Strike A Match - Rare Game Show Pilot 

The theme music was one of the prize cues on "Wheel" during the contestant shopping years. Interesting game

Besides a WOF prize cue being used as the theme song, the WOF name tags for contestants were even used here.

Randy Hamilton. I've heard that name before. He was the emcee of the dance show "Videopolis" on The Disney Channel.

This is a format that could still hit the air and work. It's quite enjoyable and dang it's fast.

Now, THIS... is what you call a GAME SHOW concept!

I recognize the host. Randy was an actor on the daytime drama "Texas" (a short-lived spinoff of "Another World"). I don't know if he's made any career moves besides this pilot.

I don't know how you do it. But you're truly the King of Game Shows. I've been a fan of you since the Tic-Tac days. And I'm still a fan. Thank you for this post.

Thank you for sharing this, Wink! I really like this pilot. I could see this getting at least a season, maybe not as a network show. But this would work as either a USA or a CBN/Family Channel show with lower stakes.

What I love about all these pilots is that there is already a champ

The 'ran out of time' seemed to be a bit subjective.

Great pilot!

Interesting game. I loved the bonus round where there was an answer that could fit into more than one category so you have to be careful with that.

Somewhat similar to the Orson Bean 1985 Concentration Pilot. Love the Wheel of Fortune sound effects and shopping music cues. Randy would have been an excellent game show emcee. He had been a soap opera actor on NBC's "Texas" which ran from August 4, 1980 - December 31, 1982 (wow coming up on 40 years since it was axed!) Wink, as always thank you very much for these awesome gems. And a very belated Happy Birthday to you too.

I feel like this could have earned itself a season. It wasn’t the worst, by all means. A little dull, but not as bad as some of the others out there. Thanks for the share!

It’s uncanny that an interesting show like this would be discovered by you, Wink.

I enjoyed this immensely! The gameplay is challenging enough. It's a shame it didn't pick up. Was there ever something like this in another part of the world? Regardless, keep up the Great work! Looking forward to the next video!

I loved playing Strike A Match! I always thought it would make a good game show. I guess we'll find out how wrong I was.

I've only watched the first five minutes, and I'm already reminded of the British Show "Only Connect." Two teams of four compete against one another and the third round of play consists of a wall of 16 items, with four groups of them being connected in some way. The teams score points by finding the connections and then defining how they're connected.

Thanks, Wink! I enjoyed this! The Hawaii Five-O theme at 6:30 ! 🌴 Not a bad concept, but the repetitive matching gets stale rather quick. Randy might’ve grown on me as host, but I’d much prefer someone who can punch up the pace of a show like a Martindale, Tomarken or Perry. 🙂 God bless Merv for trying unique concepts like this and Monopoly! Happy Holidays, Everyone!

The contestants on this show need to be very intelligent. I’m surprised they didn’t ever try this show in later years

Another interesting pilot; thanks for sharing, Wink! Some takeaways: Another Merv Griffin pilot using a Wheel of Fortune cue; this time it’s Struttin’ on Sunset. James Bradley is once again the announcer, like he has been for lots of Merv’s pilots. Set’s pretty creative, Merv once again opting for Red/Yellow/Green. Randy Hamilton’s hosting is a bit wooden. I definitely wish this game and Boxerjam was still around so I could understand the gameplay more.

Merv later recycled the sound signaling the end of the round for the pilot of Monopoly hosted by Peter Tomarken when a player took over an opponent’s color group.

This game is actually a lot of fun. Merv's wife was right.

Cool show! It reminds me a bit of the game app Red Herring, also the British show Only Connect.

They didn't explain why the 5 square in the first game was empty at one point. Should've so as not to make us think an error occurred. Also, did we need the drawings when they showed the matches?

One thing that I think would have needed a change was the time rule. I noticed clearly that a contestant began to call out a number, and got "number" in before the sound rang out, yet they were judged to be out of time anyway. That could have spelled some danger if someone were to complain about that, and there was no real effort on the host to explain that, though the contestants didn't seem to mind, which knowing how these pilots run, you have to think that no real sense of confusion of that rule would've only added to someone being squeamish seeing that. They could have at least made an effort to explain how the rule was and why they were ruled out of time even though they began to call out a number. Also, in the second round, the host was going "go ahead" as the contestant was waiting for the squares to refill with new words. When there's only one match present at any one time, they kind of need that information to fill in before they CAN "go ahead". Another trouble spot that would be easy to correct. If they could have cleared up the time rule, they could have had something here.

I recognize Gale! She was on a pilot episode of Bullseye!

Wink, are there any good books, articles or interviews with production/set designers from the 70s and 80s? I'd love to hear and learn more about the behind the scenes work that went into a show's aesthetics

Thank you wink for showing this beautiful pilot too bad it didn’t sell as gameshows were dying by late 80’s early 90’s but I have a feeling 1 day gameshow will be back on top

This looks like it was shot at NBC Burbank, maybe studio 3. The giveaway was the cyclorama and the matrix of the countdown clock.

Sometimes a game show has a good backdrop, but when the set and the host don't fit in, the whole production suffers. The game itself could have worked.

This game is exciting . it is challenging to the brain , not always easy but not super hard . I admit some of those matches I didn't know

Well, I would've bought this for MY TV station, had I owned one. A fun game!

I played countless hours of this game on Boxerjam.

HOLD ON A SEC!! How could this have been "a sensation on AOL" when AOL -- _AND the public accessibility of the internet_ -- *NEVER EXISTED* in 1987?

The theme was used as a prize cue on WoF at the time.

Wink the game sounds fun but the rules are confusing. i liked it even your own pilots.

Lots of familiar sounds and music from a certain Merv show for sure (notably a key change in a certain cue from a certain Merv show).

