Lingo (UK game show)

Lingo was a British game show that originally aired as a regional programme for Central in 1987. It became networked for all ITV regions for one series in 1988.

Rules

The game was played between two teams of two players each. At the start of the game, each team was given a "Lingo" card with 25 spaces on it. One team's card contained even numbers and the other contained odd numbers. Seven numbers on each card were automatically covered at the start of the game.

The team in control was shown the first letter of a five-letter mystery word, after which, one team member tried to guess the word and then spelled it out. Otherwise, the other team member took a guess, then the first team member took the third guess and so on.

If the team failed to identify the word within five guesses, failed to answer at any time within the five-second time limit, or gave a misspelled or nonexistent word, or a word that did not fit, the other team got a chance to guess. If there was more than one letter unrevealed, one of those letters was revealed and the team was given five seconds to make a guess. If there was only one unrevealed letter in the word, it was not revealed, but during the five seconds of thinking time, the team was allowed to confer – this was the only time when conferring between teammates was allowed.

The team that correctly guessed the mystery word earned £50, then got a chance to pull two Lingo balls out of a hopper in front of them. Eighteen of the balls were labelled with numbers corresponding to the numbers on their Lingo board; when a numbered ball was drawn, the corresponding space on the Lingo card was covered. Also, in the hopper, were two prize balls; when one of them was drawn, it was put aside and the contestant who drew it got to pick again.

Normally, after drawing their balls, the team kept control and could guess at the next mystery word. However, the hopper contained three red balls as well; a team drawing one of these balls had to immediately stop drawing and lost control (the opposing team got to guess at the next mystery word). Once balls were drawn, they were discarded, so the same ball could not be drawn twice in one game.

A team that covered numbers on their board that formed a Lingo – five numbers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row – earned £100. The team with the most money won the game and the right to play in the "No Lingo" bonus round.

No Lingo

The team was shown another Lingo card filled with even numbers. Sixteen numbers were covered before the start of the round, arranged in a star shape along the diagonals, middle row and middle column; the centre space, where the free space was on a normal bingo card, was left uncovered. The hopper was loaded with 40 numbered balls (all the even numbers from 2 to 80 – this was unlike the main game in which only the numbers that actually appeared on the Lingo card were loaded into the hopper), plus one silver ball. The contestants were given £100 to start. The team was then shown a five-letter mystery word with the first letter and one of the other four letters shown. The team was given the usual five chances to guess the mystery word; for each guess they'd use, they had to draw one Lingo ball. If they failed to guess the word in five tries, they had to draw an extra two balls, for a total of seven balls. If the team drew a numbered ball that appeared on the board, that board space was covered and the ball was discarded, just like it would have been in the normal game; if this formed a Lingo, the team immediately lost the bonus round and the prize money. If the team drew a numbered ball that did not appear on the board, nothing happened; the ball was simply discarded. (This was good for the players, since the object of the round was to avoid forming a Lingo.) If the team drew the silver ball, they were immediately allowed to stop drawing, their prize money was doubled and the silver ball was returned into the hopper. In addition, the ball corresponding to the centre of the board was held by the host until the second word, then added in.

If they managed to draw the required number of balls (or draw the silver ball) without completing a Lingo, they'd double their money to £200. The team could then take that and quit, or try to double their money again by guessing another mystery word using the same rules. The Lingo board remained as it was, and any previously drawn numbered balls were still out of play, so the risk of forming a Lingo increased as time went on. The team could try up to a total of five words, with the prize money doubling after each word; so the team could win £3,200 by trying all five words. If at any time a team made Lingo in this round, the game ended and the team's bonus winnings were reduced by half.

External links

• Lingo at UKGameshows.com.