INTRO
NETGAME MARATHON celebrates the greatest thing to come out of alt.tv.game-shows: Netgames!
For almost 15 years, gameshow fans have taken a little time out of their lives to recreate and produce shows based on their favorite games of yesterday and today. They've given other fans a chance to, in a virtual sense, live out their fantasies of being a gameshow contestant.
Now the tables turn as six of a.t.g-s's most prominent netgame hosts - Jay Lewis, Doug Morris, Ryan Morris, Dean Scungio, Chico Alexander and Tom Hornikel - will play the games they've made famous. Through seven of the oldest, longest-lasting and most-beloved netgames ever, these hosts will battle to become NETGAME MARATHON CHAMPION!
RULES
NETGAME MARATHON has seven rounds in it, each round taking on a different netgame:
NET PRICE IS RIGHT
NET MATCH GAME
FASTTALKERS
NET BUMPER STUMPERS
NET BLANK CHECK
NET GAMBIT
NET SCRABBLE
The preliminary round will have all six hosts playing the first four netgames together. Depending on how well the host does in each game, they will receive a number of points:
1st |
15 pts. |
2nd |
7 pts. |
3rd |
5 pts. |
4th |
3 pts. |
5th |
2 pts. |
6th |
1 pt. |
The four hosts who have the most points at the end of the preliminary round will advance to the semi-finals. They will be paired up, two to play NET BLANK CHECK, the other two to play NET GAMBIT. The winners will compete in NET SCRABBLE to crown a NETGAME MARATHON CHAMPION!
NET PRICE IS RIGHT will be played EXACTLY like the netgame was. The hosts will bid on an item, the closest without going over winning the item and playing a pricing game. After three games, the three that won will play "Net Price Was Right" with the winner advancing to the Showcase. IUFBs will be done for the other three hosts, followed by another "Net Price Was Right".
The Showcase will be contested by the two that won NPWR. The winner of the Showcase will win 1st Place points for this game, the runner-up will get 2nd place. Should both players go over in the Showcase bids, the Top Winner will be 1st Place, the Runner-Up 2nd Place. 3rd through 6th Places will be based on winnings of those not in the Showcase.
NET MATCH GAME is played similar to the original netgame. Each of the six hosts will submit a Match Game-esque statement, complete with a <<BLANK>>. Each statement will be asked one-by-one with the six hosts giving their answers. Each time a host matches another host's answer, they receive one point.
A seventh statement will be made by Chris Wolvie himself. He will keep his OWN answer a secret until the end of the round. Any host that matches Chris' answer gets two points.
The one who had the most points after seven rounds wins 1st Place points and will play in the Super Match bonus game. If there is a tie for the most points, those tied will play a tie-breaker match with those not tied, the one who matches the most right winning. The winner receives $200 per point, plus $100 simply for playing, for a maximum of $7500. 2nd through 6th Place points are given based on points during the game. A tie means that the Place points will be added and divided evenly.
Super Match will be played similar on "Net Match Game-Hollywood Squares". There will be an Auidence Match for $1000, $500 & $250 for most-popular, second-popular and third-popular respectively. If none of the answers are matched, $100 is automatically given. The winner picks one of the other hosts, each who holds a multiplier (two with 20, two with 30 and one with 50). The two hosts will play a final match and, should they match, the winner receives the amount won in Audience Match times the multiplier, for a maximum of $50,000.
FASTTALKERS is played just like the netgame, save for the amount of each puzzle and question. Round 1 is worth $50 per question and $100 per unused letter in the puzzle. Round 2 is worth $100 per question and $200 per unused letter. The Triple Play will start at $2000, drop to $1000 after the first clue and drop to $500 after the second clue. The Final Round will be $250 per question and $500 for each unused letter.
The one with the most money wins 1st Place points and advances to the Bonus Round. In case of a tie, a Speedword will be played to decide the winner. 2nd through 6th Place points will be based on total money with ties being averaged like with NET MATCH GAME.
The winner will play both parts of FAST FORWARD, both the "Gauntlet" and "Black Hole". The Jackpot starts $10,000. Each right answer in the Gauntlet adds $2000 to the Jackpot. If all ten are answered correctly, the winner will play "Black Hole" not only for $30,000 but for a car as well. The winner has two runs through the ten questions to get the right answers. Any wrong answers will add a Black Hole to the second part of the game.
Under each letter in the word "FASTTALKERS" will be money ranging from $100 to $1000, a "DOUBLE", a "WIN" and at least one "BLACK HOLE". If the winner accumulates $2500 or more - or picks the "WIN" space - before picking a "BLACK HOLE", he wins the Jackpot. They may quit at any time. "DOUBLE" will double the current pot, which could lead to a win if the pot is $1250 or more.
NET BUMPER STUMPERS will be played a fair bit differently than the netgame. Instead of three teams of three, three teams of TWO hosts will be randomly paired up to play the first six rounds.
Rounds 1 and 2 consist of two plates and one clue. Each host will answer, individually, as to which plate is correct and to decipher the plate. Each correct plate and each correct deciphering will earn one point for the team. Each point earns the team $200 with a $1000 bonus going to the team with the most points. In case of a tie, the bonus will be divided evenly among the teams.
Round 3 is like Rounds 1 and 2, save for a bonus question related to the correct plate, adding another point for each right answer.
Starting at Round 4, each point will be worth $500 and the bonus is $1500. Round 4 is "Celebrity Two-Car Garage" where the hosts must find out the celebrity who would have the two plates.
