Pyramid

Based loosely off of Password, this is a show where you have to get your partner to say a word by describing it.

Main Game
The game is played with two teams of two contestants (consisting of one celebrity & one contestant) in a game of word communication. Each game starts with the introduction of six categories arranged in a pyramid.

Each team in turn chose a category, and then a subject under that category was given. The team had 30 seconds to guess the seven words/phrases/names that fit into the category. One player described each item while the other player tried to guess what the words are. Each correct word was worth one point. When a word was passed, it cannot be returned to, but if the guesser can the word already passed, the team still scored. If at anytime the clue giver gave away any part of the answer or conveyed the essence of the answer, a cuckoo sounded and the word was thrown out.

Each team had three turns with the celebrities giving first in round one, the contestants giving in round two, and in round three they decided amongst themselves on who's giving and who's receiving.

The team with the most points won the game.

Alterizations

 * $10,000 Pyramid - In the beginning on CBS there were eight words, but when the show moved to ABC it was reduced to the traditional seven.
 * $20,000 Pyramid - Any team who achieved a perfect score of 21 points won a $1,000 bonus (a bonus prize in the Junior Pyramid and final season).
 * $25,000 Pyramid - During the 1977-78 season of the Cullen shows, any team who achieved a perfect score of 21 points won a $2,100 bonus.
 * Junior Partner Pyramid - The teams consisted of one child and his/her adult relative. Though there were still seven words, the clock was set at 35 seconds.
 * Pyramid - When Donny Osmond hosted the show, the number of words was lowered to six, and the time was diminished to 20 seconds. A burble signified that the giver gave an unacceptable clue.

Special Bonuses
At some point in the game, a team would uncover a special item behind one category prompting a bonus situation. To win the bonus, the team had to get all the answers right. In situations where a team can win the game without needing all the answers or has won the game automatically, if the last category concealed a bonus, the team was allowed to play all the way out in order to win the bonus.


 * Big 7 - This was the show's mainstay for the entire 70s run. It premiered in December 1974 (nine months after the show moved to ABC), and during the second season of the Cullen run. The team that exposed the Big 7 had 30 seconds to get all seven and win $500 (originally a trip). During the Cullen run it had two bonus prizes: the first was $1,000 during the second season, and the second was a new car during the final season. In the Junior Partner Pyramid shows, the teams chose their own Big 7 in either the first or second game. If a team had 14 points, and the final category was the "Big 7", getting all seven answers was worth $1,500 ($3,100-$6,100 during the Cullen version's one season with this bonus).
 * Big Money Card - This was only shown during two of the seasons in the Cullen run. A random cash amount between $1,000 and $5,000 was hidden behind a category. Whatever the amount exposed, that's the amount the contestant was playing for by getting all seven.
 * 7-11 - This was the show's mainstay for the entire 80s run. It premiered in April 1983 on CBS. The team that exposed the 7-11 had 30 seconds to get all seven. Doing so won $1,100. When it first premiered, the contestant had a choice between going for the $1,100 or play it safe and play for $50 a correct answer. It existed on the John Davidson version as well, but it was scrapped in favor of Gamble for a Grand which will be explained later.
 * Mystery 7 - Like the 7-11, this was the show's mainstay for the entire 80s run. It was always played in the second game (sometimes the first in the John Davidson version). The team that found the Mystery 7 had a chance to win a special prize. It's called the Mystery 7 because the category was not told until after it was done. The team had the usual 30 seconds to get all seven words. In its early existence, the Mystery 7 was in plain sight as the last category on the main game Pyramid board. It was mostly chosen first by the contestant who lost the first game, which mostly led to having the Mystery 7 be hidden away.
 * Double Trouble - This was only played in the Davidson version and was played in either game. This category had its seven answers be two words long. The team had 45 seconds instead of 30 to get all seven two word answers. Getting all seven answers won $500 in cash. There were two Double Trouble categories in the game whenever it appeared, each team only gets one giving both teams a chance at $500.
 * Gamble for a Grand - This was the Davidson version's replacement for the 7-11. This was where the team that found it can decide to give up five seconds of time (making the time 25 seconds) for a chance to win $1,000. Sometimes a trip was offered (making its name, "Gamble for a Trip").
 * Super Six - This was only shown on the Donny Osmond version since all categories required six words in 20 seconds and it was always played in both games. The team that exposed the Super Six had 20 seconds to get all six and win a prize.

