| Host | |
| Mike Darow | |
| Announcer | |
| Bill Wendell | |
| Broadcast | |
  | |
| Packager | |
| Art James-Dan Cross Productions | |
"This is the game where letters make words, and words make money. It's time to play Money Words! And here is your host on Money Words, Mike Darow!"
Money Words was an unsold show that was basically Battleship with words.
Main Game[]
Three contestants face a board that has been preloaded with a set amount of words about a specific topic. The words may be arranged horizontally, vertically, or even diagonally. The words may also intersect with each other. Each contestant begins the game with $100. A player calls out a letter and a number (such as E-4). If the called-out square contains a letter, the player earns $10 and can call out another. If the square does not contain a letter, control passes to the next player.
However, if a player wants to guess the word, they can buzz in, regardless of if they have control of the board or not. If a player buzzes in, though, another player may "challenge" the fact that the player who buzzed in knows the word.
- If a player who buzzed in was not "challenged" by another, that player automatically is awarded $25 (regardless of whether their answer was correct or not).
- If a player who buzzed in was "challenged" by another, then they must successfully guess the word.
- If a "challenged" player successfully guesses the word, then they receive $25 and the challenger loses $25.
- If a "challenged" player unsuccessfully guesses the word, then the opposite occurs- they lose $25, and the challenger gains $25.
The money word was revealed whether or not the player gave a correct answer.
In round one, player one went first, with control passing down the line after each word was revealed, regardless of who was currently in control of picking positions; for instance, after the reveal of the first money word, control moved to player two, then player three for the next word. Player two began round two and player three began round three.
The main game went on for two more rounds, with the number of words possible varying, as well as the amount of money doubling to $50 for round two and $100 for round three. The rounds were played to time or if all the words were revealed. The high score after Round 3 moves on to the bonus round, while the runners-up received the $100 they started with plus a consolation prize.
Final Moneyword[]
The player calls for letters in the word one by one until a letter is called that does not belong in the word. Then, they must try and guess the word for the jackpot.
- If their guess was correct, the player won a jackpot which started at $5,000 and increased by $500 each day it went unclaimed.
- If their guess was incorrect, the player may buy specific letter positions (e.g: position 2, position 5, etc.) at $100 apiece. They could purchase, at maximum, as many letters as it would take to fill half the board; for example, a person uncovering three letters of a ten-letter word was allowed to purchase up to two more positions. A correct answer doubled the contestant's pre-purchase winnings.
Trivia[]
This was one of two game shows that NBC was considering to replace All-Star Baffle in spring 1974, the other being Celebrity Sweepstakes, but lost out to the latter.
Links[]
Money Words at The Game Show Pilot Light