Trivia games like Jeopardy and Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?[1] X Research source [2] X Research source Puzzle games like Playmania and Concentration[3] X Research source [4] X Research source [5] X Research source Word games like Wheel of Fortune and The Last Word[6] X Research source [7] X Research source Physical competition games like American Gladiators and Battle Dome[8] X Research source [9] X Research source Performance competition shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent[10] X Research source [11] X Research source
Do your contestants win prize money or object prizes (like a car or a free trip to the Bahamas)? Maybe they win a donation to a charity of their choice, like many “celebrity” episodes of established game shows. You might narrow the scope of your game show to a specific theme: for example, a game show specifically about college football, aimed toward a sports-loving audience. Do your contestants get the opportunity to try to dig themselves out of a hole by fighting back over a series of rounds, or does the contestant with the lowest score get eliminated at the end of each round?
Make sure each round is long enough to be fully developed — at least ten minutes each. The number of rounds will depend on the length of the show — a shorter show might have only two rounds, while a longer show might have four. The rounds should be roughly the same length in time. You can increase the point value for questions as rounds progress, making it more difficult for winners to maintain their lead and easier for the others to catch up; this increases the drama for the audience. You can have a final round that is significantly shorter in length, but provides an opportunity to the contestants to dramatically shift the final score. This might include a single question that is worth a large number or points, or perhaps allow contestants to wager how many points they’d like to risk on their final answer.
Categories can be as broad or specific as you like, but have a good mixture of the two. Examples of broad categories might include: science, history, music, or politics. Examples of more specific categories might include: endangered species, World War II, punk music, or U. S. presidents. Although you can repeat categories from time to time, vary them as much as possible between episodes. You don’t want contestants to be able to predict what types of questions you’re going to ask, and you don’t want your audience to get bored.
Develop more questions than you need. You can always save some questions for the future. This strategy also gives you to option to choose the best, most interesting questions from a larger pool rather than making do with the first handful of questions that came to mind. Work ahead of time. Don’t put off research for the last second, as you may run into a time crunch Organize a team of researchers. Draw on the strengths of each individual researcher and delegate specific categories to them. For example, researchers with scientific backgrounds should develop science-themed questions, which researchers with English backgrounds should develop literature-themed questions. Follow a research schedule. Don’t allow yourself to get off track during the week if you plan a weekly show. After delegating responsibility to your research team (or simply concretizing the categories for yourself), set deadlines for when questions will be due. For example, if you have a team, you might set a mid-week deadline for a pool of questions three times the size of what you need for the episode. Two days before the episode, you must winnow that pool down to the questions you will actually use that week.
Consider who you’re writing this show for. Depending on your demographic, you’ll need to develop different strategies to attract viewer interest. If the show is geared toward teenagers, you can develop questions about pop music, movies, or young adult novels. If the show meant for people who wish to watch academically rigorous competition, focus on the types of subjects taught in university classes: philosophy, political science, etc. Questions about topical events and stories currently in the news can also make your viewers perk up.
While it’s good to have challenging questions from time to time — ones that are designed to stump everyone — the majority of your questions should skirt the fine line between challenging and obscure. You can rank the questions within each category by difficulty, beginning with easier questions and building up to more difficult ones.
For a cooking game show, have contestants recreate classical dishes with a long tradition, such as chicken cordon bleu or a croquembouche. [12] X Research source For a singing game show, have contestants sing old standards that demonstrate their ability to step into a song imbued with someone else’s legacy — Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools” or Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York,” for example.
For a dancing game show, you might ask competitors to create new choreography for a song that has a beloved performance already associated with it — Gene Kelly’s performance of “Singing in the Rain,” for example. [13] X Research source
For a dancing game show, see how many pirouette turns dancers can do without losing their balance, for example.
For a cooking game show, for example, you might see which contestant can Brunoise dice a pile of vegetables most quickly with an even cut.
On a cooking game show, you might ask contestants to cook a dish that speaks to them from their childhood. On a singing game show, you might challenge the contestants to compose their own songs rather than simply perform those of others.
For a fashion design game show, ask contestants to create an evening look geared toward women ten years from now. For a cooking show, ask contestants to deconstruct a simple dish or simplify a complex dish.
For a dancing game show, have them work in styles from ballet to hip hop to classical Indian folk dance. Have cooking game show contestants cook vegan dishes one week, then break down and butcher sides of beef for their own steak dishes the next.
Putting them through a classic childhood exercise like a wheelbarrow race; not only do the contestants have to prove their arm strength over a long distance, but the audience can enjoy laughing along with grown contestants engaging in childish games. [14] X Research source Recreate a fun state fair environment by having contestants throw balls at targets for prizes; however, the balls should be heavy medicine balls, and the targets should be far away. Use your imagination — there are any number of ways to have fun while challenging muscle strength.
The benefit of an obstacle course is that it tests many elements of your contestants’ fitness at the same time, rather than isolating strength from speed from coordination. Make sure your contestants are safe at all times. Use rubber pads on any hard walls or objects contestants might run into, and don’t aim projectiles at them that could inflict injury if it made contact.
Camera operators — you need enough camera angles to show the host and all of the contestants. If you have individual contestants, you might just need two camera operators — one for the host and one for all of the contestants. However, if you have multiple teams, you might need a camera operator dedicated to each team. A production editor — someone who is familiar with video production software like Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut. A sound technician — someone who can ensure that the sound quality of all the dialogue on the show is picked up clearly. A charismatic host — the host you choose will set the tone for your show. Whether you pay someone, ask a friend to help you out, or go for it yourself, you need to make sure that the host brings a high level of energy to the proceedings
Create a set script for the introductory rule explanation. This will both ensure that the rules are clearly stated every episode and create a comfortable, familiar segue into the episode for returning viewers.
When a round ends, the host should recap the scores at that point in the game. This is a good time for the host to comment on how the game is going so far, or to ask the contestants how they’re feeling about their performance. These little breaks will give both the audience and the contestants time to reset for the next round of competition.
