I’m a huge trivia nerd and a big fan of game shows. Jeopardy! has been on my DVR list since TiVo was invented. While shows like that one and Wheel of Fortune have stood the test of time, the list of game shows you’ve probably forgotten existed is long, so here are a few that might jog your memory.
Tic-Tac-Dough
Wink Martindale, one of TV's most notable game show hosts, is a legend. Over the years, he hosted a lot of shows, but one of his biggest was Tic-Tac-Dough. By combining the ancient game of tic tac toe and trivia questions, the Martindale-hosted version of the program aired over 8 seasons in syndication from 1978 to 1986. It was a staple for all game show fans at the time, but it’s hardly remembered today.
Win Ben Stein's Money
Ben Stein is most famous for his role as the boring economics teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but his career is as varied as anyone (as he even worked as a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon). He also had a spell as a game show host, of sorts. Stein wasn’t really the host, that was Jimmy Kimmel in his first television gig. Stein was a guru whom contestants would challenge in a trivia matchup, trying to “win” his money.
Trashed
In the early ‘90s, MTV decided the future of Music Television was in programming other than music. One of the results of that change was an increase in game shows. Trashed debuted in February of 1994 and was hosted by a newcomer to TV, Chris Hardwick, who you probably know better as the host of Talking Dead on AMC. The show was kind of hilarious, as it saw two contestants competing in a trivia-like contest. And if they answered wrong, a piece of personal property they brought along would be destroyed.
1 Vs 100
The huge ratings of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire opened up a new era of primetime game shows. Shows like Deal or No Deal (which was one of Meghan Markle's earliest gigs), and others joined in on the fad. 1 Vs. 100, hosted by the late Bob Saget, was one such show. It was a trivia contest between “The One” and “The Mob” of 100 people. Money was earned as “The One” eliminated members of “The Mob”. It was a fun concept, but only lasted three seasons.
Card Sharks
Card Sharks was an odd game. Like a lot of game shows, it had several different versions in syndication over the years, but the iteration of the mid-80s, with legendary host Bob Eubanks, was the most popular. While it’s been revamped and rebooted over the years, none of those versions lasted long, including the latest overseen by Joel McHale from 2019 to 2021.
Debt
This has to be the most depressing show on this list. Simply called Debt, it was a show where contestants, rather than winning money, answered questions that would reduce their actual personal debt. This forgotten game show aired for two seasons on Lifetime and was marred by bad reviews, poor ratings and, unsurprisingly, sharp criticism.
Truth or Consequences
The legendary, late Bob Barker is most famous for being the longtime host of The Price Is Right but, before that, he hosted Truth Or Consequences for almost 20 years, starting in 1956. The show itself goes all the way back to radio, starting in 1941 on NBC Radio. Yet it’s never been rebooted and is hardly remembered at all.
Minute to Win It
Sometimes it feels like Guy Fieri hosts every single show on TV. You’d need NASA scientists to calculate exactly how many hours a day the rowdy chef is on. One show that’s nearly been forgotten, though, is the old game show he hosted called Minute To Win It. The show aired for two staggered seasons in 2010 and 2011 (with a brief revival on GSN in 2014 with host Apolo Ohno). The format was successful though, as there have been dozens of international versions in countries all over the globe.
Stump the Schwab was a really fun show for sports nuts. Speaking as one, I can say it was also really hard. Not only were none of the questions or categories layups but “The Schwab” (ESPN stat guru Howie Schwab) has an unbelievable amount of sports knowledge in his head. Over the show's 80-episode run, only 16 players "stumped" him. It was one of the sports networks few forays into sports game shows that is nearly completely forgotten today.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Based on the wildly popular computer game of the same name, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? ran for five seasons on PBS in the early '90s. It was hosted by the great Lynne Thigpen, the DJ in the quintessential ‘70s film The Warriors, which was only one of her many roles. If you weren’t a kid in the early 90s, or if you hated geography, there’s a good chance you’ve forgotten about the show, if not the computer game.
What's My Line?
What's My Line? has been hailed as one of the greatest TV shows of all time yet, today, it’s nearly forgotten. The CBS game show ran for 17 years from 1950-1967 and had some of the biggest celebrities of the day both as players and as guests, yet it’s almost completely lost to the annals of time. It could be a huge hit if someone could reboot it with the same caliber celebrity today.
Bowling for Dollars is a bit different than most game shows. There wasn’t a nationally broadcasted version of the game show, instead each city had its own version of the show. The premise was exactly what it says in the name, contestants trying to win money by bowling well. The boon time for the show was the late ‘70s when it seemed every major city was airing the show, usually hosted by local news people, or popular sports figures in town. It’s hardly remembered at all today but, for a time, it was a phenomenon.
Gambit
Wink Martindale hosted the short-lived game show Gambit in the early ‘70s and again in 1980 and 1981. It combined a trivia contest with Blackjack. Appropriately, the show was filmed in Vegas during its second run on NBC in the ‘80s.
The Wizard of Odds
While the show itself may not be remembered at all, The Wizard of Odds’ host will never be forgotten. It was, after the late, great Alex Trebek and it was the first show the Jeopardy! icon ever hosted in the USA. The Wizard of Odds was a slight twist on the traditional trivia contest formula, as it included questions about statistics and, as you might have guessed, odds. It’s so forgotten, however, that it’s likely only one full episode still exists anywhere, as NBC wiped the tapes clean decades ago.
