10 Best Classic Game Shows, Ranked
As long as there’s TV, there will be game shows. New seasons of iconic titles from across the decades are still being made today, with Martin Short’s upcoming Match Game revival on ABC being the latest example and CBS‘ Hollywood Squares reboot from earlier this year. Some of the classics have never stopped airing and have instead gotten new hosts when needed, such as Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, The Price Is Right, and Family Feud.
No matter who’s hosting, the game formats are what keep viewers coming back for more. Here, we’re listing the 10 best classic TV game shows and ranking them. Do you agree with our selections and ranking? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
Concentration
The ’60s were surely the golden age of the game show, and there was no bigger daytime staple than Concentration. The game tested players’ memories and creative thinking, making them match prize panels to uncover a rebus puzzle, which they’d need to solve before their opponent did.
Match Game
You’d be surprised how much naughty innuendo this fill-in-the-blank contest got away with, even back in the wild ’70s. When trying to match manic Mad Libs with six celebrities, being wildly wrong (and just a little suggestive) is half the fun. Clearly Match Game endures.
Family Feud
Name the top game show that has brought families together across generations. Survey says…Family Feud! Since the ’70s, two teams of relatives have tried to correctly guess survey answers. It’s fun for the whole family — especially those old enough to appreciate the obviously leading double entendres the game loves to showcase.
Password
Password featured another face-off of fan and star duos. Viewers loved to play along as teammates gave each other one-word clues to a mystery password. Here’s to more than 60 years of shouting through the TV at our favorite stars, from Betty White and Carol Burnett to Jon Hamm and Meghan Trainor.
The $25,000 Pyramid
It’s like a high-speed reverse game of Taboo! Celebrity and contestant pairs have to guess a category from their partners’ hints. It’s edge-of-your-seat TV, especially in the Winner’s Circle final round, when contestants have 60 seconds to nail the six categories hidden behind the trademark pyramid.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
The real question is, who didn’t!? Millionaire was the biggest thing on TV at the height of its reign, circa 2000. Hosted by Regis Philbin and packed with tension, game-making or game-breaking lifelines and the most prize money in TV history, the series was more than a game show. It was an event. Final answer.
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is as much a scripted comedy as a trivia competition. Nine celebrities are dropped onto a giant, ridiculous tic-tac-toe board and asked leading questions packed with double entendres. They give “zingers” as often as real answers. Win or lose, you’re bound to laugh, especially at the center square.
Wheel of Fortune
As simple as Jeopardy! is challenging, Wheel has contestants and audiences loving to chime in when they recognize the everyday phrases on that iconic board. Add in a bit of gambling, the satisfying click-clack of the wheel and the chemistry of the cohosts, and it’s clear why Wheel has enjoyed such lasting popularity.
The Price Is Right
Come on down! The Price Is Right regularly transforms an activity as benign as price shopping into a colorful, high-energy contest of buzzes, spins, Plinko plunks, and prizes. Host Bob Barker, and later Drew Carey, called on the most — let’s say, enthusiastic — members of the studio audience, guaranteeing some truly memorable moments.
Jeopardy!
Our pick for all-time greatest game show? What else but Jeopardy!? The smartest, fastest and most entertaining of TV trivia throwdowns, it’s seen massive success and staying power thanks to cleverly crafted clues, iconic hosts (we miss you, Alex!) and the stars it’s created (we love you, Ken!).
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PurpleButterfly
What’s My Line and I’ve Got a Secret should have been included.
OrangeFish
I think the spam posts have to go!
BlueFlower
My most favorite game show of all time is The Pyramid in all of its' incarnations...Including Michael Strayhan's version. BUT the judging on his version needs to be tightened up during the WC rounds.
BlueDice
Many of the shows listed had previous lives on the air. The Price Is Right (NBC/ABC 1956-65), Match Game (NBC, 1962-69), Pyramid (CBS/ABC, 1973-80), and Jeopardy ! (NBC, 1964-75, 1978-79). Also, Password aired on ABC after its CBS run.
GoldGlasses
My family was once on the original daytime family feud with Richard Dawson. Since I was a Catholic religious community member and a priest, they (and I) chose that I NOT be on stage. We won two contests and lost the third. But it was neat to meet Richard Dawson on stage afterwards!
Joe B
Newlywed Game?! Bob Eubanks was one of the best hosts too.
You Bet Your Life?! Grouchy was the best host!
Let's Make a Deal, What’s My Line.
Pocket53
Match Game #1
RevRob
IMO, Match Game ought to be way higher on this list, but I suppose it's all subjective in the final analysis.
RedPalmtree
I actually thought the $25,000 Pyramid (as well as the $100,000 Pyramid) was more like Catchphrase. But, that does make sense that it's also like Taboo.
can'tbetamed
Jeopardy!
Hollywood Squares
Match Game