Tug of Words
Tug of Words is an American television game show hosted by Ahmad Rashad and broadcast by Game Show Network. It premiered on November 8, 2021. Gameplay. The game is played over three rounds. The first two rounds are played to earn an advantage in the third round, and the team that wins the third round wins $1,000 and the chance to play the bonus round to increase their winnings to $10,000. Round 1. Four three-letter words are shown to the teams; each word is the starting point for a word chain. One team chooses  a starting word, and host Rashad reads a clue to another word; the player must change one letter in the starting word to make the correct word. The next clue is read to the other player, who must in turn change a letter to make a new word. Each correct answer moves an on-screen marker in the shape of a windsock flag one space towards that team's side of the set, with no penalty for an incorrect answer. During a team's turn, the players must alternate turns without conferring, and must also wait for host Rashad to  read the entire clue before answering. If either of these rules is violated, the answer is treated as incorrect (even if it is otherwise correct) and the next clue is read. Once the first team has completed its turn, the other team chooses one of the three remaining starting words and plays its own set of clues. Each team has 40 seconds to solve as many words as possible, and the team that has the marker on its side after both teams have played once wins a pennant-style flag. (If the marker is at the neutral position after both  teams have played, then neither team wins the flag.) The teams then play another pair of turns with the remaining two words, and the winner of that pair of turns also wins a flag. Round 2. The second round is played in the same manner as the first round, with teams now attempting to solve four-letter words. Round 3. An advantage is assigned to one of the teams based on the number of flags won in the previous rounds at one space per flag (for example, if one team has won three flags while their opponents have won one , then the team with three flags is given a two-space advantage). In this round, two five-letter words are shown to the teams, and the teams play one pair of turns. Unlike in previous rounds, the teams are to change two letters at a time, and the two letters to be changed are highlighted; in addition, the time limit is increased to 45 seconds. After both teams have played, the team with the marker on its side wins $1,000 and plays the bonus round to increase their winnings to $10,000. If, after both teams have played, the  marker is in the neutral position, then a tiebreaker word is played between the players nearest to host Rashad. The players involved in the tiebreaker are shown a new five-letter word, and the two letters to be changed are highlighted. One additional clue is read on the buzzers; the players must wait for the entire clue to be read before buzzing in. If a correct answer is given, that player’s team wins the game, however, if an incorrect answer is given, that player’s team automatically loses. Bonus Round. The team members are shown a two-word phrase , and with each clue, they must change one of the two words. The marker starts at the neutral position and, as before, a correct answer moves the marker one space forward on a 10-space track; however, in this round, an incorrect answer (or a violation) moves the marker one space backward, although incorrect answers will not move it beyond the neutral position. If the team successfully advances the marker to the end of the track within 60 seconds, their winnings are increased to $10,000. Production. The series was announced in July 2021 with Ahmad Rashad as the host . The show premiered on November 8, 2021.