The Challengers was a game show hosted by Dick Clark. The show premiered in September 1990 and was cancelled one year later.

The game was based on The Who, What, Or Where Game, a popular show of the early 1970s.

Three contestants, one a returning champion, competed.

Rules of the Game

The Challengers Sprint Round

The game started with a 60-second speed round called The Challengers Sprint. Host Clark would ask the contestants a series of rapid-fire questions, contestants buzzing in when they knew the answer. Each correct answer was worth $100, each incorrect answer cost players $100. Contestants were not given any money to start; this later changed to each contestant being spotted $200.

After the Sprint, the person in the lead would get control of the round one board.

Round One

On the board were 6 categories, each with three questions per category. The questions varied in dollar value. Originally, the questions were worth $150, $200, and $250 (this was later reduced by $50 for each question with each player getting $200 to start). As always, correct answers added to your score, while incorrect answers took away from it.

Each player would lock in the question they wanted to play at their podium. If all three players picked a different question, they would all be asked the different questions. If two players picked the same question, a toss-up was played. Players could buzz in at any time, but if they were incorrect, their opponent could either play or pass (not an option if all three pick differently). The third player would then get their question unopposed.

If all three players picked the same question, the values would double, and a toss-up would be played. The same toss-up rules applied, but the player answering correctly could now choose to play any of the other questions in the category and could pass at anytime.

Round Two

The rules were the same for round 2, except the dollar values were doubled.

After two rounds were played, any players with no money were eliminated. The remaining players played The Final Challenge.

The Final Challenge

One category was played, with the three questions having varying degrees of difficulty, and thus different odds on the question. The easiest question paid off at even odds, a harder question paid off 2:1 (bet $500, win $1000), and the hardest paid off 3:1 (bet $1000, win $3000). This time the players would place wagers on the questions they wanted to play.

As always, if all three picked different categories they would play their questions. If two or more players picked the same category, the player who made the highest wager would get the question. At the end of The Final Challenge, whoever was in the lead won the game and got to return the next day. All players kept their winnings, in the form of a CitiBank Visa card, with the total winnings as the balance.

The Ultimate Challenge

Originally, for every three games a player won, he/she would play a bonus round at the beginning of the next show: The player would choose from two categories and would have to answer 3 questions correctly to win. If successful, the player would win a cash jackpot that started at $50,000 and went up $5,000 it was played for and missed. If the champ could not answer all three questions (with five seconds thinking time for each) the player would receive $1000 for each correct answer.

A second iteration of the bonus round had the jackpot start at $25,000; and increase $1,000 each day until it was won, whether or not it was played for.

Still later, The Ultimate Challenge became a daily bonus round, with players playing for $10,000 at the end of each show. The champ was asked a single question; a right answer wins the $10,000, a wrong answer wins nothing extra.

Champions played until beaten, the biggest winner in the show's one year was Stan Newman, who won $112,480 (including two Ultimate Challenge jackpots).

Tournaments

The Challengers held two tournaments over the year. The first was a Tournament of Champions, inviting back the nine biggest winners up to that point. The three winners of the Monday through Wednesday show would come back for two games on Thursday and Friday. The scores from both days would be totaled, and the player with the highest score would win $25,000. The other two players collected whatever they won up to that point.

The other tournament was a Teachers Tournament, with a $10,000 grand prize. Both tournaments were played focusing more on general knowledge than current events so the shows could be aired any time.