The $25,000 Pyramid

Logo for the current syndicated version

***Pyramid*** is an American television game show franchise that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ***The $10,000 Pyramid***, debuted March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequent *Pyramid* series (most with a full title format matching the original series, with the title reflecting the top prize increase from $10,000, $20,000, $25,000, $50,000 to $100,000 over the years). The game features two contestants, each paired with a celebrity. Contestants attempt to guess a series of words or phrases based on descriptions given to them by their teammates. The title refers to the show's pyramid-shaped gameboard, featuring six categories arranged in a triangular fashion. The various *Pyramid* series have won a total of nine Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show, second only to *Jeopardy!*, which has won 13.

Dick Clark is the host most commonly associated with the show, having hosted every incarnation from 1973 to 1988, with the exception of the original version of ***The $25,000 Pyramid***, which aired in weekly syndication from 1974 until 1979 and was hosted by Bill Cullen. ***The $100,000 Pyramid*** was revived for a brief 1991 run with John Davidson hosting. In 2002 the series was revived as simply ***Pyramid***, with Donny Osmond hosting for two seasons. GSN's ***The Pyramid*** was hosted by Mike Richards and aired for a single forty-episode season in 2012.

A revival of ***The $100,000 Pyramid*** debuted June 26, 2016, on ABC with Michael Strahan as host. The Strahan version has been renewed for a third season.

Following the success of *The $100,000 Pyramid*, Buena Vista announced plans of launching a syndicated spinoff with a smaller payout, reviving the name *The $25,000 Pyramid*. with both SMAC Productions and Buena Vista Television handling production of the series, and Sony Picture Television handling the distribution. Dean Cain is the host. Just as is with the parent series, *$100,000 Pyramid* host Michael Strahan is the executive producer of the series.

## Gameplay

The Pyramid's gameboards, both in the main game and in the Winners' Circle bonus round, feature six categories arranged in a triangle (referred to as a pyramid), with three categories on the bottom row, two on the middle row, and one on the top. In the main game, a category's position on the board is arbitrary. In the Winners' Circle, categories become progressively more difficult the higher they are on the board.

### Main Game

Two teams compete in the main game, each composed of a celebrity and a regular contestant.

At the beginning of the game, the teams are shown six categories, whose titles gave vague clues to their possible meaning (for instance, "I'm All Wet" might pertain to things found in water). Once the category was chosen, its exact meaning is given (except in certain bonus situations where the meaning was not given and a cash/prize bonus won for completing all the clues). For up to 30 seconds, one contestant conveys to the other clues to a series of items belonging to a category. At this stage, the clue-giver could use whatever language they wanted, with the exclusion of saying any word that was part of the correct answer (for example, using "high up" for "height"); if the clue-giver gave such a clue, they were buzzed and that answer would be forfeited. The clue-giver could also include visual gestures and other non-verbal elements, and could also lead the player towards saying part of the answer to get them to say the correct answer.

One point is scored for each item correctly guessed. If a word is passed, the giver could not go back to that word, but if the receiver knows the word later on and guesses it, the team still earns a point (no sound effect was played, in order to avoid a distraction). Since the 2002 Osmond version, a team that passes on any words could return to them if time permitted, but if a word is guessed correctly after it had been passed, it did not count until the word was returned to and correctly guessed then.

When *The $10,000 Pyramid* launched on CBS, there were eight possible items in a category. This was reduced to seven when the show moved to ABC, and this became the standard used for every subsequent series with two exceptions. When *The $20,000 Pyramid* briefly switched to its *Junior Partner Pyramid* format, the time limit was increased to 35 seconds. The Donny Osmond-hosted *Pyramid* used categories with six items, with 20 seconds given to guess all six. Illegal clues, such as using part of the word in the description, or conveying its essence, results in the word being thrown out (denoted by a rapid "cuckoo" sound).

Originally, the celebrity gave the clues in both the first and third rounds, and the contestant in the second round. This changed to having the contestant decide whether to give or receive in the third round. The teams alternated in the first two rounds, and the team with the lower score played first in the third round. Whoever had the higher score after three rounds advanced to the Winners' Circle. In the 1970s, 1980s and 2016 versions, in the rare event that contestants were mathematically unable to at least tie their opponent before the opponent has had his/her last turn (or even rarer, before that point), the game ends and the remaining categories are left unplayed, unless one of them concealed a bonus.

Originally, if a tie occurred after the rounds were completed, the host gave the team who caused the tie a choice between two letters of the alphabet, and the team then played a round with seven words each beginning with that letter. The opposing team was then given seven words with the other letter. Tiebreaker rounds were played until the tie was broken. The rules were later changed to award the victory to whichever team completed its own seven words faster, if both teams did so. In the 2016 Strahan version, if both teams achieve the same score, the team to do so in the shorter time is declared the winner, with a tiebreaker round being played if the teams match each other for both score and time. The Cain version follows the same rule.

### Winner's Circle

The winning team from the main game plays "The Winners' Circle," in which the goal is to communicate six categories of increasing difficulty within 60 seconds, using only lists of words and phrases that fit them. During the show's original run on CBS from 1973 to 1974, hand gestures of any kind were permitted in this round. However, when the show moved to ABC in 1974, hand gestures became strictly forbidden, and some editions of the show included wrist straps attached to the chair to help contestants abide by this rule. One team member gives clues to the category currently in play, while the other tries to guess it. An illegal clue or hand gesture results in the category being thrown out, thus disqualifying the contestant from winning the grand prize; however, the contestant is still allowed to play the remainder of the Winner's Circle, either until time runs out or until the remaining categories have been correctly guessed. If all six categories are guessed before time runs out, the contestant wins the top prize; if not, he/she wins money for the guessed categories. The clue-giver can pass on a category and then return to it after playing through all six, if time allows.

The values for individual categories during standard gameplay are shown in the table below. Category numbering proceeds across the bottom row of the pyramid (left/center/right), then the middle (left/right), and finally the single one at the peak.

On *The $25,000 Pyramid*, the goal was once again to try to win $25,000. However, this required a contestant to get to and win the Winners' Circle twice. If the contestant made a second trip without having won the first, he/she was given another chance at $10,000. If the contestant managed to win both, he/she won the $25,000. There are no returning champions on the Strahan version or the Cain version.

## Junior Pyramid

Airing on Saturday mornings on XYZ is *Junior Pyramid*. *Junior Pyramid* follows the same rules as both Pyramid versions, except that the top prize is $2,500, and for the main game, instead of 30 seconds, they have 35 seconds. The values are different, as well.