Trivial Pursuit: America Plays
Encyclopedia
Trivial Pursuit: America Plays was a syndicated game show
loosely based on the board game of the same name
. It premiered on September 22, 2008 and aired first-run episodes through May 22, 2009 (with repeats continuing until September 18). The host was Christopher Knight (the pilot was hosted by Mark L. Walberg
), and the show is produced by Wheeler/Sussman Productions in association with Hasbro
. The series was syndicated by Debmar-Mercury
.
Trivial Pursuit: America Plays replaced Temptation
on a majority of stations that carried it, and inherited its predecessor's abysmal ratings. In January 2009, it was announced that America Plays would not be renewed for a second season.
A computer (called the "Randomizer") randomly picked a category and value ($250 to $500 in increments of $50 depending on the difficulty) for each question. Each correct answer by the studio contestants put the value into the studio bank, and earned that player a wedge for their scoring token, if they didn't have one of that selected color. An incorrect answer put the value in America's bank, and no money was put in the studio bank for that question, even if it was answered correctly by another player. The money was added each time a contestant attempted to answer the question and failed to answer correctly, so America's bank could have been credited with double or even triple the value of the question if more than one player gave an incorrect answer. If nobody buzzed in, or if nobody attempted the question after somebody answered that question incorrectly, the money was added to America's bank un-multiplied.
The first question of the round was an "All Play" question, in which anyone was eligible to answer. The player who answered this toss-up question correctly had first chance at the following question, and kept control until they either missed a question or earned their third wedge. If they missed or took too long to answer the question, the other two were able to buzz in and steal control and the wedge with a correct answer. However, as in the board game, if a contestant answered a question in a category they already had a wedge for, no wedges were awarded, but the contestant earned control of the next question.
Once a player earned three wedges, they moved to the "Hot Pursuit" round, and the next question was an "All Play" for the other two players, who competed to join the first player. The first two players to fill three of the wedges in their token moved on to the next round; the other was eliminated.
For the second or third question (which was almost always the green category) of the first round, the captain of America's team was introduced, via live webcam, to ask it. They were shown multiple times through the show.
The categories were shown at the outset, and the order in which they are asked was shuffled. The host put the categories into motion, and when the America's Team captain saw an order that sounded suitable, he or she yelled "Stop!," which sets the categories' order and value. As before, questions answered correctly went to the player's bank, while questions answered incorrectly went to America's Bank. The team with the larger bank at the end won their bank. If America won, its bank was divided evenly among all the people who had their questions asked that day. In that situation, a list of the winning members of America's team was shown, similar to a credit roll, and the studio contestant won a Trivial Pursuit board game.
At any point, if it became mathematically impossible for one bank to overtake the other, the final round stopped. If the studio bank won in this situation, the studio player had the chance to play the next unused question as a double-or-nothing wager, or decline to do so. If America's bank is higher, the remaining questions were discarded. If there was a tie at the end of the game, a sudden-death question was asked. The bank who answered the question correctly won the game.
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
loosely based on the board game of the same name
Trivial Pursuit
Trivial Pursuit is a board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and popular culture questions. The game was created in 1979 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Canadian Chris Haney, a photo editor for Montreal's The Gazette and Scott Abbott, a sports...
. It premiered on September 22, 2008 and aired first-run episodes through May 22, 2009 (with repeats continuing until September 18). The host was Christopher Knight (the pilot was hosted by Mark L. Walberg
Mark L. Walberg
Mark Lewis Walberg is an American actor, television personality and game show host. His television credits include Antiques Roadshow , as well as the game shows Russian Roulette on GSN and The Moment of Truth on Fox....
), and the show is produced by Wheeler/Sussman Productions in association with Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. The series was syndicated by Debmar-Mercury
Debmar-Mercury
Debmar-Mercury is a television syndication company that is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment, which acquired the company in July 2006...
.
Trivial Pursuit: America Plays replaced Temptation
Temptation (2007 US game show)
Temptation: The New Sale of the Century was a television game show loosely based on both the original Australian and American Sale of the Century versions, plus the 2005 Australian version, also titled Temptation. The show began airing in syndication on September 10, 2007, with the last first-run...
on a majority of stations that carried it, and inherited its predecessor's abysmal ratings. In January 2009, it was announced that America Plays would not be renewed for a second season.
Rules
The show pitted three in-studio players against "America's Team", which consisted of people who submitted their questions via video.Round 1
Six categories which roughly corresponded to the actual categories (green was most often a miscellaneous category titled "Whatever"):| Places | Geography | The World | Travel |
| TV | Movies | Entertainment | Hollywood |
| People | The Past | History | |
| Celebs | Music | ||
| Whatever | |||
| Best Sellers | Sports(/Games) | Fashion | Food |
A computer (called the "Randomizer") randomly picked a category and value ($250 to $500 in increments of $50 depending on the difficulty) for each question. Each correct answer by the studio contestants put the value into the studio bank, and earned that player a wedge for their scoring token, if they didn't have one of that selected color. An incorrect answer put the value in America's bank, and no money was put in the studio bank for that question, even if it was answered correctly by another player. The money was added each time a contestant attempted to answer the question and failed to answer correctly, so America's bank could have been credited with double or even triple the value of the question if more than one player gave an incorrect answer. If nobody buzzed in, or if nobody attempted the question after somebody answered that question incorrectly, the money was added to America's bank un-multiplied.
The first question of the round was an "All Play" question, in which anyone was eligible to answer. The player who answered this toss-up question correctly had first chance at the following question, and kept control until they either missed a question or earned their third wedge. If they missed or took too long to answer the question, the other two were able to buzz in and steal control and the wedge with a correct answer. However, as in the board game, if a contestant answered a question in a category they already had a wedge for, no wedges were awarded, but the contestant earned control of the next question.
