Game Show Mechanics
27 May 2009
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2 Comments
Another passed-on idea that I’m reposting because I still think it holds water: a game show that rewards players for their ability to lie convincingly, not about personal information (a la “what’s my line?”) but about facts. It’s pure bluffing – poker without the poker. It’s called “Million Dollar Bluff.”
As always, would love to hear what you think, whoever you are.
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Hi David,
This is a great pitch. I’m sure this would be fun to watch. We have something like it on British TV called Call My Bluff, where two teams of aging celebritites (three on each team) compete to out bluff each other. One team is given an obscure word and each member has to sell a different definition of it to the other team, one being the correct definition. They win if they bluff the other team into going for the wrong definition, and the opposing team wins if they guess the correct definition. It is similar to your show but I like that yours is with Joe Public, and the bullish host putting them under pressure, is a nice touch.
What other questions were you thinking of presenting in this gameshow? Maybe you’ve got all kinds of other rounds devised where the players are not just selling word definitions to each other, but lying to their opponents in other ways too. It’s just that the question you chose in this pitch made me think of Call My Bluff.
Another question I have with the type of question you chose for this pitch is, what if Charlie knew the definition of an Ocelot before they’d even started? Presumably he wouldn’t admit it, at least until the end, when he’d chosen correctly. And if he did reveal he’d known all along, it would seem to make a bit of damp squib out of the whole round don’t you think? Of course it’s an unlikely occurance if you choose really difficult questions, but it’s always a possibility, and one that has the potential to undermine the whole point of the game.
Would it be better if they had to sell a story to their opponents? Say if the question was, what is the most embarrassing moment you’ve had in the bedroom? (or something better) And from there, one player has to fabricate an entire bullshit story, and the other has to give an honest answer. I think you might be able to milk the lying factor (which is the real beauty of your show) with questions like these, providing you got really kick ass contestants with a deft touch for bullshit.
Anyway, I hope that’s all constructive and makes sense. I think this is a great idea essentially, and I’d really like to hear more about your developments with it. Good luck with it David, and I hope you’re doing well. Congrats on tying the knot with Amy too!
Best,
Harry
Damp squib, indeed. Yeah – that’s the hard part – and why the casting’s so critical – you’ve really got to believe that it’s a slim chance that the judge knows the answer… You’d want to be asking me about Manchester United players or George Bush about science.
I think a smarter person than me could figure out how to build this into the bluffing itself – like poker – so there’s a chance for the bluffers to wonder whether or not the judge knows (aka “has a good hand”).
We’ve got something like this here – “Wait, Wait, don’t tell me!” which is our NPR – nerdy – game show in which smart people compete over pretending to have definitions for obscure/made up words. I feel like trivia’s more populist. I did a version that was more – Charlie has to bluff that he was in the Moscow ballet (or was he?!?) – but that’s ultimately “What’s my line?”
Thanks for the congrats and thanks for reading and the thoughtful feedback – hope everything’s good with you!
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