Play Your Hunch

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Play Your Hunch
Genre	Game Show
Creator(s)	Mark Goodson and Bill Todman
Starring	Merv Griffin (1958–1962), Gene Rayburn (1962) and Robert Q. Lewis (1962-1963); Announcer: Johnny Olson
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS (1958-1959), ABC (1959), NBC (1959-1963) Nighttime NBC (1960 & 1962)
Original run	1958 – 1963

Play Your Hunch was an American game show first hosted by Merv Griffin from 1958 to 1962, and was then hosted by Robert Q. Lewis until 1963. It was also hosted by Gene Rayburn of Match Game fame for one month in 1962. The announcer for the whole show's run was Johnny Olson. Play Your Hunch was a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production. It has been considered to be something of a "spin-off" of another more successful Goodson-Todman game, To Tell the Truth.

1 Broadcast history
2 Game play
3 Trivia
4 Episode Status

[edit] Broadcast history

The show first aired on CBS from 1958-1959. ABC then picked it in the same year, and then NBC aired it for the rest of its run starting in also 1959. During the NBC run, two different prime time versions aired, one in 1960, and one in 1962.

[edit] Game play

Two couples (or occasionally pairs with other relationships) competed. The game revolved around "problems" which involved a choice between three possibilities (often three people) which were always labeled X, Y, and Z. The choices were usually visual. Some questions would have an element of observation; for example, one couple was asked which of three labeled musicians amongst the show's band was not playing his instrument and was merely pretending. Other problems depended mainly on luck in choosing correctly.

The game began with the challenging team. The teams were alternatively presented with problems and had the choice to play or pass after the choices were unveiled but before the problem was described. The couple who played the problem discussed the answer amongst themselves until a chime rang and the couple had to answer. If the couple was wrong, the opponents had the choice between the remaining two answers. If either couple got the right answer, they earned a point, with three points winning the game. At least once every show, the couples would also have to solve a "come-closer" problem, which involved coming up with a mathematical average to a problem (example: how many coffee beans in a displayed container); the team "coming closer" to the actual answer would score the point. Couples remained on the show as champions until they were defeated. On the CBS version, a bonus game was played by the winning couple for a prize, like a trip, an appliance, a car, etc. Either the show's assistant, or announcer Johnny Olson himself would hide behind one of four "doors" onstage; the couple would simply have to guess which "door" either of them was hiding behind. On the NBC version, each point scored during the game was worth $100.

[edit] Trivia

In 2001, Play Your Hunch was ranked #43 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time.
Merv would occasionally sing during the show, and play a song from his piano.
This was Johnny Olson's first regular announcing job with longtime employer Mark Goodson. Olson is better known as the original announcer on the Bob Barker version of The Price is Right, and as the announcer for every version of The Match Game, until the Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.

[edit] Episode Status

At least some episodes exist. GSN has aired a handful of episodes of the Griffin version in the past (Most recently on early Monday morning November 6th, 2006.).