Skip to main content

The 25 Greatest Game Shows of All Time

Image
By

The 25 Greatest Game Shows of All Time

And the 25 greatest American game shows of all time are...

25. Crosswords

The last created by Merv Griffin before his death, Crosswords only lasted one season but its intricate gameplay, based on crosswords puzzles, made it fun to watch.

24. The Chase

Based on a British format, The Chase features three contestants attempting to outrun a genius by answering trivia questions. 

23. The Dating Game

The classic show has had six incarnations since its debut in 1965.

22. The Movie Masters

Image result for the movie masters game showAlthough it lasted only one season on AMC (back when those letters stood for American Movie Classics), The Movie Masters had a panel consisting of Clive Barnes, Peggy Cass, and Kitty Carlisle answering questions about movies. It was the last game show that Gene Rayburn hosted. Can someone please do a revival of this already?

21. 1 vs. 100

1 vs. 100 pitt one contestant against 100 others, with the one earning money for each other contestant that gets a question wrong. Fun stuff.

20. Beat the Clock

Another show that's been brought back multiple times throughout the decades. The first version premiered in 1950.

19. Card Sharks

Probably the best game show about cards, the best version of Card Sharks was the one that Bob Eubanks hosted from 1986 to 1989.

18. Let's Make a Deal

The Monty Hall classic is famous for its audience members who dress up in crazy costumes in hopes of getting chosen to be a contestant.

17. Wheel of Fortune

The current version of Wheel of Fortune, which premiered in 1983 and is hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, is consistently the highest rated game show on television.



Image result for wheel of fortune16. Win Ben Stein's Money

This Comedy central game show was a lot of fun and even took home the Emmy in 1999.

15. I've Got a Secret

The panel game classic featured celebrities attempting to determine a person's often embarrassing and/or humorous secret.

14. Cash Cab

This game show took place in a New York City cab instead of on a set. Neat idea that proved to be a huge ratings hit and won a slew of Emmys.

13. The Newlywed Game

Classic game show designed to see how well newly married people know (or don't know) their spouses.

12. Deal or No Deal

The Howie Mandel hosted series proved to be a big success when it premiered in 2005, lasting four seasons on NBC and two more in syndication.

11. Press Your Luck

Peter Tamarken may have been the host of the original series, but the star of Press Your Luck has always been Whammy, the red little creature that liked to take away the contestants' winnings.

10. Family Feud

Two families answering survey questions. Survey says... it's a good one.

9. What's My Line?

The classic show had a panel trying to determine a person's job and lasted 25 years.

8. Hollywood Squares

It's tic-tac-toe with celebrities. Funny.

7. To Tell the Truth

Panel of four celebrities trying to which out which contestant is telling the truth. To Tell the Truth's interesting concept has lasted six different incarnations since its debut in 1965.

6. Who Want to be a Millionaire

Credited with bringing about a game show resurgence after the 1999 premiere created a sensation, just about every quiz show that has premiered in prime time since then has been a rip off of Millionaire. 

5. Password

With its many different versions (the original, Password Plus, Super Password, Million Dollar Password) what has made Password so successful is its focus on the clues and the puzzles.

4. Pyramid

Contestants  and celebrities attempt to guess words or phrases based on descriptions given by their teammate in hopes of getting to the Winners Circle and competing for the prize money, often indicated in that version's full title ($25,000, $100,000, etc.) 

3. The Price is Right

Come on down! The game show classic is apart of television history and is still going strong. 

Image result for match game2. Match Game

The game itself is not that complex. Contestants give fill-in-the-blank answers an attempt to match the answers given by six celebrities panelists. What makes Match Game so great was the chemistry between host Gene Rayburn and longtime panelists like Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly. 

1. Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! is the best game show of all time because of its focus on the game and for not insulting the audience's intelligence. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave a comment!

Popular posts from this blog

Spring 2026 Broadway Review Roundup: Every Brilliant Thing, Giant, Dog Day Afternoon, and More

By
ChannelTim must keep up with the times, so I’ve joined TikTok! I am reviewing the New York spring theatre season over there, so go throw a follow my way . For those of you not on that app, I’ll be doing a couple of review roundups here. Below are the scripts for my videos.  Every Brilliant Thing Daniel Radcliffe returns to Broadway in Every Brilliant Thing,  on the very stage where he last appeared, in the Tony-winning revival of Merrily We Roll Along . Whereas Merrily showcased his chemistry with his co-stars, this time around, Radcliffe’s the only credited actor on the stage, although he’s not entirely alone, as Every Brilliant Thing incorporates a good deal of audience participation. Now, I know a lot of you out there are weary of shows with audience participation, I know I am, but here I thought it was not awkward at all, and that wasn’t an easy task considering there are multiple scenes that require these audience members to play character and hit emotional beats. Espe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spring 2026 Broadway Review Roundup #2: Death of a Salesman, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, Becky Shaw, and More

By
ChannelTim must keep up with the times, so I’ve joined TikTok! I am reviewing the New York spring theatre season over there, so go throw a follow  my way . For those of you not on that app, I’ll be doing a couple of review roundups here. Below are the scripts for my videos.  Monte Christo It’s no easy task to take a work of 19th literature and adapt it into a musical. For every Les Mis , there are half a dozen Jane Eyre s and Dracula s. But that track record has not daunted the writers of Monte Christo: A New Musical , who approach the source material, The Count of Monte Christo by Alexandra Dumas, with a bewildering combination of pep and disinterest. For a show that was only two hours long including an intermission, there was always going to be a lot of truncation of the plot, and that’s fine, but Monte Christo is also lopsided structurally. Most of act one is is taken up by the set up of Edmund Dantes getting set up, and he doesn’t take on the identity of the Count until ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Disney Review: "Pinocchio" (1940)

By
"Pinocchio" (1940) Based on the children's novel "The Adventures of Pinocchio", "Pinocchio" was supposed to be Disney's big follow-up to their big hit "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves". Released in February 1940, and despite positive reviews from critics, the film was a major disappointment at the box office. Maybe this was because the film couldn't open in certain markets because of World War II, or maybe the box office returns just seemed disappointing because the unprecedented success of "Snow White..". Either way, most people wouldn't expect a film that's so well remembered today to have bombed during its initial release. But, thankfully, how "Pinocchio" preformed in 1940 has nothing to do with the quality of the film. The film was everything people expected, and more.
Post a Comment
Read more