Win, Lose or Draw

Hosts

Vicki Lawrence (NBC, 1987–1989) Sally Struthers (NBC, sub-host) Bert Convy (Syndication, 1987–1989) Robb Weller (Syndication 1989–1990)

Announcers

Rod Roddy (Sneak Preview) Bob Hilton Gene Wood

Sub-Announcers

Johnny Gilbert Dean Goss

Broadcast

Sneak Preview: Taped 11/2/86 (Aired on 9/5 or 9/6/1987 NBC Daytime: 9/7/1987 – 9/1/1989 Syndicated (Daily): 9/7/1987 – 6/1/1990 (reruns aired until 8/30/1990)

Packagers

Burt & Bert Productions/Kline & Friends

Distributor

Buena Vista Television

Win, Lose or Draw is the game show based on Pictionary where two teams of three (two celebrities & one contestant) draw puzzles to help contestants win money.

Original Format

The First Two Rounds

One member of the team playing had 60 seconds to draw a person, place, thing or phrase, and all the partners had to do was to guess the solution. When drawing, the drawer couldn't use letters, numbers or symbols; however, the only exception to the rules was that the drawer could write down a word that's part of the answer if any of the partners had said it. The drawer could also do "sounds like" by drawing an ear, followed by a clue. After the first 30 seconds, a doorbell (or fanfare during the College Tournament in 1988) would sound, and the drawer could either hand-off to one of his/her two partners or continue drawing. If the guessers could come up with the right answer, the team won $200 ($250 for Sneak Preview), but a correct answer on a hand-off was worth (half that amount or) $100. If time ran out, the opposing team had one chance to guess in an attempt to steal the money. Violation of the said infractions split the value between both teams.

Round 1 had one of the celebrities from each team draw, and the answer is a famous something; Round 2 had the other celebrities on each team and the contestants draw, and the answers could be anything (later a different category).

Later in season two in both versions, in the first round only, the drawers drew clues to a puzzle one at a time (with a maximum of eight or nine) during the next 60 seconds. S/he can pass as many times as they wished. If the team could guess the puzzle correctly they won the $200; otherwise, the opposing team could steal for the same amount. After the puzzles, each team would be given 30 seconds to identify a $200 drawing. Round 2 was played as normal.

Speed Round

The final round of the game was called the Speed Round. In the speed round, the drawer had 90 seconds or 1 1/2 minutes (2 minutes for Sneak Preview) to draw as many words & phrases as he/she could. Each correct answer was worth $100, and the drawer could pass no more than twice. The team in the lead went first followed by the trailing team; in case of a tie, the team that started the entire game went first.

Both contestants on both teams got to keep the money and the team with the most money at the end of the speed round won the game, and a $1,000 bonus for the contestant. If the game ended in a tie, the $1,000 prize was split and each contestant received $500 in addition to the cash already won.

Second Format

In 1989, the format was altered quite a bit. It was first seen in the NBC daytime version before it ended. After that, it was carried over into the final syndicated season when Robb Weller took over. Bert Convy left the syndicated version of the show to host his new creation 3rd Degree, giving the job to Robb Weller.

Also for a brief period, there was one celebrity and two contestants before reverting back to the original two celebrities & one contestant.

The First Two Rounds

The first two rounds were played the same way as the previous format, except that the drawer's partners did not start guessing until the first 25 seconds was up; in addition, the drawer no longer handed off to one of his/her partners. A correct guess after the first 25 seconds was worth $200, and after 30 seconds it was reduced to $100. A successful steal by the opposing team was worth only $50.

Speed Round

In the speed round, the drawer had 60 seconds instead of 90 to convey as many words & phrases to his/her teammates as possible. Each correct guess was worth $50 instead of $100, and the team could still pass twice. The team with the most money still won the game but did not get a $1,000 bonus added to their score; instead, they earned the right to play a bonus round.

Tie Breaker

If the game ended in a tie, a tie breaker was played with the last team to play the speed round going first. The drawer received a choice of two words, leaving the other for the other team to play. The first team established a time with their chosen word while the second team tried to beat the time using their chosen word. The team with the faster time won the game.

Bonus Round

The winning team played a bonus round similar to the speed round. The object for the drawer was to get his/her teammates to guess seven words/phrases in 90 seconds. The first correct guess earned $50, with each correct answer thereafter doubling the money. If the drawer passed along the way, all bonus cash earned up to that point was lost. Originally there was no cap to the winnings; later, it was changed to having the winning team solve seven drawings before time ran out, which won the contestants $5,000. The latter carried over into the final syndicated season.

Champions on this version could stay on the show until they were defeated or won ten games.

Audience Game

Whenever there was time left in the show, a member of the studio audience came up on stage to play the game. He/she chose one of the teams to be his/her partners, then had the usual 60 seconds to draw a word or phrase. If the drawer could get the chosen team to guess the subject, the audience member won a prize.

