Double Dare (U.S. Syndicated Game Show)

''For the unrelated syndicated series, see Double Dare 3000. For the unrelated 1986 children's game show aired on Nickelodeon, see Double Dare (Nickelodeon game show).'' Double Dare is an American television syndicated game show. The original version was produced by Mark Goodson—Bill Todman Productions (now part of FremantleMedia North America), that ran from 1976 to 1977 on CBS. Alex Trebek was the host, with Johnny Olson and later Gene Wood announcing. The show was created by Jay Wolpert. The current version, which debuted on January 3, 2014, is a DuMont Production, in association with FremantleMedia (owner of the Mark Goodson Library). John Melvin Holmes is the show's host, with Jimmy Blue being the announcer.

Main Game
Two contestants, each in separate isolation booths, attempted to correctly identify a person, place or thing based on one-sentence clues that were given to them, one at a time, on an electronic gameboard. The correct response was shown to the home audience before the first clue was given. The clues would typically begin with obscure trivia and gradually become more direct references to the subject. A maximum of ten clues were given on one subject.

Both contestants had a lockout buzzer in their booth, and when one of them hit theirs the opposing player saw his/her booth closed off for a few seconds. The contestant that buzzed in was given a chance to guess. If the guess was incorrect, that contestant had his/her own booth closed off and the opponent's booth was reopened. Trebek would then inform the other player of the incorrect guess and the next clue was shown to him/her unopposed. This was referred to as a "penalty clue", and the player was given a free guess.

The contestant who ultimately identified the subject was then shown the next clue in the sequence and given the opportunity to dare his/her opponent to guess the subject based on that clue. If the correct answer was given on a penalty clue and the contestant elected to dare, the penalty clue was shown to the opponent. If the contestant chose to dare, the opponent's booth was re-opened and he/she had five seconds to study the clue before the host asked for a guess. A correct guess by the dared opponent was worth $100. If incorrect, the contestant who made the dare won an additional $200 and his/her opponent's booth was closed once more while he/she pondered whether or not to make a double dare for more money on the next clue. If the contestant made the double dare, the opposing player's booth opened again and he/she was shown the clue. This time, a right answer was worth $200 to the opponent with a wrong answer paying $400 to the daring contestant.

A new subject was played and both booths were opened whenever any of the following occurred: Whoever accrues at least $1,000 first won the game. Both contestants kept their accrued money, and the loser of each game also received parting gifts. Like most CBS game shows at the time, champions could stay on Double Dare until they were defeated.
 * Neither contestant guessed correctly after the tenth clue
 * A contestant guessed correctly, but chose not to dare
 * A contestant guessed correctly and won a dare, but chose not to double-dare
 * A dared opponent guessed correctly
 * A double dare was played

Beat the Spoilers
The winner of the main game competed in a bonus round against the Spoilers, a panel of three people who had earned Ph.D. degrees, seated in separate booths that were initially closed.

The gameboard for this round contained eight numbered clues to a particular subject in random order of difficulty, and was placed so that the Spoilers could not see it. The contestant was presented with the subject and chose one clue at a time to be revealed. After hearing a clue, he/she had to decide whether to pass or give it to the Spoilers. Passed clues were immediately discarded from play. When the contestant gave a clue, the Spoilers' booths were all opened at once for the host to read it to them, then closed and reopened one at a time so that each one could guess without being heard by the others.

The contestant had to give four clues and could pass up to four times. Each incorrect guess by a Spoiler won $200 for the contestant. If a Spoiler guessed correctly, he/she won $200 and sat out the rest of the round, with the booth left open to allow him/her to hear the additional gameplay. The contestant won $10,000 if at least one Spoiler was unable to guess the subject correctly after four clues. If all three Spoilers guessed it, though, the round ended and the contestant kept all winnings to that point.