WINNING STREAK

	Bill Cullen
	Don Pardo
	Studio 6A, NBC, New York
	(NBC) 1-July-74 / 3-January-75

Two players (a returning champion and a challenger) competed to be the first to create a word in a specific category, i.e. "Breakfast Foods," from a pool of 16 letters.  From those 16 letters, the contestants would choose a letter and the host would read a question of which the answer would begin with the letter chosen (a la Blockbusters).  If a contestant rang in with the correct answer, he/she would choose to take the letter (in one of 7 slots) to form the word or not to take the letter.  If the contestant rang in with the wrong answer, his/her opponent would get the letter.  The first to complete a word in the category won the game and played the bonus round.

On the bonus round board, there were eightteen numbered squares.  The contestant chose a number between 1 and 6, and the cash value (between $100 and $200) would be the base value.  Behind  the numbers 7 through 18 were letters, and the contestant would have to form any word that contained all of the selected letters to continue.  After each correct word, the contestant would be given the option to "keep" the money won, or to pick another letter for the opportunity to double the money.  If a contestant couldn't create a word using all of the revealed letters, they wouldn't win any money in this bonus round.

Although the game seems fairly simple so far, the game suddenly took a confusing turn.  The winner of the game stood at a special podium while a second game with two new challengers was played.  The bonus round was played with the winner of the second match.

If both players went bankrupt, both players were retired and a new game was played with 4 new challengers.  If one player went bankrupt, the player who didn't kept his/her bonus round winnings and became the champion.  If neither player went bankrupt during their respective bonus rounds, a sudden-death playoff was played where they alternated picking letters until a player couldn't come up with a word, and he/she lost the game.  Whoever won, won the combined bonus round total of both players and became the champion.

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