Chain Reaction

***Chain Reaction*** is an American game show created by Bob Stewart, in which players compete to form chains composed of two-word phrases.

The show has aired four separate runs: Bill Cullen hosted the original series on NBC from January 14 to June 20, 1980. The second version aired on the USA Network from September 29, 1986 to December 27, 1991, and was hosted first by Blake Emmons and later by Geoff Edwards. A third version on GSN aired on March 29, 2006, hosted by Tim Vincent but only hosted the pilot. The series was given to Dylan Lane which aired from August 1, 2006 to June 9, 2007. A fourth version, also on GSN, was announced on January 26, 2015, with Vincent Rubino as executive producer and hosted by Mike Catherwood. Forty episodes were ordered for this version, which started airing from July 16, 2015 to January 29, 2016. Following that cancellation, Buena Vista Television announced plans of launching a syndicated version of Chain Reaction, with Mike Catherwood once again becoming host of the series.

## Main Game

There were four chains in the main game of seven words. Gameplay was similar to the NBC, USA, and Global versions, except that the words in the chain were now always two-word phrases or compound words. In the first season, the final letter of a word would be revealed (though the fact that it was the final letter was not announced and sometimes wasn't evident). At that point, if the team did not guess the word correctly, the word was revealed and neither team received money. During the second season, the last letter was not revealed, although a shuffling placeholder (or blank space in the 2015 version) was shown in place of the last letter. If the word was not correctly guessed, the other team had a chance to either guess that word or choose a different space, but did not receive another letter.

In round one, each correct word was worth $300, round two words were worth $600 and words in round three were worth $900. Whichever team was behind going into a round started the next round (in the event of a tie, the team who did not start the last chain started the next chain). In the fourth round (known as the "Betting Round"), teams could wager between $100 and $500 of their bank before being given their letter. If correct, they won their bet and kept control; if not, they lost the money and control. A team automatically lost if they went broke, and the game ended immediately.

### Speed Chain

After each of the first three rounds, whichever team correctly identified the final word to complete the chain was given the opportunity complete a four word chain with the first letter of the middle two words given. An example could be:

HALF
B\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (BAKED)
A\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (ALASKA)
PIPELINE

The team had seven seconds to conference and come up with the two words. If correct, they won the same value as a single correct word in the previous round ($100–$300). If neither team completed the chain, neither team got to play the speed chain.

### Tiebreaker

After four rounds, the team with most money won the game and moved onto the bonus round. However, if the fourth round ended in a tie, the teams were given alternating Speed Chains in a "sudden death" format. If one team did not solve their Speed Chain, the other team need only solve their next Speed Chain to win the game. Both teams kept their money, and the losing team received unacknowledged parting gifts as well.

### Superchain

The winning team has 45 seconds to guess seven more words. To start, a keyword is given; the seven words involved connect to that word. Then on each word, the first three letters are given one at a time. A correct answer moves on to the next word. The team can pass on a word if they are stuck and then must go back to it, if there is time left on the clock. Guessing all seven words correctly wins $10,000.