One of them was an active car (a car that would start), while the remaining four were disabled (they didn't start). The day's winner faced five GM cars (usually Pontiacs, other times Chevys or Buicks). The car bonus round was different depending on the series. the player with the most cash wasn't necessarily the winner). This made it one of the few game shows where scores were a moot point in determining the winner (i.e. All three players kept the cash that they won from the first two rounds but the winner of the game won the right to play for a brand new car.
The first player to reach zero won the game (in the ABC version, the player with the advantage could win the game with just one question). The number of correct answers the contestants needed all depended on which version: The player with the highest score had the advantage of needing the fewest number of answers, the second-place player got the middle number, and the third-place player was in the disadvantage position, needing the most number of answers. From where they had to count down all depended on their final scores at the end of Round 2. The round was called the Countdown Round because in this round the contestants no longer played for money they tried to countdown to zero, for each correct answer counted down one towards zero. For each time the player in control was right, he/she gave another answer but as soon as he/she missed, the other players had a chance to answer the remainder of the question according to how fast they buzzed in. In this round the questions were the same as before except now when buzzing in, the contestant could give one, two or all three answers. The final round of the main game was always the Countdown Round. Here's how they scored:Īlso, in later episodes of the ABC version, any player who was the first to be the only person to answer correctly in the first two rounds not only won the top value, but also won a bonus prize which was his or hers to keep, win or lose. The contestants scored according to how many of them gave a correct answer. In the event a contestant rang in too early before the clues were revealed, he/she was locked out and had to answer last.Įach time a contestant answered correctly, he/she won some money. The first player to buzz-in got a chance to answer first, second to buzz-in can answer second, and the slowest player answered last. Most questions had three clues to three answers (one for each answer) appear on a game board (in Hall's version it was a monitor) some questions on the ABC version would require its three answers to fit under a specific subject, and also on the ABC version, one question each show would be dubbed the "Memory Buster" in which host Kennedy gave a list of answers, but only three of them applied to the question.
#Split second board game series#
The host would ask a series of three-part questions.