Play Your Hunch

Did You Know?

• Merv Griffin left the show on September 28, 1962, to begin his talk show.
• Announcer Johnny Olson substituted for host Merv Griffin on December 29, 1961 and March 6, 1962.
• The show featured one of Robert Redford's first professional acting roles.
• A British version was produced by the BBC in the early 1960s, hosted at one stage by Alan Freeman.

Game play

Two couples, or occasionally other pairs, took part in this game show. The main challenges, called "problems," always presented a choice among three visible options, which were labeled X, Y, and Z. Some problems tested observation skills—for instance, a couple might need to spot which of three musicians in the show's band was only pretending to play. Other problems relied mostly on luck. The teams took turns being given a problem; after the three choices were shown but before the problem itself was explained, the team could decide to play or pass. If they chose to play, the couple discussed their answer until a chime sounded, at which point they had to give a final answer. A wrong answer gave the opposing team a chance to pick from the two remaining options. A correct answer by either team earned one point, and the first to three points won the game. Each point also paid $50, or $100 during the NBC primetime version. At least once per episode, the couples faced a "come-closer" problem, where they wrote a numerical guess on a slate—for example, estimating how many coffee beans were in a displayed container. The couple whose guess was closer to the actual number scored a point. Champions stayed on the show until they lost, and the first question of each game was always given to the challengers. On the CBS version, the winning couple played a bonus round called "The Last Straw" for a car. Seven straws were shown, but the couple did not know which five were long and which two were short. They drew straws one by one; if they pulled all five long straws, they won the car. If they pulled a short straw, they received $100 for each long straw already drawn. A later bonus round on CBS offered a prize such as a trip, an appliance, or a car. In this round, either assistant Liz Gardner or announcer Johnny Olson hid behind one of three doors onstage, and the couple simply guessed which door. No bonus games were played during the NBC run.