Concentration (U.S. Game Show)

Concentration is an American television game show based on the children's memory game of the same name. Matching cards represented prizes that contestants could win. As matching pairs of cards were gradually removed from the board, it would slowly reveal elements of a rebus puzzle that contestants had to solve to win a match.

The show was broadcast on and off from 1958 to 1991, presented by various hosts, and has been made in several different versions. The original network daytime series, Concentration, appeared on NBC for 14 years, 7 months, and 3,770 telecasts (August 25, 1958 – March 23, 1973), the longest run of any game show on that network (Wheel of Fortune was a month shy of tying that record when the initial NBC run ended on June 30, 1989). This series was hosted by Hugh Downs and later by Bob Clayton, but for a six-month period in 1969, Ed McMahon hosted the series. The series began at 11:30 AM Eastern, then moved to 11:00 and finally to 10:30. Nearly all episodes of the NBC daytime version were produced at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City.

A weekly nighttime version appeared in two separate broadcast runs: the first aired from October 30 to November 20, 1958 with Jack Barry as host, while the second ran from April 24 to September 18, 1961 with Downs as host.

The second version of Concentration, the first to be made in Southern California, ran in syndication from September 10, 1973 to September 8, 1978 with Jack Narz as host.

A pilot for a third version was attempted in 1985, hosted by Orson Bean, but did not sell. After some reformatting, a remake called Classic Concentration, hosted by Alex Trebek, ran on NBC from May 4, 1987 to September 20, 1991 (with reruns broadcast to December 31, 1993).

Despite numerous attempts to develop a new version in recent years, NBCUniversal, owners of the Concentration copyright, have not yet authorized a new version of the program. That changed on Mar. 1, when NBCUniversal gave their okay for Tribune Broadcasting to make a new version of Concentration, with Roger Lodge as the host and executive producer.

Main game
The game featured a 25-space computer-generated gameboard, with in-studio contestants viewing on a large-screen TV placed off stage.

Each game used one to three wild cards. Choosing two wild cards in one turn earned the contestant a $500 bonus, and if a third was chosen in the same turn the bonus doubled to $1,000. A second cash bonus was added to the board with the introduction of the "Cashpot", an accumulating jackpot that started at $500 and added $100 for each game it was not claimed. As with the other prizes, 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 event time ran short during a game, 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, either of them could buzz in after the host began describing the puzzle, giving clues to the solution of the puzzle until one contestant guessed correctly.

Bonus round
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 managed to match all of the cars, the last car he/she matched was the car won. Each time a car was won, the clock was reset to 35 seconds for the next round.

Returning Champions
The winner of the puzzle play the bonus game. However, contestants could continue to play until losing twice or winning a new car.