Top 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time

I once said many posts back, “I LOVE game shows.” Maybe a quote wasn’t necessary. Over at the game show forum I participate in, there was a lot of hubbub over GSN (the network for games) and their list of the fifty greatest game shows of all time. Their list was muddied by the fact their own executives voted on it plus the fact many key shows one would include on such a list have equally muddied airing rights. Notably, “The Price is Right” would cost the network big because they lost the airing contract a few years ago. Other shows like “Sale of the Century” were affected in similar manner. Even if a show was deserving of a top spot, going “our number 2 show is one we can’t air!” would be embarrassing.

So we had a list with GSN’s own shows like “Lingo,” never-were-classics like “Dog Eat Dog” and never-were-game-shows like “Love Connection.” It was decided at the forum to have a fans fifty greatest list. Members of the board were to submit their list of fifty with their top choice getting 50 points in the scoring, number two 49 and so on.

I ranked maybe the top ten to fifteen or so on merit then just kind of plucked shows I liked off of big lists and slid them in where I saw fit. I’ve changed and reevaluated the bottom 15 over and over, so you can probably take the rankings near the bottom with a grain of salt. With that in mind, here now is my list of the 50 greatest game shows of all time.

Honorable mentions: Blackout, Finders Keepers, Win Lose or Draw, Weakest Link, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, Hit Man, Monopoly, Trivia Trap, Catch Phrase, Wipeout

50. Greed
49. Russian Roulette
48. Make the Grade
47. Celebrity Sweepstakes
46. Win Ben Stein’s Money
45. Double Dare (’76)
44. Break the Bank (’76)
43. College Bowl
42. Now You See It
41. Lingo
40. Get the Picture
39. Pass the Buck
38. Gambit
37. Supermarket Sweep
36. Liar’s Club
35. Dirty Rotten Cheater
34. Chain Reaction
33. Three on a Match
32. Press Your Luck
31. Body Language
30. Whew
29. Who Wants to be a Millionaire
28. Card Sharks
27. Let’s Make a Deal
26. Newlywed Game
25. Hollywood Squares
24. The Big Showdown
23. Go
22. The Challengers
21. Double Dare (Nickelodeon)
20. Jackpot
19. Joker’s Wild
18. High Rollers
17. Split Second
16. Name that Tune
15. Beat the Clock
14. What’s My Line?
13. Concentration
12. Scrabble
11. I’ve Got a Secret
10. Blockbusters
9. $ale of the Century
8. To Tell the Truth
7. Password
6. Match Game
5. Jeopardy
4. Wheel of Fortune
3. The Pyramid
2. Family Feud
1. The Price is Right