I like this show, I played Strike a Match online before and it does work as a game show quite well. But a couple things I might have done, the doubles bonus should have been 20 seconds instead of 30, and they should be more clear about what happens when a double crosser gets put with the wrong match in the bonus round, does the contestant just stand there until the clock runs to zero or does it end immediately if the last three can't match? Maybe I would have offered the opportunity for the contestant to say "reset" no more than twice which in doing so would return all the answers to the board and the contestant starts over with the time remaining at that point.

I loved the idea, but the wrong host. He just didn't seem to have much zip to his talking.

Gale's back again?! At least Merv didn't saddle her with the boyfriend gag from the B&E pilots she was on. (This actually makes her the 2nd person I've ever seen on pilots for at least 3 different shows.) The game was... simple, but the silence it played to made the lather/rinse/repeat of it very grating. There had to be another element to this game to give an audience chances to applaud. Without it, I feel like this would put me to sleep.

I would like to see this on GSN with Kevin Harlan or Mike Rowe hosting.

I played a lot of S.A.M online years ago and always thought it would make a great TV game show. Maybe some tweaks to the gameplay would've made the transition to TV work, but this example just didn't have the suspenseful pacing of the online game.

I think it had potential, but they needed to polish a few things. Like near the end of the game, when it became obvious no one could catch up to the winner, why keep going? Also, what kind of theme song was that?

and they just take one of their "let's go shopping" prize cues from Wheel of Fortune as their theme.

It feels kind of weird that they used one of the prize cues from Wheel of Fortune as the theme for Strike a Match. I know they used a longer cue from Wheel for the theme to Crosswords, but, if this ever made it to air, surely they’d have to pick something different… right?

Cool!!!!!

This game is so unfair, they dont give everyone the same length of time to answer.

Interesting game show

Randy Hamilton began his career in Cincinnati under the name Randy Weidner.

This might work for Game Show Network. After the 2nd round, player gets eliminated and the 3rd round plays as is. Winner gets $1000 and plays the bonus for $10,000. No wonder why this pilot got too stale.

8:17 Trumpet Fanfare from "Monopoly" Pilot

So at least a third pilot with Gale...

Intresting format but i would extend looking time for finding match to 5 seconds

Which network was this shot for? I think that this was being shot for ABC since NBC’s game show schedule was full at the time with Win, Lose or Draw a month away.

the set is cool, that's it.

It's a neat concept, but it just seems not destined for TV. There just isn't that much excitement. Sure, you can play along at home, but even then, the presentation and gameplay don't compare to previous Merv productions.

the Hawaii 5-0 theme for the trip to Hawaii

Is this the same Randy Hamilton that succeeded Michael Young on Kids Are People Too?

He could have done with varying "You took too much time!". I kind of like the set, but it does feel like an easier version of Wipeout.

Where was it taped at??

Not a bad game overall. I did think some of the matches would have been tough for the average home player. Bonus round could have been a little more challenging but I think it could have worked.

HUGE question: WAS this show to be broadcast or distributed by (King World; soon to be) CBS? Because I DOUBT the Five-O cue would've survived unless those planets aligned! XD Otherwise, as of the first puzzle, so far, so good... :D

This could have sold with the right audience.

Inconsistent 'time' and too short even for the audience. 'too long' sound does not sound right.

Pretty fun game, shame it didn’t sell. Bonus game was a little too easy though.

if it wasn't made, why do they allude to mike winning the previous game? i don't understand.

Hey Wink, I think this show could've been a great run.

Just curious, how can you have a reigning champion, if it is the Pilot episode?

It sounds like Jim Bradley in this pilot.

tell sandy hello

There's a little trick to this game. Because there's only one possible match everytime, the newest 2 or 3 answers can be used as hints to match the others. The first round makes this easier, but matching three adds more complexity. Thankfully the requirement to explain their match prevents this game from being a total cake walk. The game is just okay, but it's a tad stale.

Could they please re-use that Wheel prize music for another pilot? Ahahaha and yes, the wof nametags... #mervgriffinproductions

The only connect wall but easier.

That theme song sounds familiar, lol

Good concept. The front game is well done and moves with pace. The end game is far too easy and really needs like a "15 matching 3 pairs in 60 seconds w/ no mistakes" . I would have a different host that didn't overact so much, but that is purely subjective.

Even though this was an unsold Pilot, did she acually get the Hawaii trip?

Very rare, however it is a super 1987 game show!!

they have the old wheel of fortune nametags

That announcer, isn't he from Ruckus?

Hmmm. This word game looks vaguely familiar.

the final bonus round was way too easy!!

Thankfully, Boxerjam made a better version of the game. I miss playing it.

I guess nobody at MGE saw how insufferable Randy Hamilton was from his Nickelodeon days.

Randy who?

6:35… who the heck is Pat? 😂

Cool game but they use the wheel of fortune cue prize

Wooden host and very easy bonus round. At least it’s better than Buzzword.

This is a hard game; it might have been a little more fun to watch if the audience had a little more time to think about how the words are related. Or maybe I'm just slow. 🙂

I think a different host would have made the difference

This show could have had a better host. I think Geoff Edwards would have been a better choice.

Double Crossers.

Interesting game, but I can see why it failed.

Struttin' on the Sunset... Must be a Merv Griffin show.... Sorry Merv, but this one's a stinker. Not only are there no jeopardies (pun intended), but it would seem lopsided if the players are imbalanced. Plus, with the game play, it didn't really catch my attention. Might work as a way to pass the time online as Wink mentioned with AOL, but not a TV show.

No surprise this didn't sell. It's just not engaging or well done.

What awful game show music

The theme song is annoying. Interesting game otherwise.