Concentration (game show)

In addition to the prize cards, there were the following action cards:[1]

• The Wild Card provided an automatic match. In the original game this left the natural match "orphaned," only able to be matched by the other Wild Card, of which there were only two on the board. If the contestant matched the same prize to both Wild Cards, a check mark was placed next to the prize on the contestant's board, and that contestant would win two of that prize if they solved the puzzle. Contestants uncovering both Wild Cards simultaneously also won a bonus that was theirs to keep regardless of the game's outcome. Originally, this was $500 but late in the run was changed to a new car.
• Take One Gift: Appeared on two cards in each game. If a contestant matched them, he/she could take his/her choice of any of the prizes listed on their opponent's prize board. Of course, the game had to be won to receive all prizes listed on his/her prize board.
• Forfeit One Gift: Appeared on six cards in each game. Any contestants who matched two of them had to forfeit one prize to their opponent.
• Bonus Number: Appeared on four cards in many games. If a contestant matched two of these cards and chose two numbers on a later turn that did not match, they were allowed to choose a third number. This was used only in the 1973–1978 syndicated edition hosted by Jack Narz.

If a contestant solved the puzzle, he/she won all of his/her accumulated prizes. If there were no legitimate prizes in the rack, he/she was awarded $100. The loser forfeited all his/her gifts accumulated in that game, but still received token parting gifts as well as a copy of the show's home game. There was no bonus round in the original version of the show.[1]

Occasionally, a game ended with only two prize cards left on the board, which because of the wild cards often did not match. In such instances, the unmatched cards were turned over to reveal the entire puzzle, and the contestant who made the last match was allowed one guess to try to solve it first. If he/she guessed incorrectly, his/her opponent was allowed to make one guess. If both guessed incorrectly, the game ended in a draw. A new game was played and each contestant was allowed to carry over a maximum of three prizes.

Occasionally, a game could not be completed due to time constraints. A sequential two-tone sound resembling a doorbell would be heard signaling time was up for that episode, and play was suspended. Play would resume at the start of the following episode with the board reset to the point where time was called. A new rebus puzzle was substituted and the prizes remained the same, but were behind different numbers.

Champions continued until they either were defeated or had won 20 games.

Seen daily for nearly 15 years, and consistently one of the most popular series on NBC, the original series included many special features. Among the series' popular special features:

• The Envelope and its Mysterious Contents — The winning contestant opened a sealed envelope and read its message aloud (as if he/she were the show announcer). Generally, it mentioned an inexpensive prize and further reading proved it to be an expensive prize, such as large amount of cash or a new car.
• The Cash Wheel — A contestant spun a carnival wheel containing various dollar amounts with a top prize of $2,000.
• Christmas shows featured children from United Nations countries. Secret Santas included Joe Garagiola, Victor Borge, and other celebrities. Proceeds went to C.A.R.E., which built two schools in Africa from funds raised by the series (Blumenthal and Downs received awards from the organization for the proceeds).
• International Salutes – All prizes in these games were from the specific country saluted. For example, a salute to Mexico had contestants wearing sombreros, Downs dressed as a matador, and model Paola Diva playing a colorfully costumed señorita driving a mule-driven cart.
• An annual Boy Scout Show, saluting famous Americans who were scouts. Den Mothers and Scouts played the game and won prizes for themselves and their troops. Girl Scout shows also became an annual event.
• The Challenge of Champions – Beginning in 1963, Concentration inaugurated a tournament of champions, which pitted the top four contestants of the previous 12 months in a best-of-seven tournament (styled in a tournament similar to the World Series). The grand prize was $1,000, a trip around the world and a special trophy dubbed "The Connie", modeled after Auguste Rodin's The Thinker. One of the participants in the very first tournament was Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, who won 17 games on the show.

Throughout the competition, participants, including Downs, Clayton, and Blumenthal, wore blue blazers with the show's logo embroidered in gold on the breast pocket, a surrealistic amalgamation of all thirteen letters in the word "Concentration"; this was known as the "Mystery Logo". The logo and the blazers continued to be a part of the host's wardrobe until the network version of the show ended in 1973. The logo was not used in the syndicated version of the show (1973–78).

