play game

Child's Play was an American television game show where adult contestants tried to guess words based on definitions given by children. The Mark Goodson production aired on CBS from September 20, 1982, to September 16, 1983. Bill Cullen hosted the show. Although Gene Wood was the primary announcer for the entire run, both Bob Hilton and Johnny Gilbert shared the announcing duties, filling in for Wood on occasion.

Main game

Two contestants competed. The object of the game was to correctly identify words based on videotaped definitions given by elementary school-age children. The game was played in two rounds.

Round 1

In the first round, a word was given to the home audience, and a video clip of a child defining that word was played. (For example: "It's when you run around and wave your arms back and forth." Answer: Arms race.) Any incriminating words (including the word itself) were censored.

Once the clip ended, the contestant had a chance to guess the word; a correct response earned one point. If he/she was incorrect, his/her opponent viewed a clip of another child defining the same word. If the opponent was wrong, control passed back to the first contestant, who saw one final clip (usually of a younger child, and the answer usually not that hard to guess by this point). If he/she was still wrong, Cullen announced the correct answer and no points were awarded.

The first round continued, with the players alternating control on words, until the first commercial break.

Round 2: Fast Play

The second round was known as the "Fast Play" round. Both contestants were given the opportunity to guess what word the child was defining by hitting a buzzer to interrupt the video clip and guess the word. If the contestant was correct, he/she received two points; if incorrect, the rest of the clip was played and the opponent was given a chance to guess. When the school bell rang, the game was over.

Note: In the first three episodes, correct answers in "Fast Play" were still worth a point. When the school bell rang the first time, correct answers were then worth double or two points. Also, upon stealing, the stealer sees the whole clip rather than start from where it left off. This rule was discontinued in favor of the rules above.

The contestant with the highest score when time expired won $500 and played the bonus round.

Bonus round

Two different bonus round formats were played during the year-long run of Child's Play, but they both offer a grand prize of $5,000 in 45 seconds or less. Each one is described below:

Format 1: Triple Play

The contestant had given 45 seconds to guess six words correctly. Each word had three written definitions by three different children ("Child A," "Child B," and "Child C"). Each correct guess was worth $100, while getting all six before time expired gave the contestant $5,000. Anytime a contestant came up with a wrong word or passed on any given definition, it was the contestant's job to pick another letter of the different definition, and kept at it until he/she guessed the word among those three written definitions or until he/she gets it wrong and/or passed it.

Format 2: Turnabout

The second bonus game format was instituted in spring of 1983. Five children were brought into the studio, and the contestant had to describe seven words to the children within 45 seconds. The contestant won $100 for each word that a child guessed correctly, while the children split $100. Seven correct guesses gave the contestant $5,000 while the children split $1,000. Like the original bonus round (Triple Play), only the contestant can pass the word and could come back to it if time permits.

In both formats, Cullen would supply the correct answers for each word that was missed.

Champions returned until they were defeated or had been on the show for 5 days or reached CBS's limit of $25,000 at which point they'd be retired, although they got to keep whatever they won over that amount.

Episode status

All episodes of Child's Play exist, and reruns have aired on GSN. The show returned to weekends on GSN on November 4, 2006.

Miscellaneous

• This was the first game show ever to be billed as "a Mark Goodson television production," three years after the death of Goodson's business partner, Bill Todman.
• Bill Cullen promoted Child's Play during a guest appearance on The Price is Right with Bob Barker in 1982. This was the only time Cullen appeared on the modern version of the show that he hosted from 1956 to 1965.
• Tara Reid and Breckin Meyer were among the children giving clues to contestants.
• This was Bill Cullen's second-to-last network game show, and his final one for CBS.
• The German version Dingsda (engl. dingus) was a success on ARD for twelve years (1986-1998).
• The same buzzer was used when contestants came up with the wrong word was previously used on Tattletales, which was recorded at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California at Studio 31. Another buzzer used when time ran out (in both bonus games, Triple Play and Turnabout) was later used on Press Your Luck (the show that replaced Child's Play), which was also recorded at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California at Studio 41.
• The buzz-in noise was the same one used on Family Feud, and would later be used on Classic Concentration.
• A similar concept was used by the game show Small Talk in the 1990s -- there, children were asked questions and contestants had to predict their responses.
• Another game show that inspired it was Wait 'Til You Have Kids!! in the 1990s --- hence, kids tell them what the situation was on video to both married couples and dating partners and had to match the dillemmas.
• This was the first Goodson-Todman Game Show to return on GSN following the end of the "Dark Period".