Nick Arcade facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nick Arcade |
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| Genre | Game show |
| Created by |
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| Presented by | Phil Moore |
| Narrated by | Andrea Lively |
| Theme music composer |
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| Country of origin | |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes |
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| Production location(s) | Nickelodeon Studios |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Bethea-Miteff Productions, Inc. |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | January 4 – November 6, 1992 |
Nick Arcade (also called Nickelodeon Arcade) was a fun American kids' game show. It was created by James Bethea and Karim Miteff. The show was hosted by Phil Moore, with Andrea Lively as the announcer.
Nick Arcade first aired on Nickelodeon in 1992. You could watch it on weekend afternoons. Reruns of the show continued until September 1997. The show was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. If you want to watch it today, Nick Arcade is available on the Paramount+ streaming service.
In the game, two teams of contestants played two rounds of trivia questions. The team that won these rounds got to move on to the "Video Zone." There, they played against a virtual character called the "Video Game Wizard." This show was special because it mixed live action with animation using a blue screen!
Contents
How to Play Nick Arcade
Two teams of contestants played two main rounds. The team with the most points then got to play against the "Video Game Wizard."
Face-Off Games
Each round started with one player from each team playing a video game. They played for thirty seconds. These games were made just for the show.
| Game Name | What You Do |
|---|---|
| Meteoroids | You move crosshairs to zap flying targets like asteroids and ships. The player with the highest score wins. |
| Laser Surgeon | This is like Meteoroids, but you're inside a body. |
| Brainstorm | You defend a brain's neurons from an electric pulse. It's like a fast game of Pong. The team with the fewest hits wins. |
| Battle of the Bands | Similar to Brainstorm, but it's a concert theme. You protect speakers from a bouncing sound wave. |
| Star Defenders | Like Brainstorm, but you protect spaceships from a comet. |
| Post-Haste | You control a mailman in a side-scrolling race. You dodge obstacles, like in Paperboy. The mailman who goes the farthest wins. This game was only in Season 2. |
| Jet Jocks | Like Post-Haste, but you control jet skiers. You avoid obstacles along a river. This game was only in Season 2. |
| Crater Rangers | Like Post-Haste, but you control ATVs on the moon. You avoid obstacles. This game was only in Season 2. |
The winner of the face-off earned points for their team. It was 25 points in the first round and 50 points in the second. If there was a tie, a quick question was asked. The winning team also got to control "Mikey, the Video Adventurer." Mikey was the show's cartoon mascot.
Main Game Rounds
In the main rounds, teams moved Mikey across a game board. The Red team played against the Yellow team. (The Yellow team was usually blue on other Nickelodeon shows, but it was changed because of the blue screen used in the Video Zone.)
The game board had 18 squares. Teams moved Mikey up, down, left, or right towards a "Goal" space. When Mikey landed on a new square, different things would happen. These included:
- Trivia questions
- Video puzzles
- Instant prizes
- Automatic points
- Enemies
- "Video Challenges"
In a Video Challenge, one player played a video game. They had 30 seconds to reach a certain score or complete a task. Teams kept any prizes they won during these rounds.
The main goal was to get Mikey to the "Goal" space. Sometimes, time would run out before this happened. If so, Mikey was moved directly to the goal. Then, a question was asked. The first team to buzz in with the right answer got the "Goal" points. Round 2 was played the same way, but all point values were doubled.
Mikey's World Locations
Mikey's World had 11 different areas to explore. Each area had a unique theme:
| Location | What It's Like |
|---|---|
| Pirate's Cove | An old port with a skull-shaped island. |
| Cape Cosmos | A space center that takes Mikey into outer space. |
| Camelittle | A medieval land with knights, princesses, and dragons. |
| Specific Ocean | An underwater area with sea creatures. |
| Forgotten Desert | An Egyptian-style area full of mystery. |
| Slurpy Gulch | A Wild West town with a southwestern feel. |
| Volcano Jungle | A rainforest jungle with a live volcano. |
| Creepyville | A haunted mansion near a spooky swamp. |
| Mikey's Neighborhood | A normal suburban area, home to Mikey and a bully named "Game Over." |
| WeGot'Em Mall | A shopping center close to Mikey's neighborhood. |
| Time Portal | A vortex Mikey travels through, visiting his neighborhood in the past and future. |
Types of Squares
There were eight different types of squares Mikey could land on:
- The Four Ps (Points, Puzzles, Pop Quizzes, and Prizes):
- Points - The team automatically got 25 points (50 in round 2) and kept control.
