Three on a Match

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THREE ON A MATCH
The opening title for Three on a Match.
Airdates:	NBC August 1971 - June 1974
Hosts:	Bill Cullen
Announcers:	Don Pardo
Producer:	Bob Stewart Productions

Gameplay

The game was played with three contestants. At the start of each round, the host would reveal three categories that the players had to choose from. (The third category was always a general knowledge category, named something like "The Mixed Quiz" or "Ask Me Anything".) Each player would then secretly bid on the number of questions that they would like to answer, from 1 to 4. The player who bids the most questions would earn control of the board, but if two players bid the same number, they would cancel each other out and the third player got control. If all three players bid the same amount, they would bid again until at least one unique bid was found.

The player in control would then select a category and attempt to fulfill his bid by answering the number of true/false questions he had bid. If succesful, he won a pot that amounted to $10 for each question bid among all three players. (For example, if two players bid 4 questions and one bid 2 questions, the pot would be worth $40 + $40 + $20 = $100.) Sometimes, the category would hide a bonus, such as "Double Pot"--which would double the pot value but only for that player--or anywhere from one to three "free picks" from the gameboard. If the player gave an incorrect answer, the next highest bidder would play with one of the remaining categories, and if unsuccessful the third contestant played the last category. If there was a tie for the second-highest bid, they would be given one chance to break the tie, or else the round ended and the pot was reset.

Unless the contestant earned free picks on the board with his choice of category, a player needed to have at least $90 banked in order to play the matching game. Even so, a player could elect to bank the money and play on if he felt he would be unable to find a match with his current stake. The matching board consisted of four rows of three boxes each. To open a box in the left column, a player had to spend (or "bet") $20. A box in the middle column cost $30, and a box in the right column cost $40. However, a player was not able to buy all four boxes in any one column, and on certain occasions one box was hidden on the board that failed to match anything. The object was to find the same prize in all three columns; doing so won the game and the prize, and allowed you to play against two new contestants. If the player managed to find a match on his first three picks, he also won a new car. Players that earned free picks would have to first spend the money they had banked before using their free picks.

During the show's final season, the format was altered somewhat. In this version, players attempted to find matching pictures rather than prizes in order to win the game. The first player to win three games won $5000 in prizes and played against two new opponents.

Notes

• The title "Three on a Match" is based on the military folklore regarding the bad luck that arose from lighting three cigarettes with the same match; doing so gave the adversary time to sight the flame and pick the soldier off.