Match Game (Canada)

***Match Game*** is the English-Canadian version of the successful American comedy game show of the same name which in turn was based on the French-Canadian adaptation called *Atomes Crochus* (Hooked Atoms) and *L'union fait la farce* (Unity is Farce)filled with stars, money, matching and filling in the blanks.

## Premise

Two contestants compete to match a panel of six celebrities and win lots of money.

### Main Game

#### Rounds 1 & 2

One player was given a choice of two statements each with a blank at the end or near the end. When the choice was made, the host read the fill-in-the-blank statement and the celebrities wrote their answers down on cards; they notified the fact that they were done by sticking their answers in the slot and lighting up their names. Once the panel was done, the contestant in control gave his/her own answer after which the celebrities revealed their answers one at a time from left to right. Each time a match is made, the contestant scored 50 points for a possible total of 300 points. After one player took his/her turn, the other player takes his/her turn with the unselected question.

Starting in season two, all matches in round two are worth double or 100 points for a possible total of 600 points.

#### Round 3 (Match-Up!)

In the final round, each contestant starting with the trailing player had 45 seconds to match one celebrity of their choosing as many times as they can. A fill-in-the-blank phrase (ala The Super Match) with two choices popped up on his/her secret screen, the contestant chose the answer he/she thought the star he/she chose will say. Each match is again worth 50 points. The player with the most points at the end of this round won the game, had his/her points converted into dollars and goes on to play Super Match.

### Super Match

The Super Match is played in two halves. The first half is the Audience Match and the second is the Head to Head Match.

#### Audience Match

In the Audience Match members of the studio audience was polled and they gave their best answer to a fill-in-the-blank phrase. Their top three answers were taken a hidden on a game board and were given amounts based on popularity. The top answer was worth $2000, the second most popular was worth $1500 and the third $1000. The winning contestant choose three of the six celebrities to assist by giving answers of their own. Then the contestant either selected one of the answers he/she likes best or give one of his/her own. Once the answer was given/selected, the answer on the board are revealed one at a time from low to high. If the answer revealed matches the player's, the money attached to that answer will be what the contestant will be playing for. In the event that the contestant does not match any of the audience's answers, he/she can still play for $500.

#### Head to Head Match

To start the Head to Head round, the winning contestant spun a wheel consisting of all the star's names. Whoever the wheel landed on will be the contestant's celebrity partner. But if the wheel landed on a red dot, the amount earned from the audience match is doubled making the top cash prize $4000. When the spinning of the wheel was done, the host read another fill-in-the-blank phrase and the selected panelist wrote down his/her answer. After that the winning player gave his/her answer and if the answers match, that player wins the grand cash prize.

Stating in season two, the Super Match top prize increased to $5000 ($2500/$2000/$1500 in the Audience Match, $1000 for no match).

## Music

Main - "Match Game Opening Theme" by Orin Isaacs

The theme is an updated remix of the U.S. 70's theme "The Midnight Four" by Ken Bichel, credited to Robert Israel for Score Productions.

## Other Versions

*L'union fait la farce*

*Atomes Crochus*

## Links

Official Site (via Internet Archive)

Videos of Full Episodes