Hip Hop Squares

MTV2 VERSION:

"Straight out of Brooklyn, it’s Hip Hop Squares. On today's show, (insert the made-up claim titles and names of eight celebrities) and in the center square (insert made-up claim title and celebrities' name) and now (insert funny fact about the host) Peter Rosenberg!"

FROM THE FIRST EPISODE OF THE VH1 VERSION:

''"Welcome to VH1 Hip Hop Squares, come to play, stay to party. Give it up for the XO Squad. Tonight, it's the battle of the Supermodels Don Benjamin vs. Tyson Beckford. But first, let's meet the squares: He's always battling out, DC Young Fly. He's always big worm to me, Faizon Love. Her milkshake brings all the squares to the board, Kelis. It's top model, Eva "The Diva" Marcille, She'll knock you down is singer Keri Hilson. He's one funny mothasucka, Michael Blackson. She's a dirty comedian and a dirty dancer, Tiffany Haddish. He's known for his grand hustle, give it up for Tip. And in the center square, R&B Legend himself, Bobby Brown. And now, the king of cameos, ya'll give it up for DeRay!" ''

(MTV2/VH1) Hip Hop Squares is the rap/hip-hop spin-off of Hollywood Squares.

Gameplay
Just like in Hollywood Squares, the object of the game is to get tic-tac-toe: that's three squares in a row, either across, up & down or diagonally; or be the first contestants to capture five of the squares to win. Xs are always represented by a male contestant. Os are always represented by a female contestant.

MTV2 Version
The two competing contestants take turns picking off each of the nine hip hop stars seated in a great big tic-tac-toe board. On each star, the host asked a question to that star after which the star would usually give a crazy untrue answer (classified as a zinger) followed by his/her real answer. After hearing the real answer, the contestant in control decided to either agree (meaning the star is correct) or disagree (meaning the star answered with a bluff). If the contestant's judgment was correct, he/she gets the square (hence the phrase X or circle gets the square); if the contestant's judgment was wrong, his/her opponent gets the square unless it would mean a win; when that happens nothing would be placed in that square because a win had to be earned by the contestant in control.

The secret square was played the same as always in Hollywood Squares but it's been renamed the "G-Spot". All "G-Spot" questions are worth $1,000 which does not count toward their final scores. If the "G-Spot" was not chosen in the second game, it is carried over into the next game. On some episodes, winning the "G-Spot" also won a prize for the studio audience.

The first two games are worth $500 and the third game is worth $1,000. If time ran out in the middle of a game, the contestants received $100 for each square captured. The player with the most money won the match and went on to play the bonus round.

Bonus Round
In this bonus game, the winning contestant chose which row of three stars to play with, either the top, middle or bottom. Host Rosenberg asked one question to the three stars in that chosen row: one of the them gave the correct answer; the other two gave bluffs. Choosing the correct answer won an additional $2,500, but choosing a bluff answer won nothing extra.

VH1 Version
VH1 has recently revived the show with DeRay Davis as the new host and Ice Cube as the executive producer. Ice Cube is also the announcer and part time center square (unlike Whoopi Goldberg). In addition, Davis was a former panelist on the original MTV2 version before becoming the host for the VH1 version.

In this version, two hip hop celebrities compete to win money for their fans in the studio audience. Other than that, the game is the same as it has always been, but with this one exception: to make a decision, the star in control presses one of two buttons in front of him/her. Green to agree, red to disagree.

The first game is worth $500 and the second game is worth $1,000. In addition, each captured square is worth a random cash amount revealed when a star is chosen.

The star with the most money won the match and went on to play the three-in-a-row bonus round for a chance to double the dollars.

Bonus Round
The nine squares will flash around the board. The winning fan stops the board by hitting a button in front of him/her. When it stops on a square, the winning star's symbol gets placed there. Unlike All-Star Blitz's bonus round, a spin of the board cannot land on a square occupied by a symbol.

The winning team has five chances to make a tic tac toe. If the winning team succeeds, their winnings are doubled.

House DJs
Ms. Nix

Biz Markie

Studio
Steiner Studios (2012)

Hollywood Center Studios (2017)

Inventor
Based on Hollywood Squares by Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley

Merchandise
Prior to this, Sonic Branding Solutions (now Sonic Boom Inc.) released the game Hollywood Squares: Hip Hop Edition for mobile phones on April 1, 2006. Featuring caricature-like appearances of Method Man, Redman, Bizarre from D12, Trina, Biz Markie, Cee-Lo (Green), Pitbull, Teairra Marie and many more.

Trivia
Both DJ Ms. Nix & Peter Rosenberg appeared as Friday DJs on the venerable ABC's Good Morning America.

This is the second spinoff series to have a reboot on its own, the first was Celebrity Family Feud in 2015.

Related Shows

 * Hollywood Squares - The original series.
 * Storybook Squares - The short-lived, kid-friendly version.
 * The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour - The short-lived, fused version.

Links
Official Site (MTV2)

Official Site (VH1)

YouTube Videos
Episode 18

Part 1

Part 2