Galleries

Behind the Scenes

Press Photos

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Trade Ads

Tickets

International Versions

Countries that did their versions of Win, Lose or Draw include:

• Canada (French language only)
• France
• Scotland (Gaelic language only)
• United Kingdom

Merchandise

Main Article: Win, Lose or Draw/Merchandise

Rating

Stations

Stations that aired the syndicated version of Win, Lose or Draw included:

Albany, NY – WRGB
Alexandria, LA - KALB
Albuquerque – KGGM (now KRQE)
Amarillo – KVII
Atlanta – WAGA
Baltimore – WBAL (1987-89), WBFF (1989-90)
Bangor - WABI
Beaumont, TX – KFDM
Birmingham – WMBG
Boston - WBZ
Bristol – WJKL
Buffalo, NY – WIVB
Cedar Rapids – KGAN-TV
Champaign – WAND
Charlotte - WSOC
Charleston, SC – WCIV (now WGWG)
Cheyenne - KGWN
Chicago – WLS
Chico – KCPM (now KNVN)
Cleveland – WKYC
Columbia, MO – KRCG
Columbia, SC - WACH, WOLO, WIS
Columbus, GA – WRBL
Columbus, OH – WCMH
Dallas/Fort Worth – WFAA-TV
Dayton, OH – WKEF
Denver – KCNC
Des Moines – WOI-TV, KDSM
Detroit – WJBK
Duluth - WDIO
Eau Claire - WQOW
El Paso – KVIA
Erie – WETG (now WFXP)
Eugene – KEZI
Fargo – WDAY
Flint – WEYI
Fresno – KJEO (now KGPE)
Green Bay – WFRV
Greensboro – WXII
Greenville, NC – WNCT
Greenville, SC – WSPA
Harrisburg – WHP
Hartford – WVIT
Houston – KHOU
Idaho Falls – KPVI
Indianapolis – WRTV
Jacksonville, FL – WLTV
Johnstown – WJAC
Joplin – KSNF
La Crosse - WXOW
Las Vegas – KTNV
Los Angeles – KABC (1987-88), KHJ/KCAL (1988-90)
Louisville – WAVE-TV
Lincoln - KLKN
Madison – WKOW
Marquette, MI - WJMN
Mason City, IA – KIMT
Medford – KTVL
Miami – WTVJ
Milwaukee - WTMJ
Minneapolis/Saint Paul – KSTP
Minot – KBMY
Mobile – WKRG
Monterey – KMST (now KION)
Nashville – WTVF
New Orleans – WDSU
New York – WCBS (1987-89), WNBC (1989-90)
Norfolk – WTKR
Omaha - KMTV
Orlando – WCPX (now WKMG)
Panama City - WMBB
Peoria – WEEK-TV
Philadelphia – WCAU
Phoenix – KTVK
Pittsburgh – WTAE
Portland, OR – KATU
Portland, ME - WGME
Providence, RI - WLNE
Quad Cities, IA-IL (Davenport, IA/Rock Island-Moline, IL) – KLJB
Raleigh - WRAL
Rapid City – KOTA
Reno – KOLO
Richmond, VA – WTVR
Roanoke – WSLS
Sacramento – KOVR-TV
San Antonio – KENS-TV
San Diego – KGTV
San Francisco – KPIX-TV
Santa Barbara – KCOY
Seattle – KOMO-TV
Spokane - KHQ
Tampa/St. Petersburg – WTSP
Tallahassee - WTXL
Toledo - WDHO
Topeka – WIBW
Traverse City - WPBN
Tucson - KOLD
Tulsa - KOTV
Tyler – KETK
Utica, NY – WUTR
Washington, D.C. – WRC-TV
Watertown – WFYF
Wausau - WAOW
West Palm Beach – WPEC-TV
Wichita - KAKE
Wichita Falls – KSWO
Yakima/Tri-Cities - KNDO/KNDU

Music

Thomas Morrison

Inventors

Bert Convy & Burt Reynolds

Studio

CBS Television City, Hollywood, CA

Spin-Offs

• Teen Win, Lose or Draw – The original "kids" version of the show aired on the Disney Channel from 1989 to 1992.
• Disney's Win, Lose or Draw – a formerly new "kids" version of the show that also aired on the Disney Channel in 2014.

Trivia

The living room set (designed by veteran set designer John C. Mula) was modeled after producer Burt Reynolds' living room.

The Sneak Preview episode from 1987 is the second game show pilot where Tony Danza and Burt Reynolds both appeared together, the first game show pilot they appeared together on was the 1985 pilot of Hollywood Squares with John Davidson.

In the opening of the Sneak Preview episode, the pictures only showed sketches of the Caricatures heads instead of the whole body.

At the beginning of the show after the participants played a quick round and while the stars were introduced, caricatures of the celebrities were shown on the giant sketchpad. There was also a caricature of the host as well. The caricatures were drawn by seasoned artist Overton Lloyd.

Before the opening and the stars were introduced in later Season two in both versions, there was a cold open for Round 1, as the drawers drew clues to a puzzle one at a time (with a maximum of eight or nine) during the next 60 seconds.

When Robb Weller became the host, the whole set was changed along with the show's logo though the fonts remained. Also a new version of the theme music was played, but after a few weeks, they switched back to the old theme music.

Pictionary (the board game itself that was based on this show) had its very own short-lived game show playing in a similar matter to this show hosted by the late Alan Thicke that ran in syndication from 1997 until 1998.

Following a lengthy three-decade leave of absence, Win, Lose or Draw returned to television, this time on cable's legendary Disney Channel, with stand-up comedian and acclaimed pro magician Justin "Kredible" Willman as its new host. This latest incarnation of Win, Lose or Draw was executive produced by veteran game-show producer and Swaps co-creator, executive producer and former host and question-reader Scott "The Snot" St. John. (Go to Disney's Win, Lose or Draw page for more information.)

Additional Page

Win, Lose or Draw/Quotes & Catchphrases
Win, Lose or Draw/In Popular Culture

Links

The Win, Lose or Draw page @bertconvy.net (Archived)
Blog about Win, Lose or Draw
Win, Lose or Draw: The Robb Weller Season @ Game Show Garbage