Chain Reaction

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CHAIN REACTION
The opening titles to the 1980 and 2006 versions of Chain Reaction.
Airdates:	NBC January 1980 - June 1980, USA September 1986 - January 1991 ("The New Chain Reacton), USA January 1991 - December 1991 ("The $40,000 Chain Reaction"), GSN August 2006 - Present
Hosts:	Bill Cullen, Blake Emmons, Geoff Edwards, Dylan Lane
Announcers:	Johnny Gilbert, Rod Charlebois
Producers:	Bob Stewart Productions (1980-1991), Embassy Row Productions (2006-Present)

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 1980 version 1.2 1986-1991 version 1.3 1991 version ("The $40,000 Chain Reaction") 1.4 2006 version 1.4.1 Front Game 1.4.2 End Game 2 Notes

Gameplay

1980 version

Two contestants, each with two celebrity partners, compete. At the start of the game, the top and bottom words of an eight-word chain are revealed to the players, with each word in the chain being related to the words above and below it. (For example, QUEEN - MONARCH - BUTTERFLY - STROKE - PAR - AVERAGE - MEAN - STREAK.) Starting with the challenger's team, one player is given the choice of revealing a letter below the top word or above the bottom word. If only one letter was left in the word, it would not be shown, but the player would be told only one letter is left.

If the player managed to complete the word, the team earned one point for each letter in the word (thus, AVERAGE would be worth 7 points) and play moved to the next teammate in line. Otherwise, controlled was passed to the other team. Two words of each chain were worth double score. The first team to score 50 points or more won the game and advanced to the bonus round. If the first chain was completed without a winner, a second chain was played. Winning contestants won $250, while losers received $5/point. Later this was changed to the winner receiving $100 with the loser taking home parting gifts.

In the bonus round, the two celebrities on the team were shown a series of words and phrases, which they had to convey to the contestant by asking questions, with the celebrities taking turns adding one word at a time. When the question was complete, either celebrity could ring a bell to elicit a response from the contestant.

The scoring format of the bonus round changed multiple times in the first run, but they all have the same grand prize which was $10,000.

• Originally, the team had 60 seconds, and each right answer added a "half-zero" to a $1 stake, up to a maximum of $10,000 for eight right answers.
• After the first week, this was changed to a 90-second time limit, with the first three right answers adding a zero to a $1 stake, the following four right answers worth $1000 each, and the ninth right answer bringing the total to $10,000.
• Even later, the player received $100 for each right answer, and $10,000 for getting ten right; later still, the player began with the $100 won in the front game, needing nine answers to win $10,000.

1986-1991 version

Two teams of two contestants competed. Chains were shortened to seven words apiece, and one member of each team was assigned the role of giving letters or guessing words for that chain. On each turn, the team's "giver" had the choice of revealing a letter to either his/her partner or his/her recieving opponent, who then had a chance to guess the word. If correct, the team retained control, but if incorrect, the other team got control. Thus, if a letter was given to the team's opponent and they missed, the first team got control again. Starting with the third season, solo contestants competed against each other, and had the option to give or receive each letter.

In the first chain, words were worth 10 points apiece, except for the last word of the chain which was worth 20 points (changed to 15 in season 2). The second chain's words were worth 20 points apiece, with the last word worth 40 points, and the third chain offered 30 points a word and 60 points for the last word. If necessary a fourth chain had words worth 40 points apiece and 80 points for the last word. In the first season the second chain boasted a "cash word", which won $250 for the team that guessed it. From seasons 2-4 the team (or player) leading in the second round played a "Missing Link" game with a three-word chain given, the first and last words of which were revealed. Identifying the middle word with no letters revealed earned a team $500, every wrong guess lowered the payoff by $100 and caused another letter to be revealed. The first team to score 200 points won the game and advanced to the bonus round. During solo-player format, the goal was 300 points.

The bonus round consisted of one more chain, with only the top word revealed. The first letter of the remaining six words were shown. One member of the team attempted to guess the word. If correct, the team moved on to the next word; otherwise, the team had to use up a free letter from their pot of seven (originally nine). The last letter would be revealed in this round, and if so the word was a giveaway. If the team could solve the entire chain, they won a jackpot that began at $3000 and increased by $1000 each show it was not won. If they ran out of free letters, they got $100 for each word revealed. During the solo player format, the jackpot started at $2000 and increased by $1000 each show it was not won. Winning five games in a row earned a $5000 jackpot.

1991 version ("The $40,000 Chain Reaction")

The final season of the USA version was played as a tournament. In this version, two individual players competed, serving the role of both giver and guesser. Scoring was the same as the previous version, except that a player needed 500 points to win the game. If a fifth chain was needed the values were 50 per word and 100 for the last word, and a sixth chain if needed was worth 60 points per word (only two words in this chain would be needed to assure a winner). After two rounds, the player in the lead had a chance to win $300 by solving a "missing link" puzzle, in which a three-word chain was shown with only the first letter of the middle word revealed. A wrong guess reduced the prize by $100 and caused another letter to be revealed.

128 players play in sixteen single-elimination tournaments with eight players each, the winner of each tournament receives $7,500 and goes to the next part of the tournament. The 16 players are then narrowed down to four in a single-elimination tournament, with the four semi-finalists playing in two double-elimination matches, with both winners playing one final game for $40,000.

2006 version

Front Game

Two teams of three members of the opposite sex competed. In this version, chains were again seven words long, and consisted only of linking two-word phrases. The first chain's words were worth $100 each, the second chain was $200 a word, and the third chain was $300 a word. The team that solved the last word in each chain was given the chance to solve a four-word "speed chain". In a speed chain, the first letter of the second and third words were shown, and the team would have 7 seconds to figure out both missing words. If successful, the team won the dollar value of the previous chain's words (Round 1's speed chain was worth $100, for example).

For the fourth chain, players were allowed to wager from $100 to $500 of their team's stake on each turn. The team with the most money at the end of the chain won the game, got to keep the money, and advanced to the bonus round. (If one team lost all their money during the round, the other team won by default). If the game ended in a tie, the teams were given a series of speed chains. Play continued until one team managed to solve their chain while their opponents got theirs wrong.

End Game

The bonus round was played in a similar manner as the original 1980 version. Two members of the team would construct questions one word at a time, then ring a bell to get an answer from the third player. In the first season, the team had a 90-second time limit, and attempted to double their front game winnings with 5 right answers (originally 7) and triple their winnings with 7 right answers (originally 10). In the second season, the team had 60 seconds to get five right answers for $5000, earning $100 an answer if they failed to get five. In this format, the answering player would use a lockout device to stop the clock when he was ready to answer.

Notes

• On the final episode of the 1980 version, the four celebrities played a special version of the bonus round in which everyone rotated one seat to the left after each question. This unique format of the endgame would eventually become the premise of the 1983 show Go, another Bob Stewart creation.