1 9 5 8 – 1 9 7 3 (USA)
1 9 7 3 – 1 9 7 9 (USA)
1 9 5 9 – 1 9 6 7 (Australia)
Concentration was NBC’s longest running game show.
In addition to its fourteen-year daytime run with Hugh Downs (a descendant of the legendary 19th-century frontiersman Davy Crockett) and then Bob Clayton, there were also two primetime versions.
There was also a syndicated version which ran from 1973 to 1979 with host Jack Narz.
Two players took turns to call out a pair of numbers (from one to thirty), which appeared on a three-sided wedge on a game board.
If the prizes (or information such as “forfeit one gift” or “take one gift”) matched, the player was credited with the prize.
The third part of the wedge was shown when a match was made and revealed two portions of a slowly building rebus puzzle.
The player was given a chance to guess the answer and if correct, would win the game and all the prizes. If not, they called out two more numbers and tried to make another match.
When the player failed to make a match, the turn went to the opposing player. The winning player continued to play against other challengers until defeated or until they won 20 games.
An Australian version of the show aired on the Nine Network between 1959 and 1967 with Phillip Brady as host. The Australian show was briefly revived in 1970 on the Seven Network with Lionel Williams hosting. A final Aussie version aired for a year in 1997.
An American remake aired between 1987 and 1991 as Classic Concentration with Alex Trebek hosting.