During another contest (c. 1970), home viewers could win a prize based on the initial of their last names corresponding to a number on the board. To enter the contest, one merely had to send a postcard to the address given. These postcards were placed in a rotary drum and Clayton would draw a card and read the name. If the prize card was for a gag prize or "Forfeit 1 Gift", the home viewer received $100. If it was "Take 1 Gift", a $250 prize was awarded. If it happened to be a Wild Card, the home viewer won $500. The contest was held at least once a week, and frequently with several drawings per show.

Through nearly all of the original series' run, the program was produced by Norm Blumenthal. He not only created every one of the 7,300 puzzles used on the show (with no repeated puzzles), but also every puzzle utilized in all 24 editions of the Milton Bradley home game.

The prize values on the original series were deliberately much smaller than those of Barry and Enright's other games, especially the big-money games (not just their own) implicated as part of the 1950s quiz show scandals. The winnings were kept at a low amount on purpose to avoid any suggestion that Concentration was also tainted. When the network took over production shortly after the series began in 1958, NBC maintained this policy, although this may have been for reasons unrelated to the scandals.

Usually, there was at least one prize worth more than $1,000. However, nearly all the other prizes were worth less than $500, with many in the $10–$100 range. A board of prizes rarely totaled more than $2,000–$3,000 and champions rarely took home more than that in merchandise during their stay (though some longer-reigning champions approached $10,000).

Additionally, there were countless gift certificates, travel trailers, airplanes, swimming pools, furniture, kitchen appliances (large and small), rooms of furniture, clothing, stereos and televisions, fantastic nights out on the town and virtually any other item seen in any mail-order catalog. One history of the original NBC version reported the total prize giveaway at $10,000,000.

For most of its run, Concentration faced sitcom reruns on CBS and local programming on ABC affiliates, easily dominating them in the ratings. However, in September 1972, CBS launched The New Price Is Right at 10:30/9:30 and drained off more than half of the Concentration audience. Rather than move the game, NBC concluded that it had reached the end of its life and cancelled it in March 1973.

While the first puzzle on the debut was "It Happened One Night", the last puzzle on the finale was "You've Been More Than Kind". After Clayton said a final goodbye, the credits rolled over a rendition of "Auld Lang Syne".

Baffle, a Merrill Heatter-Bob Quigley production hosted by Dick Enberg, replaced it at that time slot and ran until March 29, 1974.

Two new contestants competed each day, with no returning champions; and games did not straddle episodes as on the network version (as some affiliates only broadcast the program one evening a week). For the first two years, the basic game was identical to the NBC version with the addition of four "head starts" that revealed half the locations of four prizes on the board. In addition, the gag prizes disappeared and only one pair of "Forfeit 1 Gift" cards remained; three pairs of "Take 1 Gift" cards were hidden on the board.

Concentration's new board had become very colorful. The 30 numbers (now larger) were in red with yellow backgrounds and red frames and the mechanical trilons turned a little faster than in the NBC version. Many prize, Forfeit, Take, and Wild Card spaces had actually come from New York with the original board and were reverse-printed (white lettering on a black background). The rebus was in full color on a sky blue background.

The cash prize if a contestant solved the puzzle with no prizes on his/her side of the board was increased from $100 to $250. The bonus for calling two Wild Cards on the same turn reverted to $500 as opposed to a new car as last offered by NBC; the bonus was once again theirs to keep regardless of the game's outcome. In addition, unlike in the original NBC version, the contestant no longer received the opportunity to match the wild card spaces and reveal four parts of the puzzle. While the same types of merchandise prizes were available, the syndicated series also featured prizes that would normally be consolation prizes on other shows (such as supplies of Rice-A-Roni or Bon Ami cleanser).

The first player to solve the rebus played the Double Play bonus round. If there were no more matching pairs left on the board, or if time was running short, the remaining boxes were turned over and the complete rebus revealed. The first player to buzz in with the correct solution won the game. If neither player solved the rebus, the Double Play round was not played for that particular game.

Later, four "Bonus Number" cards (eliminating one prize pair and one of the "Take 1 Gift" pairs) appeared during each game. If a contestant matched two Bonus Number cards or combined one with a wild card, then the next time they selected two numbers which failed to match, they were permitted to select a third number. If a match was made, the unmatched number would be turned back over unless it was a Wild Card.