Once a player earned three wedges, they moved to the "Hot Pursuit" round, and the next question was an "All Play" for the other two players, who competed to join the first player. The first two players to fill three of the wedges in their token moved on to the next round; the other was eliminated.
For the second or third question (which was almost always the green category) of the first round, the captain of America's team was introduced, via live webcam, to ask it. They were shown multiple times through the show.
Round 2
Round 2 was called Hot Pursuit. All questions were toss-up questions worth $500 ($1,000 in some earlier-taped episodes). There were no specific categories; each correct answer simply filled in one wedge, regardless of color. The first player to fill all six wedges of their token won the game. The three wedges from the first round carried over, so three correct answers won the game.Head-to-Head Round
The winning player faced "America's Team" one-on-one, with six new categories, each with increasing values:- Question 1: $500
- Question 2: $1,000
- Question 3: $2,000
- Question 4: $3,000
- Question 5: $4,000
- Question 6: $5,000
The categories were shown at the outset, and the order in which they are asked was shuffled. The host put the categories into motion, and when the America's Team captain saw an order that sounded suitable, he or she yelled "Stop!," which sets the categories' order and value. As before, questions answered correctly went to the player's bank, while questions answered incorrectly went to America's Bank. The team with the larger bank at the end won their bank. If America won, its bank was divided evenly among all the people who had their questions asked that day. In that situation, a list of the winning members of America's team was shown, similar to a credit roll, and the studio contestant won a Trivial Pursuit board game.
At any point, if it became mathematically impossible for one bank to overtake the other, the final round stopped. If the studio bank won in this situation, the studio player had the chance to play the next unused question as a double-or-nothing wager, or decline to do so. If America's bank is higher, the remaining questions were discarded. If there was a tie at the end of the game, a sudden-death question was asked. The bank who answered the question correctly won the game.
Specials
- Brady Week: During the week of November 10, 2008, the cast from The Brady Bunch (Barry WilliamsBarry WilliamsBarry William Blenkhorn , known professionally as Barry Williams, is an American actor best known for his role as Greg Brady in the ABC television series The Brady Bunch.-Early life and career:...
, Mike LookinlandMike LookinlandMichael Paul "Mike" Lookinland is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the youngest brother Bobby Brady on The Brady Bunch from 1969 until 1974.-Early life:...
, Eve PlumbEve PlumbEve Aline Plumb is an American actress and painter. She is best known for her portrayal of Jan Brady in the iconic television sitcom The Brady Bunch.-Early career:...
, and Susan OlsenSusan OlsenSusan Marie Olsen is a former American child television actress and current animal welfare advocate. Olsen is best known for her role as Mike and Carol Brady's youngest daughter, Cindy Brady, on the 1970s television sitcom The Brady Bunch for the full run of the show, from 1969-1974.-Early...
(Maureen McCormickMaureen McCormickMaureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, celebrity and recording artist. She is most widely known as a child actress who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.- Early life and career :...
was not available for unexplained reasons) appeared on the show with a different Brady captain each day. During that week, the category for the green wedge on the board was changed to "The Bradys". At the end of the week, Lookinland, Plumb, and Olsen competed for charity, with Williams as America's team captain.
- Judges Week: During the week of November 17, 2008, television judges and bailiffs appeared on the show with a different judge as America's team captain every day. The competitors were Judge Alex FerrerAlex FerrerAlex Ferrer is an American judge who hosts the television series Judge Alex.-Childhood & early adulthood:Ferrer was born in Havana, Cuba but emigrated to the United States with his family when a year old. At age 15, Alex landed a part-time job as a gas-station attendant; by his senior year of high...
from Judge AlexJudge AlexJudge Alex is a United States syndicated courtroom television show that debuted September 12, 2005. The host/arbitrator is the Hon. Alex Ferrer, a former police officer, lawyer, and Florida judge. The show was produced in Houston at the television studios of Fox's KRIV , as was previously done with...
, Judge Joe BrownJoe Brown (judge)Joseph "Joe" Brown is a judge and host of a court show which shares his name.-Early life:Raised in South Central Los Angeles, Brown graduated at the top of his class at Dorsey High School, then earned a bachelor's degree in political science and in 1973 a Juris Doctor degree at UCLA...
, Judge Lynn TolerLynn TolerLynn C. Toler is the judge on the television series Divorce Court. Toler is a native of Columbus, Ohio...
from Divorce CourtDivorce CourtDivorce Court is a judge show about cases which only involve divorcing couples. Out of the shows currently airing in the court-themed genre, Divorce Court is the oldest...
, and Judge Cristina PérezCristina Pérez (judge)Cristina Pérez is an American TV judge who had a television show on the Telemundo/NBC network. She was born in New York City, received two BAs at UCLA and her JD at Whittier Law School...
from Cristina's Court. During that week, the category for the green wedge was changed to the name of the judge who was America's team captain that day. The Tuesday show that week featured Petri Hawkins-ByrdPetri Hawkins-ByrdPetri Hawkins-Byrd is an American television personality known for his role as the bailiff on the television show Judge Judy...
, the bailiff on Judge JudyJudge JudyJudge Judy is an American court show featuring former family court judge Judith Sheindlin arbitrating over small claims cases in small claims court...
, as a studio contestant. At the end of the week, Ferrer, Toler, and Perez competed for charity, with Brown as America's team captain.
- On the March 10, 2009 episode, Knight's wife Adrianne Curry appeared on the show as America's team captain. The "Whatever" category included questions about Knight and Curry.