| Host | |
| Jim Lange | |
| Broadcast | |
 | |
| Packagers | |
| Pasetta Productions/Tribune Entertainment | |
The Puzzle Game was a third attempted revival for the short-lived 1985-86 game show Catch Phrase.
Gameplay[]
Main Game[]
Two couples competed in a game of solving computer animated puzzles; The returning champions stood at the blue podium, and the challengers stood at the red podium. At the start of each round, one player (someone on the challenging at the start of the game, thereafter a contestant on the trailing team) saw eight dollar amounts flashing in a randomizer. The contestant's job was to stop the randomizer by hitting his/her button. Whatever the dollar amount landed on became the value for the Toss-Up Puzzles.
Toss-Up Puzzles[]
On each toss-up, the computer drew a puzzle on the screen. Sometimes a little man, appeared in a puzzle. His appearance and what he did acted as an important word in the answer. All toss-ups are "free for alls", meaning that anybody can buzz-in when somebody thinks they know the answer and unlike its parent show Catch Phrase players can buzz-in at anytime. A correct answer won the toss-up, but an incorrect answer gave the opposing couple a free shot. The first player to buzz-in with a correct answer added the landed money amount to the team's score and received a chance to solve a Super Puzzle.
Super Puzzle[]
The Super Puzzle was a special puzzle that was hidden behind nine jigsaw puzzle pieces. On each new turn at the Super Puzzle, the nine pieces (or whatever pieces were left) flashed in a randomizer just like the money amounts. The player in control hit his/her buzzer to stop the randomizer, which would land on a piece causing it to be removed from the screen and reveal a piece of the puzzle. Then the couple in control had five seconds to confer and think of an answer.
A correct solution added more money into the team's score, but incorrect solution or failure to respond caused another Toss-Up to be played. The first Super Puzzle was worth $250, with the money doubling with each new puzzle.
The game was either played in three rounds or to time, and when time ran out in the middle of a round, the rest of the current Super Puzzle was revealed and the first player to buzz-in with a correct answer won the money. Both couples got to keep their cash, and the couple with the most money won the game and went on to the bonus round for up to $10,000.
Bonus Round[]
In the bonus round, the winning couple faced a game board with 25 squares lettered A to Y. Behind those letters were puzzles, with the most difficult one behind the letter M, the center square. The object of the bonus was to get five squares in a row in 60 seconds or less (30 for each contestant). One player from the championship team chose a square and tried to solve the hidden puzzle behind it. The player could take as many guesses as (s)he could, and a correct answer captured the square. But if the player was stumped, (s)he could pass on it and go back to it later. After the first player played his/her 30 second round, his/her partner then played his/her own 30 second round.
If the couple could get five in a row in a straight line (across or up & down) they won $5,000. But if the championship team could get five in a row in any direction using the difficult M square, they won double or $10,000.