If time permitted, a third game was played. This time, the object was to match amounts of foreign currency and no head starts were given. All of the special squares (Take 1 Gift, Bonus Number, Wild Card, etc.) remained on the board for this game. The first player to solve the rebus won $100 plus the amount of their currency matches in American dollars, and if time ran out during the game the same rules as noted above applied.[9]

Beginning in the fall of 1975 and continuing through the spring of 1976, a series of changes were implemented to speed up game play. The "Forfeit 1 Gift" cards were removed from play and two more Wild Cards were added to the board, with the prize for matching them reduced to $250. The first game of each episode became a "Three-Call" game, in which a contestant who failed to make a match with his/her first two picks was allowed to call a third number. If this third pick was a Wild Card, the contestant could match it to either of the two already-revealed prizes. The Three-Call rule was later implemented in the second game as well. In addition, two "Free Look" spaces were added to the board during the first game; if one was uncovered, the contestant saw the piece of the puzzle behind it and got a free guess without having to match cards. All of the remaining original trilon cards were scrapped and replaced with new graphics. The rebuses were also made shorter and easier.

The Double Play round was the first bonus round played on a Concentration series. The round was usually played twice per episode.

The winner of each game was tasked with solving two rebuses within ten seconds. After the audience and the viewers were shown the solution to the first rebus, the puzzle was shown to the contestant. If he/she solved it, the contestant won $100 and the clock stopped while the second rebus was set in place. The process then repeated itself, with the contestant needing to solve the second rebus before the clock hit zero. Doing so won a prize, which for the first four seasons was a new car. For the final season, a nine square board was used to determine the contestant's potential prize(s). The car, along with three other prize packages, were available to choose from and the first prize the contestant matched was the reward for winning the round. The ninth space on the board concealed a wild card, which automatically matched any revealed prize(s) chosen before it; this allowed the contestant to play for more than one prize if there was more than one displayed on the board when the wild card came up.[10]

If there was time left in the show for another round but not enough time to play the third game with the money amounts described above, a third Double Play round was played. Two rebuses were played, with each contestant playing one, and solving a rebus within ten seconds won the player that did so an extra $50.[10]

The music for a Double Play win was later used on The Price Is Right during prize descriptions of a car. Many other cues from The Price Is Right were used on Concentration as well, including music used for the head starts and Double Play prize descriptions.

Despite these changes, the show's ratings fell and many stations (including former flagship WNBC in New York) moved the show to either pre-dawn hours or other non-prime time access slots and dropped it in spring 1976. Some independent stations then picked up the show for its final two years.

On September 8, 1978, the second version of Concentration aired its final episode and left the airwaves, with the exception of several markets who opted to air reruns for an entire season until fall 1979.

On March 6, 2020, Buzzr announced that reruns of the Narz version, starting with 1976 episodes, would air on their network starting on March 30.

This version featured a computer-generated game board with contestants viewing it on an off-screen rear-projection screen. The number of squares on the board was reduced from a 6×5 30-square layout to a 25-square layout in a 5×5 pattern.

Each game used up to three Wild Cards. Choosing two Wilds in one turn credits the contestant a $500 bonus, and if the third was chosen in the same turn, an additional $500 was credited. During a Twins Week on November 13, 1989,[13] a second cash bonus was added to the board with the introduction of the "Cash Pot", a progressive jackpot that started at $500 and increased by $100 each game it was not won. As with any other prize on the puzzle board, cash bonuses could only be won if the contestant solved the rebus. When a Wild card match was made, the natural match was also shown, resulting in three puzzle parts being revealed (or more if multiple Wild cards were found in one turn). The contestant who correctly solved the puzzle won the game and kept whatever prizes he/she matched to that point.

In the earliest episodes there were no "Take 1 Gift" cards on the board. On November 4, 1987,[14] two green "TAKE!" squares were added; upon matching these, a contestant received a card that could be used to steal one prize from the opponent's column. On February 2, 1988,[15] two red "TAKE!" squares were put into play. In order to claim a "TAKE!" card, a contestant now had to match two squares of the same color. Unlike in previous versions of Concentration, a contestant did not have to use a card immediately after claiming it, but could wait and steal a desired prize after making a match at any later time during the round. However, unused cards did not carry over from round to round. The "Forfeit 1 Gift" cards from the previous versions were never used in the "Classic" version, having been eliminated for good during the previous syndicated series.

