Top Card

The popular card game of "Blackjack" is probably one of the most played games in casinos. Not only can the odds be turned in the player's favor the easiest in this game if you know the right strategies, but it's so easy that anybody can pick it up in a snap. This game became the basis for TNN's second game show, "Top Card," which saw contestants play the popular game while trying to answer trivia questions.

Update note: As you can probably tell, many of the rules here were either expanded upon or corrected. Thanks to Dennis Brown for any of those aforementioned corrections.

Three contestants competed. The game began with the host revealing the nine categories for the day, each having something to do with entertainment. One of the categories was also the "Wild Card," which was a question about anything (whoever got this question right won a small prize, which was the incentive for picking it).

Whoever won the toss or was the champion got to select first. A question was then read, and whoever buzzed-in and got it right got control of the card behind the category (a card was hidden behind every category). He/she could then either keep the card or give it up for an unknown card from the top of an oversized deck of cards ("taking the top card"). If the contestant took the card behind the category, that category went out of play; if he/she took the "top card," then the category and its corresponding card went back up for grabs. If the category in question was the "Wild Card," however, if the card behind it was taken, then the category went back up along with a new card.

The contestants' job was to come as close as possible to 21 without going over; going over meant a "bust" and the contestant was out of the round. Each card was worth the number on the card, except for face cards, which were worth 10, and aces, which were always worth 1 (contrary to "Blackjack" rules). Also, each category had a different card behind it, so a certain value was never repeated in a round.

The player who last took a card got to select the next category and play continued like this until one player decided to "freeze," i.e., keep his/her score the way it was and make the other players try to beat it. For the other two players (control was passed to one of them by the player who froze), their goal became trying to beat the frozen player's score; when one of them did this, then he/she had the chance to "freeze." Whoever was the closest to 21 without going over when the round was over (all 3 players frozen or busted or all cards gone) won and got to move right on to the "Championship Round;" the other two players moved on to the next round.

In the second round, the two losers from the first round played another game with nine new questions (the categories remained the same) and nine new cards; whoever won this round got to move onto the "Championship Round" and play the winner of the first round; the loser was sent home. To determine control of this round, a toss-up "Wild Card" question was asked for the first season, and a question from the upper left corner category (or adjacent one if necessary) for the rest of the run.

The "Championship Round" was played the same as the second round, but the winner of this round won the game and got to move onto "Top Card Plus" for the chance to win lots of prizes; the loser was sent home.

Note: After the first season, the "Wild Card" category was eliminated, only one of each possible value of card existed on the board, and cards and categories were taken off the board whether they were taken or not. Also, only eight subjects were used, with a ninth subject used only in case of a tie.

In the bonus game, the winner for the day was presented with a choice of nine prizes on the board in place of categories. He/she then selected a prize and could either take the hidden card behind it or take the "top card" just like before. The object here was to hit 21 without going over to win a grand prize (more on that below).

During the first season, the contestant was staked with a bankroll dependent on the values of the top five cards drawn off the "Top Card" deck multiplied by $100 (same values for each card as in the front game). They could then use that bankroll to buy prizes off the game board and the card that went with it (unknown to the player).

After each selection, the champion was offered the chance to stop and take all the accumulated merchandise or risk it by going on. Besides having the chance to bust, there was a "Joker" hidden behind one of the prizes; finding that meant an automatic loss.

However, if the contestant was able to hit 21, then he/she won a new car in addition to all his/her accumulated prizes. After the first season, if he/she took four picks but didn't go over 21 nor hit it, then the situation was treated as if he/she stopped.

The changes in the second season on were that the categores stayed up on the board and, in order to receive the prize and card, the champ had to answer a question in that category. A missed question counted as one of the four chances, so contestants had to be extra careful here.

In either run, however, if a contestant was unlucky enough to hit the "Joker" on the first try, then he/she could play for one of the prizes on the board if he/she got 21 in the remaining three tries (or remaining bankroll); however, he/she could also stop and take $10 a point at any time.

In the first season, the contestant selected his/her grand prize (one of three cars, a fur coat, vacation, or piano) from a special deck of cards. After that, only cars were offered and the contestant could select which car he/she wanted to play for.

If you think the name Jim Caldwell sounds familiar, you're probably right. He hosted the last syndicated season of "Tic Tac Dough" when Wink Martindale quit (he wasn't exactly that good; just ask any other game show geek!) and can currently be seen doing infomercials.

When the show premiered, it was aired three times a day (repeats in the morning and afternoon, new episode at night); this was later scaled down to one within a year. Well, it doesn't take a genius to realize overkill!

Overall, a very nice show. While not being the first game to draw on "Blackjack" for its main game (that was "Gambit"), it still added some very nice twists to the old favorite. While the questions never really mattered to me, the strategy behind picking a known card or an unknown was pretty cool to me (Hmm...should I keep that safe card or risk busting for that "top card?"). Also, the fact that each player had two chances to win the game was a very nice touch; that way, the whole "I got screwed by the cards" factor was downplayed. Jim Caldwell did okay as host, and so did Dan Miller, but the main focus was on the game, so I thought anybody could've done that show! The set was very flashy just like it should've been, and fit the show quite well. Overall, I really liked this show, and am glad that it got a four-year run.

Host: B (both hosts) (Both did respectable jobs as hosts, but this was one of those shows where being a good host wasn't that dependent on the show's success; I think anybody could've fit in that role).

Execution: B+ (Making the champ win two rounds seemed to be quite weird, as did the bonus round change from complete luck to questions and luck. Also, why the change in the main game for keeping cards from the board until somebody took one? I thought this added something to the risk factor!)

Play-Along Factor: B (The show loses a lot of this if you're unfamiliar with "Blackjack," but it's still a fun game to watch nonetheless; would YOU go for the "top card" or "play it safe?")

A very nice show which had a very healthy run, "Top Card" combined a standard quiz show with the luck and risk factor of "Blackjack" to make for a very fun half-hour with big prizes. If you've never seen this, one of TNN's best game shows in my opinion, then get your hands on an episode from either host, and you'll see that "Blackjack" can make for some pretty good TV if done right!