| Hosts | |
| Wesley Eure (Nickelodeon) Larry Toffler (Syndication) | |
| Announcers | |
| John Harvey Bob Lorman Joe Conklin Harry Stevens | |
| Broadcast | |
  | |
| Packagers | |
| Nickelodeon/Games Productions Fox Television Stations (1988-1989) | |
| Distributor | |
| Viacom | |
This is an article for the 1987-89 Nickelodeon/Syndicated series. For the early 1944 radio quiz show version, see Finders Keepers (1), for the 1954 version, see Finders Keepers (2) and for the unsold 1985 pilot, see Finders Keepers (3).
This version of Finders Keepers was a game show on Nickelodeon and later in syndication where two teams of kids had to find hidden objects both in pictures and in a giant house. The show aired for two seasons.
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 (a Blue Team and a Red Team), saw a cartoon with hidden objects 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 they 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 team 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 they 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 for 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. Originally there were four clues to four objects in round one, and five clues to five objects in round two; later there were six clues to six objects in all in both rounds, 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).
List of Rooms[]
- Add-On Construction Room
- Ali Baba's Bathroom
- Artist's Loft
- Attic
- Back Yard
- Bathroom 1 (Eure 1 Version)
- Bathroom 2 (Eure 2 & Toffler Versions)
- Big Sister's Room
- Birthday Party
- Buck Roger's Bathroom
- Caveman's Lair
- Closet 1 (Eure & Toffler Versions)
- Closet 2 (Eure 2 & Toffler Versions)
- Cowboy's Bunkhouse
- Dad's Den
- Dining Room
- Dinosaur's Den
- Dracula's Den
- Dungeon
- Egyptian Tomb Room
- Exercise Room
- Fairy Tale Room (Cinderella)
- Fairy Tale Room (General)
- Fairy Tale Room (Princess & the Pea)
- Family Room
- Frankenstein's Lab 1 (Eure Version)
- Frankenstein's Lab 2 (Eure 2 & Toffler Versions)
- Garage
- General Store
- Granny's Kitchen
- Guest Room
- Hawaiian Luau
- Jungle
- Kids' Room
- Kitchen 1 (Eure 1 Version)
- Kitchen 2 (Eure 2 & Toffler Versions)
- Laundry Room
- Living Room (Country 1)
- Living Room (Country 2)
- Living Room (General Easy)
- Living Room (General Hard)
- Living Room (Modern)
- Living Room (Retro)
- Mom & Dad's Room
- Mother Hubbard's Kitchen
- Moon Room
- Oasis
- Outer Space Room
- Pastry Shop
- Principal's Office
- Rumpelstiltskin's Tower
- Sewer
- Sherlock's Study
- Sultan's Dining Room
- Swamp
- Tarzan's Treehouse
- Toy Shop
- Torture Tower (or simply known as the Tower)
Eure Season 1 Holiday Rooms[]
- Fourth of July Picnic
- Mother's Day Bedroom
- Santa's Workshop
- Halloween Haunted House
- April Fools Bathroom
- New Year's Eve Living Room
- Cupid's Kitchen
- Thanksgiving Dining Room
Scoring[]
Here's how they score in each round:
| Rounds | Hidden Pictures | Rooms |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | $25 | $50 |
| Round 2 | $75 | $100 |
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 did they win $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 won the game, and they got to go on a "Room to Room Romp". Both teams kept their money, with the maximum possible earnings totaling $1,000.
Hidden Pictures Tie-Breaker[]
If the game ended in a tie (where both teams have a score of $500 apiece, mostly), an abbreviated Hidden Picture round was played with the first team to find a certain number of objects winning the game. For Eure's version, it's three objects need to win; and in Toffler's version, it's two objects.
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). For safety reasons, team members are given helmets, goggles, elbow pads, and knee pads to wear during the Room-to-Room Romp.
Studios[]
WHYY-TV Studios, Philadelphia, PA (Nickelodeon run)
Fox Television Center, Los Angeles, CA (Syndicated run)
British Version[]
One year after the original U.S. version's demise, a much more successful and long-running U.K. version hosted by Neil Buchanan aired on ITV from 12 April (April 12) 1991 until 1 April (April 1) 1992. Two years later, a remake of the show still hosted by Buchanan (but with Diane Youdale as co-host) also aired on ITV from 23 March (March 23) 1993 until 6 August (August 6) 1996. Sixteen years later, a short-lived revival hosted by Jeff Brazier aired on CITV from 6 January (January 6) until 14 April (April 14) 2006. The pilot for the show taped in 1988, was taped on the set of the syndicated American version. It used the American theme song and animated logo and it used the Hidden Pictures game used in the American version except for two differences: 1. There were two pictures played instead of one. 2. Teams take turns instead buzzing in, making the buzzers on the podiums useless. The house portion was more or less the same. In the series, their question round called "Find & Keep" was based on the first format of the comedy Bob Stewart produced, Bill Cullen hosted show Eye Guess.
Merchandise[]
Board Game[]
A board game based on the TV show was released by Cardinal in 1988.
Cancelled Games[]
Video games based on the Nickelodeon/Syndicated versions were going to be released for the Apple II, Commodore 64/128, IBM-PC and NES by Hi-Tech Expressions in 1989, but all the games got cancelled before being developed or released.
Trivia[]
The line from the opening spiel of the show "Where what you find, is what you keep!" was also used in the unrelated 1985 JM Productions pilot of the same name.
Similar Show[]
The Noise – a somewhat combination of Silent Library and Finders Keepers where contestants have to go through a house quietly without making any noise and not to break a noise meter, even though the show does not take place in a library.
Music[]
by Edd Kalehoff
Additional Page[]
Finders Keepers (4)/Quotes & Catchphrases
Links[]
Rules for Finders Keepers (4) A
Rules for Finders Keepers (4) B
Senor Wood's Finders Keepers Frenzy
Article about the British version (courtesy of ukgameshows.com)