Match Mates

Game Play

Each round began with two children competing. The emcee delivered a "ripper rhyme," a general knowledge question in the form of a rhyming couplet with the final word missing. The first child to buzz in with the correct missing word gained control of the puzzle. A board of twenty numbered squares was then shown to both players. Each square hid a picture—either a drawing or a photograph—along with a piece of a rebus puzzle. The emcee also provided a clue to the rebus's answer, which was linked to the ripper rhyme. Starting with the child who won the rhyme, each player took turns picking two numbers from the board, one at a time. Each number revealed a different picture. For a "match" to occur, the two pictures had to be connected in some way. If they matched, the corresponding rebus pieces were uncovered, and the child could try to solve the rebus. If the pictures did not match, or if the child could not solve the puzzle, control passed to the other child. The first to solve the rebus won the round and moved on to Round Three. One of the numbered squares featured a drawing of an ear, which contained a sound linked to one of the pictures on the board. Another square showed a butterfly net, which held a verbal clue read by the announcer, also tied to one of the items. The winners of the first two rounds then faced each other. They watched a series of increasingly specific clues about a person, place, or thing, delivered by children on videotape. The first to buzz in with the correct answer took control of the puzzle.