Winning Streak

1 9 7 4 – 1 9 7 5 (USA)

This NBC game show, hosted by Bill Cullen, began with sixteen letters of the alphabet – each representing a different point value – displayed on a large board.

The first of two contestants chose a letter, which revealed its point value. If the player wanted to earn the points, they were asked a question to which the answer would begin with the chosen letter. If the player answered correctly, they received the points.

The second contestant then received their selection. Should a player pass the question, the opponent automatically had to answer it, and the next selection reverted back to the original player.

The first player to reach the goal (which varied from 250-350 points) was the winner.

The current champion then played against the previous winner using a board containing the numbers one to
eighteen.

Choosing a number from one to six revealed an amount of cash which then became the cash value of each
subsequent number from seven to eighteen.

As the contestant selected a number, a letter of the alphabet was revealed and the player had to give a word using that letter. If they were successful, the money was placed in a jackpot.

The opposing contestant then selected a number and had to give a word using the two letters that were now displayed. The money was again added to the jackpot.

The game continued in this manner until either player was unable to give a word using all the revealed letters or gave an incorrect word. The other player then became the champion and received whatever sum of money had been accumulated in the jackpot.

The new champion then remained to face the winner of the qualifying round.

Host
Bill Cullen
Announcer 
Don Pardo

Video