| Gambit was a game show produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions, and aired on CBS from September 1972 to December 1976, along with a slightly retooled version, Las Vegas Gambit, airing on
CBS from September 1980 to October 1981. Both versions of the show were hosted by Wink Martindale, and announced by Kenny
Williams.
Rules of the Game
Main Game
Two married couples competed. A question would be asked, either multiple-choice or true-false, to both couples. The couple who
buzzed in and answered the question correctly got to control the next card off of the deck. (The first would be shown before the
question, the rest would be presented face-down.) Once a couple got control of a card, they had the choice to either add the card
to their own hand, or force their opponents to take it (unless they're frozen; see below). The objective of the game is quite
similar to Blackjack, to get your hand as close to 21 without going over as
possible.
After a couple received any card, they could elect to freeze their board, disallowing any more cards to be added to
their hand. Once this happened, the other couple answered questions until one of the following conditions occurred:
Conditions for Winning
- The unfrozen couple misses a question, giving the game to the other couple.
- The unfrozen couple busts (went over 21), giving the game to the other couple.
- The unfrozen couple passes the score of the frozen couple (ties did not count), winning the game.
- Either couple reaches 21 exactly at any time, winning a jackpot that started at $500, and went up $500 more for each game
that it wasn't won.
A win earned the couple $100, and two wins earned the couple the right to head to the Bonus Round.
Bonus Round (Original version)
The winning couple was presented with a large board with 21 cards, numbered 1 through 21. Each card concealed a prize for the
couple; along with each prize the couple won, they received a card added to their hand from the deck. Again, the game played like
blackjack; going over 21 lost the game for the couple, along with all their prizes; reaching 21 exactly won the cash jackpot
mentioned earlier, along with a car. The couple could elect to stop at any time when they felt they might go over.
One prize occasionally offered during the bonus round was "Beat the House": contenstants winning this prize would then have
the opportunity to play one hand of blackjack (standard single-deck rules, with the possible exception that there did not appear
to be any cases in which contestants "split a pair" or "doubled down") against the house (as personified by Martindale) for a
cash prize.
Bonus Rounds (Las Vegas version)
For the first portion of the year this version ran, a bonus round like the original was played, with two differences:
- The couple received 18 cards to choose from, instead of 21
- Like the dealer in blackjack, a couple could only elect to stop when their hand totalled 17 or above.
The second half of the season featured a game based off another Heatter-Quigley game, High Rollers. The couple was presented
with a pair of dice, and was asked to "knock off" the numbers 1 through 9 from a board in front of them. To do this, the couple
eliminated numbers that added up to the total they rolled (for instance, if the couple rolled a 10, they could eliminated 4 and
6; 3 and 7; 1, 2, 3, and 4; or any other comination that added to 10.) Each number the couple knocked off won them some money,
and if the entire group was knocked off, a large cash jackpot was awarded.
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