Finders Keepers (1987)

A show on Nickelodeon where kids have to find hidden objects both in pictures and in a giant house.

Broadcast
Nickelodeon 11/02/87 - 09/11/88

Syndicated 09/12/88 - 06/30/90

Hosts
Wesley Eure - 1987

Larry Toffler - 1988

Music
by Edd Kalehoff

Gameplay
The game was played in two rounds, and each round started with a game called Hidden Pictures, and finished with the house.

Hidden Pictures
The two teams playing saw a cartoon with hidden object blended in. The host would read a clue to one of the items, all the team had to do is buzz-in and locate the right object. If the have found the object they win money, but if they've found the wrong object or ran out of time, the opposing can steal the money by finding the right object. If neither play found it, the object was revealed and new clue was read.

In Eure's version, the picture would be shown on the contestants' monitors in their podiums, and the searched for the item by circling the object using an electronic pen.

In Toffler's version, a giant trilon would turnover to reveal the picture. The objects the teams were searching would come in the form of colorforms. Both teams had their own colored colorforms on both sides of the picture. Toffler would always warn the teams that there are more objects held by the teams than in the picture. When a team buzzed in, one player would take the proper colorform and paste it on the spot where the hidden object is.

In addition to the cash, for each object found the team that got it won a room of a giant house to search through. The rooms were originally selected by the teams themselves, later the rooms they were playing for were announced before each clue. There were six clues to six objects in all, the round stopped when four objects were found or if all six clues were played.

The Finders Keepers House
Once the Hidden Picture round was over, the teams went into the house (originally behind the playing area, later off to the side) and started searching through the rooms they earned. The house itself had eight rooms in all, some were crazy versions of regular rooms. On each room, the team had 30 seconds to trash through the room to find the object that matched the clue read beforehand. If they found the object they won more money, but if they don't it within the 30 second time limit or if they guessed the wrong object, the money went to the other team. While searching through the room, the home viewers were shown the location of the right item (for the Eure version it was zoomed in, while in the Toffler version an X was placed on that location).

Scoring
Here's how they score in each round:

Instant Prize Room
In the second round, one of the four rooms which was not searched yet was an Instant Prize Room. If a team won that room and once they entered into it, a school bell would go off and the room would flash. If the team can find the object in 30 seconds not only they won $100 but also the prize. The prize was only for the team that searched that room whereas not finding the object gave the opposing team only the $100.

The team with the most money at the end of the second round on the game. Both teams kept their money.

Hidden Pictures Tie-Breaker
If the game ended in a tie, an abbreviated Hidden Picture round was played with the first team to find two objects winning the game.

Room-To-Room Romp
The winning team went on a wild Room-to-Room Romp for six great prizes. The team had 90 seconds to search six rooms. On each room, the team had to find an object clue card via the clue given by the host. Each clue card told the team where to go next and where to find the next clue card. Each time the team found a clue card they won a prize, and finding all six also won a grand prize (which is usually lesser than the Instant Prize Room prize until later in the Toffler run).