Get ready for our game of skill and strategy . . .

Blockbusters Logo

and here's the star of Blockbusters,

Ahmed

Bill Rafferty!

BROADCAST HISTORY: Jan. 5, 1987 - May 1, 1987, NBC Daytime
HOST: Bill Rafferty
ANNOUNCER: Rich Jeffreys
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Robert Sherman
PRODUCER: Diane Janaver
DIRECTOR: Marc Breslow
SET DESIGNER: Dennis Roof
MUSIC: Music Design Group, Stanley Blits
ORIGINATION: NBC Studios, Burbank, CA
PACKAGER: Mark Goodson Productions 
 
Blockbusters Set Blockbusters is a fast-paced Q&A game in which players try to get control of a board that consists of 20 hexagons, interlocked like the hexagons in this background.  This version is a remake of the 1980 version, hosted by Bill Cullen.

The Main Game

Let's take a look at our game board!
Amazing what Dubner graphics could do back in 1987
Two players compete.  The returning champion is White, the challenger is Red.  The game starts with a randomly chosen letter, and Bill reads a question in the following format:

"What B is the game show being discussed on Caleb Nelson's web page?"

Whichever player buzzes in with the correct answer ("Blockbusters" in this case) wins the space and chooses another space.  If neither player answers correctly, the question is thrown out, and another question is asked with that letter.

The object of the game is for a player to complete a path across the board between his two goals:
 
Connecting White to White
The White player can do this in as few as 5 moves.		 Connecting Red to Red 
The Red player can do this in as few as 4 moves.
Whichever player does this first (there is no possible way a tie can be achieved; try to figure it out yourself) receives $100 for each game.  In Game 2, the colors are switched, where White tries to connect top-to-bottom, and Red tries to connect side-to-side.  If necessary, a Tiebreaker Game is played, with a specially modified board:

Tiebreaker
Both players can connect their goals in 4 moves in the Tiebreaker Game.
Whoever wins the best-2-out-of-3 match goes on to the Gold Run.

The Gold Run

Before
In the Gold Run, the champion has 60 seconds to connect a path left-to-right across the board.
Before
The player calls out the initials in the answers (which are now usually multiple-word), Bill reads the question, and the player responds.  If he's right, the block turns gold.  If not, the block is removed and must be worked around.  If the player makes the connection across the board, $5,000 is awarded.
Happy contestant preparing for Erik Estrada impersonation
Otherwise, $100 per gold block is awarded, and the player meets a new challenger.

Other Goodies

 
What's your sign, Patti? Sounds 
Show Open (331 KB) 
Main Game Win (38.7 KB) 
Gold Run Win (120 KB) 
Gold Run Lose (88.7 KB) 
Show Close (444 KB)
Full Theme (RealAudio, courtesy Brian Karimzad)
If you have any comments on this page, any material to contribute, or any suggestions, please direct them to ccnelson@arn.net; please visit the page dedicated to the Bill Cullen years of Blockbusters, hosted by Michael Klauss.

This is Rich Jeffreys, speaking for the

Blockbusters

Fan Page,

This isn't to say that Mike's gonna take over this whole thing eventually.
This page wouldn't be possible without these guys.
Some information is courtesy of The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows, Second Edition.
Sounds and pictures from "Blockbusters" are ©1987 The Blockbusters Company.
No challenge to ownership is implied.
Original content of this page ©1998 Caleb Craig Nelson.
This way back to the Game Show Headquarters!
This Game Show site is
owned by Caleb Craig Nelson.

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