The Big Game (game show)
Encyclopedia
The Big Game is a game show created by Jackson Stanley Productions. It ran on NBC
in prime time
from June 13 to September 19, 1958. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy.
, but with an Africa
n safari
theme.
Two contestants, or "hunters", competed. Each hunter was given a 5-by-5-square "jungle grid" in which to hide three magnetic "animals": a 2-square-long rhino
, a 3-square-long lion
and a 4-square-long crocodile
. Each contestant's jungle grid is hidden from view of their opponent.
The host asks various general knowledge questions (most dealing with song titles or spelling), each worth between 3 and 6 "shots" to be taken on the opponent's jungle grid. Hitting all the squares an animal occupied (regardless of size) "knocked out" the animal, earning money for the player. The first "knock out" was worth $100; the second earned an additional $400 (for $500 total); and the third earned a further $1500 (for $2000 total) and the win.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
from June 13 to September 19, 1958. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy.
Gameplay
The game is based on the classic game of BattleshipsBattleship (game)
The game Battleship is a guessing game played by two people. It is known throughout the world as a pencil and paper game which predates World War I. It was published by Milton Bradley Company in 1931 as the pad-and-pencil game "Broadsides, the Game of Naval Strategy".-Description:The game is...
, but with an Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
theme.
Two contestants, or "hunters", competed. Each hunter was given a 5-by-5-square "jungle grid" in which to hide three magnetic "animals": a 2-square-long rhino
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
, a 3-square-long lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
and a 4-square-long crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
. Each contestant's jungle grid is hidden from view of their opponent.
The host asks various general knowledge questions (most dealing with song titles or spelling), each worth between 3 and 6 "shots" to be taken on the opponent's jungle grid. Hitting all the squares an animal occupied (regardless of size) "knocked out" the animal, earning money for the player. The first "knock out" was worth $100; the second earned an additional $400 (for $500 total); and the third earned a further $1500 (for $2000 total) and the win.