- Video Puzzle - Teams solved different puzzles. The team that solved it got 25 points (50 in Round 2) and control of Mikey. Examples included guessing an artist from a scrambled music video or remembering a series of quick images.
- Pop Quiz - A question about the area Mikey was in. Teams could buzz in early. A correct answer earned 25 points (50 in Round 2) and control.
- Prize - The team won a prize and kept control. All prizes were theirs to keep.
- Video Challenge - One contestant picked one of five video games to play. The goal was to beat the "Wizard's Challenge" (or "Expert's Challenge" in Season 2) by getting a certain score in 30 seconds. The other team member bet points (from zero to their current score) that their partner would succeed. If they won, the points were added. If not, they lost the points, and the other team got control. Each game could only be played once per episode.
- Enemy - An animated enemy "attacked" Mikey. Landing here gave control to the other team.
- Time Bomb - If Mikey landed on a square already visited, a "Time Bomb" happened. The team had 10 seconds to spell a word, taking turns saying letters. If they spelled it right, they kept control. Otherwise, the other team got control. No points were given.
- Goal - If a team moved Mikey to the Goal, they answered a question from a category chosen by their opponents. A correct answer earned 50 points (100 in Round 2) and the Goal. If they were wrong, the opponents got half the points and the Goal. If time ran out, a sudden-death Pop Quiz question was asked for 50 points (100 in Round 2).
The team with the most points after two rounds won the game. If there was a tie, a 100-point tiebreaker question was asked. The winning team moved on to the Video Zone. The losing team received prizes they had won and other small prizes.
The Video Zone Challenge
The Video Zone was like a live-action video game with three levels. Contestants stood in front of a blue screen backstage. They would climb ladders, throw "snowballs," or use a boat. Their goal was to collect three items in each level.
Just like in a video game, players could lose "power" from hazards or enemies. If they lost all five units of power, they had to restart the level. Each level also had a "power-up" that appeared sometimes. Touching it gave the player a special advantage, like freezing enemies or restoring their power.
The team had 60 seconds to clear all three levels. For each item they touched, they won $50. Clearing a level won them a prize that got bigger with each level. If they beat the Game Wizard in the final level, they won the grand prize, usually a vacation! If time ran out, a "GAME OVER" message appeared.
Level 1 Challenges
- Jungle Fever: Climb palm trees to get three bunches of bananas. Avoid monkeys, toucans, piranhas, and snakes. You could go behind a waterfall or touch a golden idol for help.
- Alien Moonbase: Turn off three anti-matter reactors in a space building. Avoid steam vents and robots. Touching the main computer would freeze enemies and activate a "light bridge."
- Ancient Tomb: (Season 1 only) Grab three coins in a Maya temple. Avoid bats, a statue's hammer, arrows, fireballs, and a mummy. Touching a sunbeam cleared enemies and opened doors.
- Monsters on the Loose: (Season 2 only) As a giant player, rescue three humans from UFOs in a city. Avoid a laser-firing eyeball, a slimy creature, and a giant cockroach. Touching a power rod cleared all enemies.
- Haunted Museum: (Season 2 only) Find three statue busts hidden in moving bookcases in a haunted mansion. Avoid gargoyles, tentacles, vampires, and the "Hand of Doom." Pulling a curtain would destroy enemies with sunlight.
Level 2 Challenges
- Runaway Rail Car: (Season 1 only) Travel on a railway car through a Wild West town and mines. Get three coins while avoiding vultures, timbers, cactuses, tumbleweeds, and rats. Touching a green "luck stone" restored full power.
