Genius Junior facts for kids

Genius Junior was an American TV game show that first aired on March 18, 2018, on NBC. The show featured smart kids, aged 12 and under, who competed in teams of three. They faced five tough rounds that tested their skills in spelling, math, and memory. The team that won the competition received a special prize called the "Genius Junior Grant." The show was hosted by the famous actor Neil Patrick Harris.

How to Play Genius Junior

Genius Junior was a tournament-style game show. This means only the winning teams moved forward to the next stage. In the end, one team won the big prize!

The Main Game Rules

Each episode featured two teams of three kids. They competed in a series of fun, brain-challenging games. In each round, a team would play against the clock. Neil Patrick Harris would ask questions related to the game. Team members took turns answering. Every correct answer earned one point. If a player didn't know an answer, they could "pass" their turn. But each player could only pass once per round.

Before the second and third rounds, teams could choose a "Super Brain." This player would hit a buzzer to become the Super Brain. Then, that player would play the round alone! They tried to answer as many questions as possible to earn lots of points for their team. Each team could only use the "Super Brain" option once per game.

The team with the most points at the end of the main game won. They then got to play "The Cortex" for a chance to win up to $100,000!

Brainy Challenges

Here are some of the cool games the kids played on Genius Junior:

Human GPS

This game tested how well contestants knew locations.

• In early rounds, questions were about streets or stations in U.S. cities.
• Later, questions might be about parts of vehicles or even the human body!
• In the final round, the questions were about stars and constellations. Teams had a limited time to answer, like 90 seconds or 60 seconds.

Number Cruncher

This was a math challenge where kids couldn't see the numbers!

• The math problems got longer and harder with each question.
• The answer to one question became the first number for the next one.
• Problems could involve adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• In the final rounds, problems included squares, cubes, square roots, or cube roots.

Talking Dictionary

This game was all about spelling words backwards!

• Sometimes, kids just had to spell a word backwards.
• Other times, they were given words with no vowels. They had to figure out the word first, then spell it backwards.
• In the finals, they might even have to spell words backwards using only consonants or only vowels!

Memory Master

This game tested how well contestants could remember the order of playing cards.

• In early rounds, they had to remember one deck of cards from the first card.
• Later, they had to remember two decks of cards, starting from the last card!
• If there was a tie, one person from each team would answer a tie-breaker question about the cards. The first to answer correctly won! This game was not played in the finals.

The Cortex: The Final Challenge

The winning team moved to a special hexagonal area for the final round. They had three minutes to complete the challenge and win money. This round had three levels. Each player had their own level and path. Neil Patrick Harris asked questions. Each correct answer earned money and moved the player one step forward. When a player reached the end of their path, they hit a "brain button" and the next player took over.

Here's how much money they could win at each level:

If the team answered 12 questions correctly within three minutes, their winnings were doubled! This meant they could win a grand total of $100,000.

In the grand finals, the top two teams had two minutes plus extra time based on their points from earlier rounds. All the money values were doubled, so they could win up to $200,000! The team that answered 12 questions correctly fastest, or answered the most questions, won the whole competition.

Tournament Structure

For the first six weeks, twelve teams competed. Two teams played in each game. The six winning teams moved on to the semi-finals. From there, the winners went to the finals to compete for the "Genius Junior Grant."

Teams that didn't win the semi-finals, and the third-place finalists, won a trip to Universal Orlando Resort. The runner-up finalists (the team that came in second place) won a trip to Washington, D.C..

Episodes