Contraption

The first and longest running children's game show on the Disney Channel.

Broadcast
Disney Channel - April 18, 1983-January 9, 1988, March 8, 1989–October 25, 1989

Packager
Acme Game Show Inc.

Host
Ralph Harris

Contraption Coaches
Kevin Bickford & Robin Shaw

Announcer
Miranda Fredricks

Music
Robin Frederick

Gameplay
Two teams of three kids compete in a game of answering questions which are all about popular Disney films. Answering the questions correctly won "Contraptiles", a "Contraptile" is a plastic transparent yellow square with a hole in the center. Each team was given three passports (one for each team member), they told the contestants which of the three playing areas those contestants should be at for the first part of the game. At the end of each round, the players involved played a mini-race for bonus Contraptiles.

Round 1 (Books)
The first round was played at the station marked "Books"; the players with the Books passport went over to that station. The Books station focused on a Disney movie based on a book. The two contestants saw a 2-minute clip of that film, and then were asked two questions each about the film. Each correct answer was worth one Contraptile.

After the four questions were asked, the two contestants competed in "The Jungle Boat Race" where they have to pedal their Jungle Boat down the track to the finish line. The first player to reach the end by knocking down an orange pole won two Contraptiles, while the runner-up won only one. In case of a tie, both teams received two Contraptiles.

Round 2 (Animals)
The next round was played at the station marked "Animals"; the players with the Animals passport went over to that station. The Animals station saw a 2-minute clip of a Disney movie focusing on animals as characters. The two contestants for this round saw the clip, and then they were asked two questions each about the film. Again a correct answer was worth one Contraptile.

At the end of the round, the two contestants competed in the race called "Wheels of Fire". In this race the active players ran inside their giant wheels (like a hamster wheel) down the track to the finish line. Again, the first player to reach the end by knocking down an orange pole won two Contraptiles, while the runner-up won only one. In case of a tie, both teams received two Contraptiles.

Round 3 (Heroes & Villains)
The next area of the game was the "Heroes & Villains" station in which the two contestants holding the Heroes & Villains passport looked at a clip, this time showing the heroes and the villains of the film. This time after the clip was played, the active contestants were asked three questions each (sometimes two again) but again for one Contraptile.

The race this round was called "Magic Carpet" where the players used their arm muscles to guide themselves down the track. Same scoring rules from the two previous rounds apply.

Round 4 (Magic)
The final round took place at the "Magic" station, this was where all six players faced-off. The movie clip in that round was about something magical. Three question each were asked to both teams, only this time each question was worth five Contraptiles. Each team during their turn is allowed to confer after hearing the question.

After the Magic round, the teams counted up their Contraptiles. The most Contraptiles any team can earn is 29 or 30 Contraptiles. The team with the most Contraptiles at the end of the game, wins the game and a grand prize package. If the game ended in tie, both teams won the grand prize package.

YouTube Videos
A Full Episode of the show

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4