Blockbusters

1980 Opening Spiel:

"This is the battlefield for our game of speed & strategy. These are the letters which lead to victory on... Blockbusters!"

1987 Opening Spiel:

"Get ready for our game of skill & strategy. Blockbusters!"

A game of skill and strategy, where the game board was a honeycomb filled with letters. This show originally pitted a solo player against a family pair to see if two heads really are better than one.

Front game
A 4x5 board of 20 hexagons is presented with a letter in each hexagon. A letter is chosen at random to start a game. The answer of the question would begin with the letter chosen. A sample question might be: "What 'B' is a long silver rod twirled by a majorette or cheerleader?", in which case the correct answer would be "Baton". The player who buzzes in first gets a chance to answer the question. If correct, the space is marked with the their color. If they are incorrect, the second player/pair gets a chance to answer. If nobody answers correctly, another question is asked whose answer began with that same letter.

The solo red player would have to connect from top to bottom (red to red), which can be done in as little as 4 correct answers. The family pair would have to connect from side to side (white to white) in as little as 5 moves. Completing a path earned the player/pair $500, with two games needed to win the match, $1,000 and advance to the bonus round called "Gold Rush/Run". Originally, each win was worth a trip to the "Gold Rush/Run", with no money awarded for the front game.

Due to the interlocking patterns of the hexagons, it was impossible for a game to end in a tie.

Gold Rush/Gold Run
The player has to connect from side to side (gold to gold) in 60 seconds or less. The difference here was that many of the hexagons had multiple letters on them (1 to 5 letters) and naturally, they represented an answer of more than one word (eg: "BS", Where people kiss in Ireland: Blarney Stone). Correct answers mark the chosen hexagon in gold, but wrong answers or passes put up a block that the player has to work around. If they do make the connection, they win $2,500 (on the first time) or $5,000 (on the second time). If time expires, the player gets $100 for every captured hexagon. If he/she gets blocked out, they could still continue and try to build up the consolation prize of $100 for every correct answer until time ran out. After the show began awarding money in the front game, Gold Rush was always played after each match for $5,000. Either way, win or lose, Bill would go over any missed and/or passed questions, and another main game would commence. If the family pair advanced to the bonus round, only one of them could play.

1987 revival
The show was revived in 1987 with two solo players. The champion represented white while the challenger represented red. On questions in which somebody would win the game on the hexagon since that would cause either side to make the connection, Bill Rafferty referred to this situation as a "dual implication". Again, the game was best two-out-of-three, with the advantage alternating between players in the first two games. If a tie is achieved, a 4x4 tiebreaker board is used and either player could win in as little as four moves (white still went from left to right, red still went top to bottom). Each game win was worth $100 instead of $500.

The Gold Run was played the exact same way as before, with one exception that was added toward the end of the run. If the player won, they received an accumulating jackpot that started at $5,000 and increased by that amount for each unsuccessful attempt. The jackpot reset to $5,000 each time a new champion was crowned.

Championship Formats
From the beginning until the change in the front game format, the longest a champion could stay on the original Blockbusters was eight matches. If they won all 16 bonus rounds they competed in, they would retire with $60,000.

After that, each champion was permitted to stay up to ten matches, with the top possible payout once again being $60,000.

Later in the show's run, the match limit was doubled to twenty, which made the potential payout $120,000. Also, around this time, retired 10-time champions started to return to the show in an attempt to add more to their winnings.

The revival's champions could stay until they had won ten matches or were defeated. Theoretically, a contestant winning their last Gold Run in this version would retire with at least $52,000 (including Gold Run consolation prize winnings).

Big Champions
Solo players

John Hatten - The show biggest champion solo player who was a psychologist from California. His first day was on a day when the board went loopy. Other than that he was one of several contestants who was invited back after the limit rose. His first time playing netted him the full $60,000, and the second run jumped his winnings to the full $120,000. At one time, his house burned to the ground after a single taping; during that time, he was asked to leave the show giving time straighten things out and then come back on a future show, but he declined just to continue his current run.

LaRae Dillman - Had two separate runs as champion having won $65,000. She was the only one whom retired as champion during the first format having won $47,000 at that time. She also appeared as a contestant on The New $25,000 Pyramid in 1982, and Russian Roulette in 2002.

Leland Yung - Yung was once a contestant on Password Plus having won $16,000 on that show. Later when he came to Blockbusters, he played his first ten matches to a tee and picked up $51,000. When he returned in March of '82 Leland won another $55,600 for a grand total of $106,600. Yung graduated from UCLA in between his runs.

Kandi Doyle - During her two separate runs as champ won $62,800 (her first run won her $50,800.) She came on the show after Leland Yung had his first retirement.

Sherry Lucas - During the 10 game limit, she was tied with John Hatten as the biggest winner at that time with a perfect score of $60,000. She was later invited back in the 20-game limit, and left with $66,500, not going the full 20 times.

Gene Vissich (female) - She was the last solo player on the show although she was actually a returning champion having won the ten matches. She didn't win many of her Gold Runs but her final total was $51,700. ($46,700 in her ten matches). She only played one game in her return, due to the fact it was the final episode. She got $5,000 for winning it.

Jeanne Pierce - She was the only retired undefeated champion from the 1987 revival. She picked up the full $52,000, plus $1,000 in Gold Run consolation prize money, for a grand total of $53,000.

Family pairs

Joe & Tom Hendricks - These twins were the first championship family pair on the show having won $26,800. Tom also appeared on Match Game & later Trivia Trap in 1984.

Alan & Jeff Dennis - These twins won five of the ten trips to the Gold Run and won $37,700. They did return in the 20-game limit, won none of the Gold Runs, and were defeated with $40,600.

Kathy Thomas & John Shannon - A brother & sister team who appeared in the ending days of 1980, and into 1981. In their first match, an incorrect answer for John was proven correct. Like the McCarthy's, they alternated in their turns at the Gold Run board, and retired as 10-time champs with $51,200. They were invited back in the 20-game limit, and left with $59,300, not going the full 20 times.

Pat & Liz McCarthy - They were the show's biggest family pair champions, and the only players of either side to win 20 consecutive times having won the full $120,000.

Music
1980 - by Bob Cobert

Main 1987 - by Music Design Group Vamp Main 1 (Piano Lead)- "Run Don't Walk (a)" by Richard Myhill Vamp Main 2 (No Leads)- "Run Don't Walk (b)" by Richard Myhill

Merchandise
A home game by Milton Bradley was made during the later years of the 1980-82 version. It was commonly given out as a parting gift for defeated contestants.

Inventors
Steve Ryan & Mark Goodson

Links
Blockbusters at Classic Game Shows

Blockbusters at Game Show Galaxy (dead link)

Blockbusters with Bill Cullen at tv-gameshows.com (archived)

Blockbusters with Bill Rafferty

YouTube Videos
Bill Cullen's worst pun ever

The biggest Dual-Implication of 1981

Tom Kennedy visits Blockbusters plus Gold Run

Second Blockbusters Christmas Tree

Two Game Show Questions

Jeannie's Last Gold Run