The Pyramid Series began originally on March 26, 1973 on CBS. Dick Clark hosted the show, and
it was simply, "The $10,000 Pyramid". On March 29, 1974, the show was canceled, however it
returned on May 6, 1974 on ABC. The $10,000 Pyramid was canceled for good on January 16, 1976.
However it returned that Monday as "The $20,000 Pyramid". That series lasted until June 27, 1980.
While all of this was going on, Bill Cullen hosted his own version of Pyramid, "The $25,000
Pyramid". It was syndicated. His version was just as successful, debuting on September 9, 1974
and being stopped in September of 1979. Dick Clark returned to Pyramid with "The $50,000 Pyramid"
on January 26, 1981, also syndicated. However this version didn't get off the ground, and was
canceled in the September of 1981. The $50,000 Pyramid was the first Pyramid version that used
the tournament format, in which contestants could return if they got to the top of the Pyramid
in the shortest period of time, in order to win the $50,000. The
1980s were wonderful to the Pyramid concept. On September 20, 1982, CBS took back the show,
and the $25,000 Pyramid was born again with Dick Clark as host. It was on the air for 6 years,
being canceled on July 1, 1988. CBS also attempted to bring back the $50,000 Pyramid concept with
the tournament idea, with the $100,000 Pyramid. It premiered September 9, 1985, and was also
canceled on July 1, 1988. On January 9, 1991, John Davidson (Hollywood Squares) attempted a
revivial of "The $100,000 Pyramid". However, because of the kind of host Davidson was, it didn't
last long. Pyramid was a serious game, and the converstion from The Squares to The Pyramid was
hard. It was canceled on March 6, 1992.
Okay, okay, enough talk about the history of the show! HOW WAS IT PLAYED? I'm really glad you
asked. Here it goes! (Note: This covers the $25,000 and $100,000 Pyramids only. If you are
interested in the $50,000 Pyramid rules, visit the $50,000 Pyramid Page here on SuperShow 8000).
Pyramid was played in 2 types of rounds. The main game and The Winners Circle. In the main game,
the team of
players (One civilian and one celebrity), selected a catergory on the board. Then they had to
describe 7 things related to that item in the catergory. They had 30 seconds to do it. After 3
rounds of play, the one team that answered the most words correctly got to play the Winner's
Circle. If you used any part of the answer in the maingame, you got "cuckoo'ed" and lost the
point you could have obtained. On the board, there were special spaces called "7-11" and "Mystery
7". If you hit a 7-11, and you answered the 7 words right within 30 seconds, you got $1,100. If
you hit a Mystery 7 and won the round, you won a prize, such as a trip or computer or a car. In
the event of a tie, the scores were reset. A team was given 30 seconds to describe things that
begin in one of two letters. If they answered them all in 24 seconds, the other team had 24
seconds to do the other letter that the other team declined.
The Winner's Circle was the most popular part of the Pyramid Series. The idea was simple. The
celebrity would give a list of items or dialouge about what the item was they were describing.
Answer 6 in 60 seconds and you win! First time up at the Winner's Circle won you $10,000, the
second time got you $25,000. If it was a $100,000 Tournament, you got $100,000 if you won at the
Winner's Circle at all. If you didn't get to the top in time, you got money according to the
difficulty of the catergory. $50-$100-$150-$200-$250-$300 were the amounts. The person that won
the most in the Winner's Circle at the end of the show got the chance to play again the next
day.