In the event time ran short during a game, any remaining prizes, Wild Cards and unclaimed/unused "TAKE!" cards were taken out of play and the puzzle was revealed one square at a time, in numerical order. The first contestant to buzz-in with a correct solution won the game. If incorrect, the contestant was locked out and the rest of the puzzle was revealed for the opponent to receive a free guess. If both contestants were incorrect and/or offered no guess, either of them could buzz in after Trebek began describing the puzzle, giving clues to the solution of the puzzle until one contestant guessed correctly.

The bonus round, dubbed the "Winner's Circle", was played for one of eight cars that were displayed in the studio. The contestant was shown a board of 15 numbered panels, behind which seven of the eight cars had matching pairs; the eighth was always used as a decoy. Contestants were given a base time of 35 seconds to play the round, with five seconds added for each time the round was not won. If a contestant made all seven matches before time ran out, they won the last car matched. Each time a car was won, the clock was reset to 35 seconds for the next round. On June 29, 1990, the format of the clock was changed so that new champions were given a base time of 35 seconds and were given an additional five seconds for each return to the bonus round until they won a car.

Early in the show's run, a contestant could win the game and play the bonus round up to five times before being retired. Beginning on December 30, 1987,[16] contestants were retired undefeated only after winning one car. From the premiere to June 28, 1990, contestants could win up to five matches.

Beginning on September 13, 1990, a bonus square called "5 Bonus Car Seconds" was added.[17] Any contestant who had matched this prize and solved the puzzle earned five additional seconds in their next attempt at the bonus round.

In the beginning of the run, each match consisted of one game with the winner advancing to the bonus round. A losing contestant left with parting gifts except if their game was interrupted, in which case he/she would return for the first game on the next show.

On July 5, 1988,[18] the show experimented with a best two-out-of-three match format during their special summer college student week, with the first contestant to solve two puzzles winning the match and playing the bonus round; the format became permanent on August 9, 1988.[19] Unlike most game shows whose episodes tended to straddle playing a best two-out-of-three match, Classic Concentration had each match and bonus round fit into one complete episode. The first game was split over the first two segments, with the second and/or third game (if needed) taking up the third, and the bonus round played during the fourth.

From June 29, 1990 until the series finale, the game was changed once more to a "two-strike" format in which contestants were allowed to keep playing until they either won a car or lost two games, whichever came first. With this format, the show went back to playing the main game and the bonus round twice each day. In each half of the show, whichever contestant solved the puzzle went on to the bonus round while their opponent received a "strike" on a small box on top of his/her contestant podium (an illuminated gold square with a black X in the middle). If a contestant got two strikes (lost two games), they were eliminated from the game completely, but they still got to keep whatever cash and/or prizes they won up to that point, if any. This format was previously used briefly from March 15, 1988 to August 8, 1988.

If there was time remaining during some shows, an audience member preselected before taping began played the bonus round for up to $500. Instead of the names of cars, dollar amounts of $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $50, $75, and $100 were hidden behind the 15 numbers. The audience member was given 60 seconds and kept the total of all amounts matched, or $500 for clearing the board.

For two consecutive years (April 1989 and November 1990, respectively), Classic Concentration held a week-long tournament of champions involving ten contestants who won cars in the fastest times of all the contestants who appeared on the show during each calendar year. They returned to compete for additional prizes on top of what they already won in their original appearances, as well as a second new car and a large cash bonus ($25,000 in the first tournament and $10,000 in the second). In both tournaments, each episode featured two different contestants that played for the entire half-hour. The main game was played the same way as it normally was, but the bonus round was played differently.

In the 1989 tournament, since the game was played as a best two-out-of-three match, the winner of each day's game played the bonus round with the clock counting upwards from zero until he/she matched up the seven paired cars on the board. The contestant who completed the bonus round in the shortest length of time won the tournament and $25,000, and all contestants who made seven matches within 45 seconds won the last car they matched.

However, the 1990 tournament operated slightly differently due to the two-strike format (the strikes did not count during the tournament). The first contestant to play the bonus round during that week tried to make all seven matches as quickly as possible, with the clock counting upward from zero; for all subsequent bonus rounds, the clock counted down from that time. If a contestant completed the round in a shorter time, his/her result became the new time to beat. Only the contestant who posted the shortest time over the entire week won the car he/she had matched last and the $10,000.

In each tournament, all ten contestants got to keep whatever cash and/or prizes they won in the main game, regardless of who won the tournament.