Blockbusters facts for kids

Blockbusters was a fun and exciting game show that was on TV from 1980 to 1987. It challenged players with questions and a unique game board.

How to Play Blockbusters

In Blockbusters, two different sides competed. One side was a team of two players. The other side was a single player. The team used the color white. The solo player used the color red.

The game board looked like a big puzzle. It had many spaces shaped like a hexagon. Each hexagon had a letter inside it. Players would choose a letter. Then, the host, Bill Cullen, would ask a question related to that letter.

The first player to buzz in and answer correctly won the hexagon. Their color (white for the team, red for the solo player) would fill that space. The goal was to connect your color across the board. The team won if they connected their white hexagons from the left side to the right side. The solo player won if they connected their red hexagons from the top to the bottom.

The Gold Rush Round

After two games, the winner got to play the "Gold Rush" round. This was a special bonus round. The board looked similar, but the hexagons were gold. Sometimes, more than one letter was in a space.

The goal of the Gold Rush was to connect your color across the board in just 60 seconds. If a player answered all questions correctly and made the connection, they won an extra $5,000! If they missed a question, a "block" would appear. They then had to find a way around it to complete their path.

Different Versions of the Show

The first version of Blockbusters aired on the NBC network. It ran from 1980 to 1982. During this time, Bill Cullen was the host.

In 1987, a new version of the show came out. This time, comedian Bill Rafferty was the host. This version was a bit different. Instead of a team playing against a solo player, it featured two solo players competing against each other. This version also ended in the same year, 1987.