Three on a Match

(Contestants), if your first three picks match, you win that prize plus a new car (later win the game instantly and at least $5,000 in cash and prizes), on Three on a Match!

The NBC quizzer mixed in with Sale of the Century & Concentration.

Broadcast
NBC - August 2, 1971 – June 28, 1974

Packager
Bob Stewart Productions

Host
Bill Cullen

Announcer
Don Pardo

Sub-Announcers
Bob Clayton Wayne Howell Roger Tuttle

Gameplay
Three contestants competed in a game of answering true/false questions & matching three of anything.

There were two formats to the game.

True/False Question Round
Host Cullen presented the contestants with three categories (with the third being a general knowledge typed subject most of the time). Then the contestants secretly bid how many questions they wished to answer on whatever category they choose. Their bids were then revealed and the highest bidder won the bidding. Tied players canceled each other out, leaving the third player as the sole winner unless everybody's tied forcing everybody to bid again. The number of questions each contestant bid were all multiplied by $10 and they were all added together to come up with a total value which was inserted into the pot with the maximum total being $110. Ex: 4, 3, and 4 totals 10, which makes the pot $100.

The winner of the bid picked a category and then had a chance to complete his/her contract by answering the number of questions he/she bid. Missing a single question gave the next high bidder a chance to complete his/her bid with the category of that player's choosing. A miss from that player gave the lowest bidder a chance. If two players were tied after the bid winner missed a question, another auction was held by those players. If two ties occurred by the two players who lost the first bid or if all three players missed a question, another question round was played.

Special Bonuses
When choosing a category, a player could find one of these special bonuses behind one.


 * One, Two or Three Free Boxes - Which gave the player who completed his/her bid a choice of that number of boxes on the game board which can't be saved for later. Once they were passed up, they're gone.
 * Double Pot - So called because choosing that category doubled the pot making the maximum total $220.

The first player to complete his/her contract won all the money in the pot. The question round winner then will decide to either bank the cash & play on or use the money to play the board. To go to the board, a player must have at least $90 unless he/she had earned free boxes.

The Game Board
The game board in question 12 squares divided into three columns & four rows. The columns were represented by money amounts ($20, $30 & $40), and the rows were represented by colors (red, green, yellow & blue). Behind those 12 boxes were prizes with a common theme. But behind only one of the boxes, was a card reading "No Match".

The player in control of the board by choice used the money he/she won to pick boxes. He/she made his/her choice by saying "(insert amount) on the (insert color)", in other words picking by amount & color. Ex: "$20 on the blue". The player in control can only buy three boxes in a single column. The game was called Three on a Match, because the object of the game was to find three prizes that match each other (one in each column, not three in one column or one & two in two columns). If the contestant earned 1, 2 or 3 free boxes in the question round, and if he/she ran out of money, that contestant began to take that number of free boxes without penalty. The contestant in control will continue buying boxes and revealing prizes until he/she found three of a kind or had no more money leftover (or doesn't have enough) (and no more free boxes). A contestant's turn at the board will also end if it became somehow impossible to make a match. When any one of those things happened, the game continued.

The first player to get three prizes that match, wins the game, kept the prize matched plus any money leftover. As the opening title says, the player to make a match on the first three picks not only won the game, but also won a car.

Championship players retired from the show after winning five games. In addition, those successful players also won an additional $5,000 in cash.

Format #2
The question round remained the same, but it was the board that went through some changes. For now instead of prizes, the game board was hiding pictures & symbols that fit under a specific category. Single matches no longer won the game, instead they just won the round for the contestant won matched and started another round. The first player to make three matches won the game; but if the player got three on a match in the first three picks, he/she automatically won the game. The winner of the game won $5,000 in prizes.

Championship players no longer retired from the show after winning five games. Instead like many other game shows with returning champions including Jeopardy! today, championship contestants simply stayed on the show until they lose. In addition, winning seven games in a row won a brand new car.

Special Week Symbols
On special weeks, one special picture or symbol would appear on the board regardless if it fit the board criteria for the round. If a player found a three on a match using that symbol, automatically won the game and was entered into a special drawing at the end of that week.

Big Match
At some point in the show, All three contestants player a special game for a cash jackpot which started at $1,000 and grew by that amount each week whenever in wasn't won. The game board now consisted of 20 dots and two half dollar bills. The contestants took turns picking boxes until nine dots were revealed, or until one player revealed a half dollar bill. When the latter happened, the contestant who found it had one chance to find the other half dollar bill and win the jackpot.

Links
Three on a Match @ The Bill Cullen Homepage Three on a Match @ Bill Cullen's World Three on a Match @ Tim's TV Showcase