Jackpot
Despite three different versions of the show, one in the 1970s and one in the 1980s, Jackpot is completely forgotten about today. It was a pretty standard game show, with trivia questions and riddles that contestants had to answer and solve that led to more and more money in the jackpot.
Concentration
Concentration is one of those forgotten game shows that had multiple versions over the years. There were four different runs, between 1958 and 1991, and six different hosts, including Ed McMahon, Hugh Downes, and, in its final version, Alex Trebek.
The Singing Bee
The Singing Bee was not a well-received show, so it's not a surprise that it's hardly remembered, despite airing in the mid-2000s. Hosted by former *NSYNC member Joey Fatone the show mixed trivia about music and song lyrics with singing. Kind of like Name That Tune crossed with karaoke. Honestly, it was not very good, which explains why it only lasted one season on NBC. It was revived on CMT and lasted four seasons, but it still was far from a hit.
Remote Control
MTV’s first foray into game shows was the great, yet forgotten Remote Control. If you were a kid in the 1980s and early ‘90s, you might remember it, but what is far more remembered are the future stars that were part of the cast. Four stars got their big break on Remote Control. Former SNL cast member Colin Quinn was the sidekick to host Ken Ober. Kari Wuhrer was the hostess. Both Adam Sandler and Denis Leary were writers and occasionally on-screen personalities as well.
Name That Tune
30 Rock star Jane Krakowski is the host of the latest version of Name That Tune, but many might not realize that the game goes way, way back. The original version started in 1952 on NBC Radio, before the program transitioned to TV in 1954 and has been revived many times over the years. Though there have been numerous versions of it, both in the U.S. and abroad, most have been forgotten about this small-screen treasure.
Shop 'Til You Drop
Shop 'Til You Drop was a wholesome show the whole family could enjoy together, which explains its long run on PAX TV. The fact that it aired on PAX (and Lifetime for a bit) probably explains why so few remember it, even if they remember the catchy name.
Split Second
Like many other shows, Split Second has had multiple versions going back decades. In the '70s, there were two versions, including one hosted by Monty Hall. The Game Show Network revamped it and launched a new version in 2023, hosted by Christopher Guest-directed movies mainstay John Michael Higgins, but we won't be surprised if you've still never heard of it.
Battle of the Network Stars
Someone needs to figure out how to make Battle of the Network Stars a hit again. The show ran for eight and a half seasons in the late '70s and early '80s and had some of TV's biggest stars. Today, you can't find it anywhere and it seems to have been relegated to the dustbin of history, which is too bad because it was awesome.
Singled Out
It's the show that launched the mainstream careers of Jenny McCarthy and Carmen Electra, yet no one really remembers what it was all about. Hosted by Chris Hardwick, the MTV show was a dating game for Gen X, and it was wild and raunchy, as you might expect with a cast like that.
Sale Of The Century
The legacy of Sale of the Century lasted far longer than the memory of it did. While the show had a few different incarnations, it really seemed to have an impact on future productions like it. It basically utilized a format of winning money with trivia, then spending that money on prizes. It had to be an influence on early Wheel of Fortune and even the Survivor auction.
Chain Reaction
For a show that has had a total of 12 seasons across various versions, it's amazing how few people remember it. The fact that it had so many variations may actually be the problem. It's never been a cultural staple like other game shows, despite its longevity.
Bumper Stumpers
The fact that Bumper Stumpers made it three seasons is amazing. It has to be one of the silliest premises to a game show over. Contestants "read" license plates just like anyone would on a street, to figure out the clue that pointed to the answer. It could only have worked in a decade of excess like the 1980s.
Nickelodeon Guts
Nickelodeon found a real niche early on with kids' game shows. Some, like Double Dare, are legendary. Others, like Nickelodeon Guts, are not as much. The show lasted just four seasons and 60 episodes and has never been revived, though maybe some remember it as a part of their childhood, right? Maybe not.
Scrabble
It seems like a no-brainer. Take a beloved board game and turn it into a TV show with someone like the legendary Chuck Woolery as the presenter. That has to be a sure-fire hit, right? Well, sort of. The show ran for seven seasons from 1990-1993 but almost no one remembers it, probably because it's just more fun to play the game at home.
Win, Lose or Draw was on all the time in the late '80s. It was wildly popular, which makes sense because it was essentially just the TV version of the also wildly popular home game Pictionary. No one seems to remember what made it so fun to watch though.
Ready...Set...Cook!
While food game shows have been popular for years now, that hasn't always been the case. While the original Japanese Iron Chef may be the OG, Ready...Set...Cook! on the Food Network goes back almost as far. It debuted in 1995 and aired for six more years yet, today, it's not in the public consciousness despite being a trailblazer.
Legends of the Hidden Temple
One of the many game shows for kids on Nickelodeon was Legends of the Hidden Temple. It kind of took what was popular from Double Dare and turned it into a whole with kids competing on a huge obstacle course. Where it differs from Double Dare is that it was never as popular. The CW tried to revive it in 2020, but that fell flat, too.
Smush
The completely forgettable Smush only aired for one season, way back in 2001. The gameplay was a little confusing, and it was not very fun to play along with the contestants trying to create a portmanteau out of the answers to the clues. Yeah, don't bother.
The genre has been a staple of television programming since the medium was invented, so it's unsurprising that there are so many game shows you've probably completely forgotten existed.