- Nile River Raft: Float on a fast Egyptian river. Grab three gems while avoiding flies, alligators, rats, vultures, and a mummy. Touching the "Eye of the Pharaoh" diamond restored full power.
- Mine Maze: Collect three coins in a Mayan room. Dodge fireballs, spears, and electrified floor tiles. Touching a "Power" tile made you immune to damage for a few seconds.
- Cliffhanger: On a cliff with caves, clear cave openings to find three coins. Avoid rock slides, snakes, vultures, and giant lizards. Touching a TNT device blasted open cave openings.
- Food Fight: In a school lunch room food fight, grab three textbooks. Avoid flying food and the gym coach. Opening a locker with stinky gym shoes stopped the chaos.
- Sub Search: (Season 2 only) In a waverunner in the ocean, collect three treasure chests. Avoid sharks, eels, lobsters, mines, and squids. Touching a nuclear power cell restored all power.
- Enchanted Flight: (Season 2 only) On a magic carpet, grab three rings. Avoid swordsmen, gate traps, cobras, a royal guard, a baby dragon, guard dogs, and a lightning-shooting genie. Touching a magic lamp restored health.
- Snow Slingers: (Season 2 only) In an arctic scene, hit three elves with snowballs while dodging theirs. Avoid skiing foxes and hitting a polar bear. Hitting a snowman made elves stop attacking and dance.
Level 3: The Wizard Level
Both players worked together in the final level. They faced one of three villains:
- Merlock, an evil wizard who shot lightning.
- Scorchia, a sorceress who threw fireballs.
- Mongo, an armored monster who tossed energy balls.
To win, players had to touch three glowing orbs before time ran out. They also had to avoid the Wizard, flying ghostly creatures, and beams of lightning, fire, or energy from the ground. If either player touched a spinning hourglass, all enemies and hazards would freeze for five seconds.
If the players won, the Wizard would disappear. Merlock turned to dust, Scorchia burned to ashes, and Mongo vanished. The message "You did it! You beat the game." appeared on screen.
In Season 1, the Wizards' rooms looked similar but had different colors. Merlock had a purple room, Scorchia a red-orange room, and Mongo a green room. In Season 2, each Wizard got a more unique room:
- Merlock's lair had bubble-like objects.
- Scorchia's lair had crystals.
- Mongo's lair was a frosty snow cave.
Early Versions of the Show
The show filmed four pilot episodes before it officially aired. One of these pilot episodes is still available to watch. The basic game was the same, but there were some differences:
- The hosts were Niells Schurman and Fran Gauchi, not Phil Moore and Andrea Lively.
- The pilot was filmed on the same set as another Nickelodeon show, Get the Picture.
- The team colors were red and blue. Blue was changed to yellow for the actual show. This was because if a blue team went to the Video Zone, their bodies would disappear due to the blue screen used there.
- The face-off games were much slower.
- The theme music was from a different Nickelodeon show called Outta Here.
- Sound effects came from Double Dare and Get the Picture.
- Mikey was animated differently and didn't have music when he moved.
- One "Enemy" square was shown to the teams before the round started.
- The "Video Challenge" was called "Arcade." One player went on stage to pick from seven games. These games were in special TV cabinets, not arcade cabinets. One game was Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Games could be played more than once.
- The "Time Bomb" challenge was a "Video Puzzle." Instead of spelling words, teams had to list many answers to a question.
- The Video Zone had four levels instead of three, and there was no Wizard in the final level. When a contestant finished a level, the clock stopped, and the host shared stats before the next level began.
Famous Guests
Some well-known people appeared on Nick Arcade:
- Joey Fatone, who later became a member of the famous music group 'N Sync, was once a contestant on the show. His team did not make it to the Video Zone.
- The casts from other Nickelodeon shows, like Clarissa Explains it All, Salute Your Shorts, and Welcome Freshmen, appeared on special celebrity episodes in Season 2. They competed for charity. In the Salute Your Shorts episode, only the winning team went to the Video Zone. But in the other two celebrity episodes, both teams got to go to the Video Zone!
