Challenge of the Child Geniuses

Format

A nationwide search selected 40 or 50 exceptionally gifted children to compete for a prize pool of either over $300,000 or $500,000 in cash and prizes. The competition began with a knowledge test. Host Clark presented multiple-choice questions, and each child had ten seconds to enter their answer on a keypad. After the time was up, Clark revealed the correct response, and the home audience saw the percentage of contestants who answered correctly versus those who did not. Scores from this round were combined with results from a pre-show test. The ten highest-scoring kids advanced—or sixteen in the November special—while the rest received a personal handheld computer, and in the May special, a $500 savings bond as well.

The second round, called "Face-Off," paired the ten survivors in head-to-head knowledge battles. Clark asked a question, and the children could ring in whenever they knew the answer. A correct response earned a point; an incorrect answer or failure to respond within two seconds gave the opponent a point. The first to reach five points moved on. The fifth point could not be won by default: if a player had four points and their opponent missed a question, the other child got to hear the full question before answering. The losing player left with a digital camera, the computer, and the savings bond.

In round three, "One-on-One," the five remaining players each answered questions alone while their rivals were kept off-stage. They had one minute per question and could request multiple-choice options for up to three questions. Each correct answer added a point, but a third wrong answer ended their turn immediately. A player who answered every question in a set correctly earned a $5,000 cash bonus. The three highest scorers advanced; the others received a seven-day family cruise for four to Florida and the Bahamas, plus the digital camera, computer, and savings bond.

The semi-final round brought the three survivors together. They answered individual questions from randomly selected categories, with correct answers still earning a point. The first two to reach five points went to the finals. The third-place contestant received a trust fund valued at $50,000, in addition to the cruise, digital camera, computer, and savings bond.

International versions

The Indian adaptation, titled India's Child Genius, followed the Fox format of the original American show and aired on Star World with Siddhartha Basu as host. It gave the country's brightest pre-teen scholars a chance to compete, testing them on general knowledge, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, and school subjects for ages 10 to 13. A special episode was filmed at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. In Italy, the show was called Genius - Il campionato dei piccoli geni and aired on Rete 4, with Mike Bongiorno and Alessandro Cecchi Paone hosting the pilot. Spain's version, Pequeños grandes genios, aired on La 1; Carlos Larrañaga hosted the first season, and Ángel Llàcer took over from 2002 to 2003.