Great Getaway Game
Encyclopedia
The Great Getaway Game was a game show which aired on The Travel Channel from June 1, 1990 to April 1991. Currently, this is the network’s sole attempt at a game show. Wink Martindale
hosted the series and also helped produce it.
Created and co-produced by Brockway Television (L.I., NY), the show was recorded before a studio audience
with Rick Sommers as announcer, while music/sound effects were handled by Leer Leary.
, with each space hiding one letter. Somewhere in the board was one word for the contestants to find. The word could be either four, five, or six letters long. Before the round began, a clue to the word was given, along with one letter that was in the puzzle.
To begin the round, each contestant picked two free spaces, revealing the letters behind them. Wink would then ask a question relating to geography. A contestant could buzz in at any time to guess. A right answer was worth 10 points, but a wrong answer lost 10 points and gave their opponent a chance to answer. Getting the right answer also won the right to reveal one letter in the word search and guess the word. Finding the word won 100 points and a bonus prize; a wrong answer continued the round. If both contestants got a question wrong, two letters in the word search were revealed at random.
Each new round was played the same way, but used a different board and offered a different bonus prize. The point values also doubled in each round. Play would continue until time ran out. If time was called in the middle of a round, letters in the word search were revealed until a contestant found the word. The one with the most points was declared champion, and advanced to the bonus round
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Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad Martindale , known professionally as Wink Martindale, is an American disc jockey and television game show host.-Radio:...
hosted the series and also helped produce it.
Created and co-produced by Brockway Television (L.I., NY), the show was recorded before a studio audience
Studio audience
A studio audience is an audience present for the taping of all or part of a television program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack . A studio audience can also provide volunteers, a visual backdrop and discussion participants...
with Rick Sommers as announcer, while music/sound effects were handled by Leer Leary.
Gameplay
The game was based on two players, one a returning champion, and a challenger. They faced a 6x5 board with the spaces numbered 1 through 30. The spaces made up a word searchWord search
A word search, word find, word seek, word sleuth or mystery word puzzle is a word game that is letters of a word in a grid, that usually has a rectangular or square shape. The objective of this puzzle is to find and mark all the words hidden inside the box. The words may be horizontally,...
, with each space hiding one letter. Somewhere in the board was one word for the contestants to find. The word could be either four, five, or six letters long. Before the round began, a clue to the word was given, along with one letter that was in the puzzle.
To begin the round, each contestant picked two free spaces, revealing the letters behind them. Wink would then ask a question relating to geography. A contestant could buzz in at any time to guess. A right answer was worth 10 points, but a wrong answer lost 10 points and gave their opponent a chance to answer. Getting the right answer also won the right to reveal one letter in the word search and guess the word. Finding the word won 100 points and a bonus prize; a wrong answer continued the round. If both contestants got a question wrong, two letters in the word search were revealed at random.
Each new round was played the same way, but used a different board and offered a different bonus prize. The point values also doubled in each round. Play would continue until time ran out. If time was called in the middle of a round, letters in the word search were revealed until a contestant found the word. The one with the most points was declared champion, and advanced to the bonus round
Bonus round
A bonus round or bonus game, known in the industry as an end game, is a special round in a game show or similar contest. The bonus round usually follows a main game as a bonus to the winner of that game...
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Bonus round
The bonus round was one final word search. The contestant had 30 seconds to find five words with a common theme in a 7 × 7 grid. If the contestant found all five words, they won a holidayHoliday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
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