n Mates'' is an American

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

hosted by

Art James Art James (born Arthur Simeonovich Efimchick; October 15, 1929 – March 28, 2004) was an American game-show host, best known for shows such as '' The Who, What, or Where Game''; '' It's Academic''; and '' Pay Cards!'' He was also the announce ...

that aired in

first-run syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

from 1967 to 1968. Developed by

Taft Broadcasting Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President ...

and produced by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir, this was the first of four programs Nicholson and Muir agreed to make with the broadcaster. Unlike most syndicated game shows of the era which were normally filmed in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, ''Matches 'n Mates'' was taped at

WJW-TV WJW (channel 8) is a television station in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, affiliated with the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside independent station, independent WBNX-TV (channel 55). The two s ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, and at

WAGA-TV WAGA-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, serving as the market's Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network outlet. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains st ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia, throughout 1967. The show was developed in late 1966 in a weekly format at

WDAF-TV WDAF-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Summit Street in the Signal Hill se ...

, Taft's station in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

20th Century-Fox Television 20th Television, Inc. (formerly known as TCF Television Productions, Inc., 20th Century-Fox Television and 20th Century Fox Television) is the television studio arm of 20th Century Studios, owned by Disney Television Studios, a division of the Di ...

served as distributor. Personnel from WJW and WAGA assisted in the show's production. WJW announcer Bob McLean (later the host of a variety show for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

) announced the Cleveland tapings, while WAGA announcer Dave Michaels announced the Atlanta tapings.

Gameplay

''Matches 'n Mates'' was a word game in which two husband and wife teams attempted to match questions to answers in order to reveal letters of a mystery word called the "Hidden Item". One member of each couple, in turn, calls out a letter between "A" and "I" and an incomplete statement was read ("To paint a fence you would use..."). The other member called out one of twelve numbers, each representing a different answer. If the statement and answer matched, a letter or space was revealed on the nine-space Hidden Item Board. The first team to identify a Hidden Item won the round, and the first team to win three rounds won the game and a bonus prize.

Episode status

Approximately 130 episodes were taped and distributed by 20th Century-Fox Television.

References

External links

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''Matches 'n Mates'' photograph with host Art James
1960s American game shows 1967 American television series debuts 1968 American television series endings Television in Cleveland Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Television series by Nicholson-Muir Productions {{US-game-show-stub