Player of the Week
In the $50,000 Pyramid and for three weeks in 1983 on The New $25,000 Pyramid the player who had the fastest time of the week won a trip (in the $50,000 Pyramid it was a European getaway, in 1983 it was a trip to Greece).

Tie-Breakers
If the game ended in a tie, the game shifted into a tie-breaker situation. The team that caused the tie had a choice between two letters leaving the other for the other team. Both teams had 30 seconds to get as many of the seven items beginning with their letter(s) as they can. The team that got the most out of seven won the game.

70s & 2002 Pyramids
The teams continued building on their scores using the tie-breaker categories. This caused an achievement of very rare high scores. Extra ties kept the game going, and as soon as the tie was broken, the game was over. In the 2002 Pyramid, the team that scored six points in the fastest time won the game.

80s & 90s Pyramids
The teams scores were erased and each team played their 30 second round of seven answers each. The team that got the most out of seven won the game. If both teams got seven, the team with the fastest time was declared the winner. If the game ended in a 21-21 tie, the team that broke the tie won $5,000 (originally a car) to the contestant.

The winning team went over to the Winner's Circle for a grand cash prize. Starting with the move to ABC in 1974, the contestant on the winning team even had choice as to who would give and who would receive.

Winner's Circle
The giver of the winning team faced a larger pyramid board of six subjects with the guesser having his/her back to the board. The winning team had 60 seconds to climb up to the top of the pyramid by getting all six. On each subject, the giver gave a list of items that fit the subject while the guesser tried to guess what they all have in common. As soon as the guesser gets the right subject or passed, they moved on to the next subject to the right. Upon a pass, the team can come back to it if there's time leftover though the guesser can still get the subject without going back to it (not possible in the Donny Osmond version). If at anytime the giver gave an illegal clue (giving away part of the answer, conveying the essence of the answer, descriptions of the category or a synonym) a buzzer would sound (the same burble from the main game in Donny Osmond's version), and the team would have to surrender their chance at the big money. Starting in the ABC version, the giver was discouraged from using his/her hands which is why they were strapped into the chair, plus starting in the 2nd CBS version prepositional phrases was also outlawed. Even though their chances of winning the big cash was shot, the team can still go for the other subjects, because when time ran out, the contestant still won money attached to the subjects guessed; and of course getting all six in 60 seconds without illegal clues won the grand cash prize.

Consolation Money
Here are the amounts for each subject according to the versions:

Grand Cash Prizes
Here are the grand cash prizes for going up to the top of the Pyramid:


 * The $10,000 Pyramid - All trips to the Winner's circle were worth $10,000.
 * The $20,000 Pyramid - The first trip was worth $10,000, the second was worth $15,000, and the third and all future trips were worth $20,000. Winning here at any point augmented the player's prior winnings to the grand prize.
 * The Junior Pyramid - The first trip was worth $1,000, the second was worth $2,500, and the third and all future trips were worth a total of $5,000 (IOW, losing the first &/or WC, but winning the second or third bumped the previous WC earnings to $2,500 or $5,000).
 * Junior Partner Pyramid - The first trip was worth $2,500, and the second was worth a total $5,000.
 * The All-Star Junior Pyramid - All trips to the Winner's circle were worth $10,000.
 * The $25,000 Pyramid - The first trip was worth $10,000, and the second trip was worth a total of $25,000.
 * The $50,000 Pyramid - The first trip was worth $5,000, and the second trip was worth a total of $10,000. But in the finals of tournament games, all trips were worth $50,000.
 * The $100,000 Pyramid - Same as the $25,000 Pyramid except in tournament games where all trips were worth $100,000.
 * Pyramid - The first trip was worth $10,000, and should they win the first bonus round the second was worth $15,000 for a total of $25,000.

Game/Championship Formats
In the 70s daytime version until 1980, contestants who didn't make it to the top returned to play the next game. But if they do make it to the top and win the grand cash prize, they retire from the show. Also games straddled at that time, so whenever there's no time for the second Winner's Circle on that day's show, the second Winner's Circle would be played at the top of the next show. But on Friday shows, if the second game ended in a tie but there was no time for one more Winner's Circle round, the celebrities of the week would team up to play the Winner's Circle themselves. Any money won by the celebrities was split between the contestants and if they do win, their contestant partners split $5,000 between them.

