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Answer: Truth or Consequences

From the start, most contestants never even tried to answer the (usually impossible) trivia questions, and planned to participate in the stunt. These might be almost anything, from treading grapes to begging for money from strangers, or completing a series of somersaults across the studio. 'Truth or Consequences' was the first game show to be aired on American television, with a test broadcast made in 1941, but its proper television run was from 1950 through 1988.

The radio show overlapped the first seven years of television broadcast. Ralph Edwards was followed as presenter by Jack Bailey (1954-1956), Bob Barker (1956-1975), Bob Hilton (1977-1978) and Larry Anderson (1987-1988).

Answer: You Bet Your Life

Another show that started on radio (in 1947) before moving to television (1950-1961), this game's format involved teams of two contestants (often just randomly chosen from the studio audience, but occasionally a planned pair) answering four questions.

The exact format changed several times - sometimes they chose how much they wanted to wager, sometimes they automatically lost or gained a fixed amount for each round, and the winning team experienced various forms of jackpot round at the end - but that was never the real point of the show. Groucho usually had the upper hand in the battle of wits which he set up, but there were memorable shows in which players held their own.

Her appearance on 'You Bet Your Life' is often credited with having been a significant break for an aspiring comedienne named Phyllis Diller.

Answer: Name That Tune

Red Benson was the original host of 'Name That Tune', and the omnipresent Bill Cullen hosted it in the 1954-1955 season, but George DeWitt, who hosted from 1955 until the end of the original run in 1959 is the host whose name is usually linked with the show.

In the original format, players sought to identify four songs, with values of $5, $10, $20 and $40; the player with the most money after these four rounds got to play in the Golden Medley round. This round consisted of seven songs suggested by home viewers, with 30 seconds allowed to identify them all.

The prize money earned went up exponentially, so that identifying one song earned $25, while naming all seven was worth $1600.

Answer: The Price is Right

In the original format, the four players made bids in sequence on a prize, each having to make a bid higher than the previous player or pass to 'freeze' their own bid from an earlier round. After everyone had frozen their bids, or a buzzer had indicated that the round had timed out, the player who came closest to the value of the prize without going over it won the prize.

There were several rounds played in each episode, at the end of which the player who had accumulated prizes with the largest cash value was declared the winner, and returned as the carryover champion for the next episode. One regular feature was the Home Viewer Showcase, which gave home viewers the chance to mail in their estimates of the value of a collection of items. The next show would include an announcement of the name of the lucky winner.

Answer: Concentration

'Concentration' originally aired on NBC from 1958 until 1974. The gameboard consisted of 30 numbered squares containing a rebus. Players chose two of the squares, which were spun around to reveal the prize on one of their other two sides. If the prizes matched, the player got them added to their list, and the playing piece spun around to show the third side, which contained part of the rebus that had to be solved to win the round.

The player then had a chance to guess the rebus. If they were unsuccessful, they then proceeded to select two more squares. If the prizes did not match, play passed to the other contestant.

Some cards did not reveal prizes, but required a player action, such as giving a prize to the opponent or selecting one of their prizes.

The player who solved the puzzle got to keep all their prizes and return to defend the title (for up to 20 wins); the loser got a board game version of the show.

Answer: Password

One of the many celebrities appearing regularly on 'Password' was Betty White, who married Allen Ludden in 1963. She was also a stalwart of later versions of the game - 'Password Plus' (1979-1982), 'Super Password' (1984-1989) and 'Million Dollar Password' (2008-2009). Over the years, she worked with five different hosts - Allen Ludden, Bill Cullen (substitute host when Ludden underwent surgery for cancer), Tom Kennedy (replacement host after Ludden's death, as Cullen had other commitments), Bert Convy in 'Super Password', and Regis Philbin in 'Million Dollar Password'.

Answer: Camouflage

The starting 'Camouflage' gameboard was a maze of lines going everywhere, providing camouflage for the hidden object. After each correctly-answered question, a bit of the irrelevant drawing was removed, making it easier to spot the target figure. As well, after a player had scored a certain number of points they would be shown a picture of the image they were looking for, rather than just knowing its general nature.

The two players had separate boards, and could not see each other's attempts at tracing the figure. Playing along at home often involved the three of us jabbing our fingers at the television screen and arguing over exactly where the shape was located - it was a lot more physical than most of the shows we watched, which just led to shouting right answers over each other.

Although not one of the real classics, this show has a spot in my heart as the one we watched being taped when we visited NYC.

Answer: The Match Game

The original questions used in 'The Match Game' were quite generic and bland, with the only interest being in whether all members of a team could come up with the same answer. When its cancellation was announced in 1963, it was decided to use more humorous, even slightly risqué, questions in the remaining shows, and the audience response was immediate - not only was the cancellation revoked, it went on to run through 1969 on NBC. (The theme music changed in 1968, which is why the question referred to the years 1962-1967.) The show moved to CBS in 1973, slightly retitled as 'Match Game', in a new format that involved six celebrities and two contestants, and which was syndicated internationally (often using the title 'Blankety Blanks').

Answer: Hollywood Squares

'Hollywood Squares' was as much a forum for comedy as it was a game show about general knowledge. Celebrities often had their jokes scripted, and they were given advance information to read that would help them to either answer correctly or develop believable bluff questions. Contestants were playing a game of tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses). Each player was represented by either a circle or a cross, and their symbol was allocated to the square if they correctly identified the accuracy of a celebrity's response (leading to the familiar phrase, circle gets the square). Celebrities may have been briefed, but players had to know their stuff. Over the years, certain comedians became associated with certain spots on the board - Paul Lynde occupied the centre square for a number of years - or with certain categories of question - Cliff Arquette, who appeared in his persona of Charley Weaver, was an expert on American history.

The show has been revived a number of times, as well as being syndicated around the world.

In other countries the title was more commonly 'Celebrity Squares' or similar, since the shows used local celebrities rather than Hollywood imports.

Answer: Press Your Luck

In 'Press Your Luck', players answered trivia questions to accumulate "spins" - chances to press their buzzer and stop a flashing light as it moved around an 18-space board. They won whatever was shown on the square on which the light stopped. Some squares, however, held a "Whammy" - an animated character that took away all of the player's money. If any player managed to hit four of them in a single game, they were eliminated from future play. The player with the most accumulated money at the end of the show was the winner, and returned to defend their title for up to five appearances or until they reached a winnings limit ($25,000 at first, later raised to $50,000). The show ended its run in 1986, but has subsequently been revived as 'Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck' (2002-2003), and has been internationally syndicated with names such as 'Gluck Am Drucker' (Germany, 1992-1993) and 'The Slugger Attack' (Taiwan, 1985-1995).

'Second Chance', which aired on ABC in 1977, is often cited as a precursor to 'Press Your Luck', with the "Whammy" being modeled on the "Devils" that featured in the earlier show.