The Joker's Wild (U.S. Syndicated Game Show)

The Joker's Wild is an American television game show that aired at different times during the 1970s through the 1990s. Contestants answered questions based on categories that were determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's title refers to the game's slot-machine mechanism also having jokers.

The show was billed as "the game where knowledge is king and lady luck is queen", and was notable for being the first successful game show produced by Jack Barry after his company's role in the quiz show scandals during the late 1950s. The success of the series led in part to the reformation of Barry & Enright Productions in the 1970s, which reunited Barry with his partner Dan Enright. The show aired on CBS from 1972 to 1975, and from 1977 to 1986 in broadcast syndication. A children's version, titled ''Joker! Joker!! Joker!!!'', aired from 1979 to 1981, also in syndication. Since 2012, The Joker's Wild returned to the airways and became of the best game shows in syndication. Two years later, in 2014, FOX Family brought back Joker! Joker!! Joker!!! to put on their schedule.

Barry's sons, Jonathan and Douglas Barry, were co-executive producers for the 1990s version, which was produced in association with Richard S. Kline and billed as a "Kline and Friends production in association with Jack Barry Productions". The current version is produced by DuMont Productions, in association with NBCUniversal (the holders of the Jack Barry Production library). Tony Little is the host of the current version, with Keith Powell as the announcer.

Main Game
Two contestants, one a returning champion, played. The challenger began the game by pulling a lever to set a slot machine in motion. The game's slot machine consisted of three modified slide projectors which used six-slotted metal discs similar to the wheels used in ViewMaster toys. The discs were spun by electric motors, and unused categories were removed from the board by shutting the projectors off.

The wheels on the machine each contained five different categories, which were revealed to the contestants before the game, and a joker, which served as a "wild card" and could represent any category. After the wheels stopped, the contestant chose one of the displayed categories and was asked a question in it. If the contestant answered correctly, the dollar value of the question was added to his or her score. An incorrect response or a failure to answer within an unspecified time limit allowed the opponent a chance to answer and steal the money. Certain special categories gave contestants a chance to win extra money, by either increasing the question value or allowing them to answer more than one question on their turn. An example of the latter was the "Fast Forward" category, which enabled a contestant to continue to answer until he/she stopped or answered incorrectly.

Question Values
The values of the questions were determined by the spin. Categories were worth $50, $100, or $200 if they appeared in one, two, or all three windows, respectively. Any pair or triple that did not contain a joker had to be played for its full value if chosen.

In addition, spinning a "natural triple" (three of a kind with no jokers) awarded a bonus, which the contestant kept whether or not he/she answered correctly or won the game. The bonus initially consisted of a single prize, but by 1983 it had been changed to the "Natural Triple Jackpot", an accumulating collection that saw one prize added to it for every day it went unclaimed.

Special Categories

 * Mystery: This category was always played for double normal value. The contestant selected one of seven numbered question cards in a rack mounted on the host's podium; each card was in a different category, none of which were the same as any of the other four in play.


 * Stumpers: This category consisted of questions that were missed by both contestants in previous episodes. After the host read the question, the contestant could choose to hear the two previous wrong answers and play for the normal value, or decline the help and play for higher stakes (originally an extra $100, later changed to double normal value). If the contestant declined the help and missed the question, the opponent was given the two wrong answers and played for the normal value.
 * Fast Forward: The contestant could answer multiple questions if desired, each worth the amount spun, and stop after any correct answer. Missing a question forfeited all money earned on that turn and gave the opponent a chance to claim the money for only that question.
 * Bid: The contestant had to decide at the outset how many questions he/she wanted, with a minimum of two. Completing the bid awarded the full value of all questions answered (for example, 3 questions at $100 each awarded $300), but a miss gave the opponent a chance to take control with a correct answer and complete the bid him/herself.
 * Fact or Foto: The contestant could either hear a fact about a subject or see a photograph of it, then try to identify it. If he/she was wrong, the opponent got both the fact and the photo.
 * Just One More: Given a question with multiple answers, the contestants bid back and forth as to how many they could name. The high bidder won control; if he/she gave an incorrect answer, the opponent could steal the money with one correct response.
 * How Low Will You Go?: A question was read, with eight clues available to help the contestants, and they bid back and forth as to how few clues they would need. The low bidder won control, but if he/she answered incorrectly, the opponent got to hear all the clues before responding.
 * Take a Chance: After hearing the question, the contestant could either answer it him/herself or pass it to the opponent. An incorrect answer awarded the money to the contestant who did not receive the question.
 * Choose the Clues: The opponent decided whether the contestant would receive one clue and play for double value, or two clues for the normal value. If the contestant was given only one clue and missed, the opponent got both clues and played for the normal amount.

Jokers
When one or two jokers came up during a spin, a contestant could use them to match any displayed category and create a pair or triple, increasing the value of the question. They could also substitute a joker for a category in play but not displayed on the wheels (which was referred to as going "off the board") for $50 using one joker or $100 using two jokers. In addition, if a contestant spun a natural pair and a joker, he or she could discard the pair but use the joker to go "off the board" in that category for $50.

Spinning three jokers allowed the contestant to choose any of the categories in play during the game. A correct answer automatically won the game, regardless of the contestant's score or whether a full round had been played or not. The winner received either $500 or the total amount he or she had accumulated to that point, whichever was greater. If unsuccessful, however, the opponent could not steal and the game continued as normal.

Using jokers was optional, and contestants occasionally declined to use them if enough money was at stake for their opponent to win the game or take the lead (e.g., spinning a natural pair and a joker, then playing the pair for $100 instead of turning it into a $200 triple). By playing this way, the opponent had less of an advantage if the contestant missed the question and the opponent answered it correctly.

The game was played in rounds, with each player guaranteed one turn per round unless the outcome of the challenger's turn made it unnecessary for the champion to take his/her own. If the challenger reached or surpassed $500 on the first turn of the round, the champion had one last chance to spin either three jokers or a combination that would tie or beat that score. Either contestant could win the game by reaching $500 with a correct answer to a question missed by the other, or by spinning three jokers and correctly answering a question in any category. If a round ended with the scores tied at $500 or more, the game continued until the tie was broken. Contestants received a new car after every fifth victory.

Endgame ("Face the Devil")
The wheels now contained 12 slides each, displaying various amounts of money ($25, $50, $75, $100, $150 and $200 money cards) and "the devil". There was only one devil slide on only one of the wheels. If the devil did not appear on a spin, the total of the displayed amounts was added to the pot. The object was to score $1,000 or more without spinning the devil; doing so won the money accumulated plus a prize package worth anywhere between $3,000 and $5,000. Spinning a natural triple automatically awarded the prize package, along with either $1,000 or the total in the pot plus the value of the triple, whichever was greater. (For example, a contestant who had $850 and spun a triple of $100's would receive $1,150.) If the devil came up, the round ended and the contestant lost the accumulated money. After every "safe" spin, the contestant had the option to stop and keep the money won up to that point. Contestants who chose this option were often invited to take an unofficial spin to see if the devil would have come up next.