In the syndicated versions, Junior Partner version and 80s CBS version, each episode was made self-contained for it had the contestants play two games every show. During the CBS version, Junior Partner version & $100,000 versions, any money won from the Winner's Circle was used as score money not counting bonuses (except the Junior Partner version where the $500 Big 7 bonus did count). The player with the most money or won both games returned to play the next show. If the show ended in a tie both contestants returned to play the next show. Contestants retired after five wins while in the CBS version they retired after winning the $25,000 since it was the network's winnings limit; but when the limit was raised to $50,000 in '84 and $75,000 in '86, contestants were required to stay a little while longer until they get enough $25,000 wins to retire or win the usual five games.

Tournaments
On The $50,000 Pyramid, the player with the fastest time in the front game during that week was called The Player Of The Week, won two round-trip tickets to Europe and qualified for the $50,000 tournament. There were two such tournaments. The first was held starting on March 23, 1981 and the other beginning on May 25, 1981. The quarterfinals were played on Monday and Tuesday. The winner of each game would advance to the semifinals after playing the Pyramid for $5,000. On Wednesday and Thursday, each match would have two semifinalists playing two games against each other with players winning one game playing for $5,000, and players winning both games in the same show playing for a total of $10,000. Whomever won the most money would compete in the finals. The losing players from the semifinals competed in a 'wild card' match. Starting the following Monday, two finalists played one game and the winner played the Winner's Circle for $50,000. If the grand prize was not won, that player played the next game against the finalist who sat out the previous game.

On both versions of The $100,000 Pyramid, the three players who won the Winner's Circle in the shortest time during a given period of shows (usually 13 weeks) returned on later episodes to compete in a tournament. The players alternated in a round-robin, with two players competing each day and the third player replacing the loser of that episode in the next one, if neither player won the Winner's Circle that day (in the event of a tie, a coin toss was used to determine who returned on the next show). The first player to win the Winner's Circle won $100,000 and ended the tournament. If a $100,000 win happened in the first game of the show, the two remaining players played the second game for a possible $10,000. No bonus cards were in play during a tournament, although the $5,000 bonus for a 21-21 tie remained intact on the 1980s version.

On the Osmond version, the rules were changed drastically to being played between either four or six players who won $25,000 in their initial appearance (which, due to the above requirements and a lack of returning champions, made qualification difficult), with two tournaments played each season. During a six-player tournament, each contestant's first attempt at the Winner's Circle was worth $25,000. If $25,000 was won in the first half and the same player returned to the Winner's Circle, that contestant played for an additional $75,000 and the tournament title. If the tournament ended with no players able to win both Winner's Circles in one show, either the contestant who won $25,000 in the fastest time or the player who won the most money would have his or her tournament winnings augmented to $100,000.

In a four-player tournament, contestants competed in single elimination, with the first two semifinalists competing on day one and the other two semifinalists on day two. Each attempt at the Winner's Circle was worth $25,000. The top two winners then returned to compete in the finals, where each Winner's Circle victory that day was worth an additional $50,000. A tounament sweep would be worth $150,000.

Music
($10,000, $20,000, $25,000 (weekly) $50,000 Pyramid) - "Tuning Up" by Ken Aldin

($25,000, $100,000) by Bob Cobert

2002 by Barry Baylock & John Coffing

Inventor
Bob Stewart

Trivia
In the 1973 pilot, the Winner's Circle round required 10 subjects (with the four on the bottom worth $25) instead of six to be guessed. But producer Bob Stewart realized how super hard it would be with that kind of achievement. So they added a large piece of plywood to the giant pyramid to cover up the four on the bottom. Future versions had no covering seeing that they all have six boxes on their pyramids.

The fastest celebrity to make it to the top of the pyramid was Billy Crystal at 26 seconds.

The theme song "Tuning Up" for the early versions of Pyramid was used on a 1995 Saturday Night Live game show parody sketch entitled "You Think You're Better Than Me?"

A new version of Pyramid called "$1,000,000 Pyramid" was scheduled for the CBS 2009 Fall premiere replacing the now cancelled soap opera Guiding Light, but was bumped off in favor of the new "Let's Make a Deal". However, it has been reconsidered for the CBS 2010 Fall premiere replacing the soon to be cancelled As the World Turns.

Spin-Offs
Junior Pyramid - Kids' version ran in 1979

Merchandise
A PC CD ROM game was released based on The $100,000 Pyramid by Sierra.

A DVD game was released

Links
Xanfan's Pyramid Page

Xanfan's older Pyramid Page

Information on the 70s Pyramid