Round 5 is like Rounds 1 and 2, Round 6 like Round 3. Whichever team has the most money at the end of six rounds advances to the Shootout, with ties broken by the number of rounds won/tied, rounds just won and most overall points.
The two hosts in the winning team will play in the Shootout as seperate entities. A seven-letter plate will be shown with just the first letter revealed. Hosts will send an answer and a buzz-in number between 1 and 500...but they only get ONE guess at the plate. If no one buzzes in, two letters will be revealed. Whoever sends the right answer wins and advances to the Stumper Seven. If both hosts send right answers at the same time, the winner is the one closer to a random number between 1 and 500. The winner gets 1st Place points, the runner-up 2nd Place points. 3rd through 6th Place points will be distributed by a) total money during the game and b) number of individual points during the game.
The Stumper Seven will be played like in the netgame. The winner has seven plates to decipher and has a total of ten chances to solve them. Each of the first six removes one "STOP SIGN" from the Final Stumper. The seventh is an "Ultimate Stumper" which, if solved, will triple the main game winnings.
In the "Final Stumper", each letter in the word "STUMPER" has a cash value between $1000 and $10,000. One "STOP SIGN" is on the board, plus one for each of the first six in the "Stumper Seven" missed. If the winner gets to $10,000 before hitting a "STOP SIGN", he wins $50,000. They may quit at any time.
The two hosts will play seven rounds against each other. They start with a question with the answer in quotes in anagram form. For example:
This game show producer could be described as a "Hating nerd". Who is he?
The hosts will send their answers and a buzz-in number between 1 and 500. Whoever gets it right (in this case "Dan Enright") - or whoever is closer to a random number between 1 and 500 if both are right - becomes the "Check Writer" and the other is the "Bouncer".
A series of five numbers between 1 and 9 will be shown. The Writer picks one of the numbers as the tens digit of a check (starting with a "0" as the ones digit). The Bouncer must then guess which digit is chosen and, if he does, he cashes the check. If not, the Writer chooses different number for the hundreds digit. If the Bouncer can't guess that one, the Writer chooses the thousands digit. If the Bouncer can't guess THAT one, the Writer cashes the check. Once a check is cashed, the round ends.
After seven rounds, the one with the most money cashed keeps it, advances to the NETGAME MARATHON Finals and plays the Bonus Game for more cash.
In the Bonus Game, the winner must try to write out a five-digit check (starting again with a "0" as the ones digit) by choosing out of seven possible numbers between 1 and 9. One number is randomly chosen as the "Bounce Number", which must be avoided. Should the winner pick four straight numbers without hitting the "Bounce Number", he wins the amount of the check...and is given the choice of leaving with that cash OR adding a SIXTH digit out of the remaining three numbers. If, at any time, the "Bounce Number" is chosen, the winner gets nothing but what was won in the main game.
The two hosts play a best-of-five games in the main part. Each game starts with a card being shown from a standard 52-card deck and a multiple choice question asked. The hosts will buzz-in (like on NET BLACK CHECK) and the one who gets in first and right will have the choice to take the card or pass it. More questions are asked in similar ways, with the one in first and right choosing whether to take the next (unseen) card or pass it. The object is, like in blackjack, to get as close to 21 without going over. If a player thinks he could go over, he can choose to "FREEZE" at any time. At that point, the other host must continue to answer questions right and draw cards to either beat the hand on "FREEZE"...or BUST (go over 21). Whoever has the higher hand - or whoever does not BUST - wins the game. If a player gets exactly 21, he gets a bonus which starts at $2500 and goes up by that amount for each subsequent game.
The first to three games won wins the match, advances to the NETGAME MARATHON Finals, wins $5000 and plays the Bonus Game.
In the Bonus Game, the winner plays against the house. The "house" takes the first two cards, one down and one up. The winner picks from a board of 21 numbers. Each number except two holds cash or prizes. One holds a "WIN", another a "LOSE". For each number chosen that is not "WIN" or "LOSE", the winner gets another card. Again, he may "FREEZE" at any time he thinks he's getting too close to 21. Once a "FREEZE" is done, the "house" plays its hand. It must hit on any hand 16 or lower and stand on any hand 17 or higher. The host can win one of three ways:
1) He beats the house's hand
2) He picks the "WIN" number
3) He gets 21, in which he wins an extra $50,000
Likewise, there are three ways the host can lose:
1) The house beats his hand
2) He BUSTs
3) He picks the "LOSE"
number
NET SCRABBLE is the NETGAME MARATHON Finals! It is played closely to how the original game show is played.
A word between five and ten letters is shown on a SCRABBLE board and a clue is given. The word must be figured out. If the host in control doesn't know, he picks two tiles out of the number presented to him. Each tile has a letter which COULD fit in the word. The host chooses a letter and, if it's in the word, it's placed in its proper spot. If it's NOT in the word, it's a "STOPPER" (of which there are three in each group of tiles). Picking a "STOPPER" causes control to go to the other host. If all three "STOPPER"s are picked, "SPEEDWORD" is played: one letter at a time goes into the word...and the first one to "buzz-in" (just like in NET BLACK CHECK and NET GAMBIT) with the right word wins that word. First to three words wins the round. First to win two rounds is the NETGAME MARATHON CHAMPION!
Pink and blue squares on the board are "bonus squares". Should a host guess a word correctly when the last letter inserted is in a "bonus square", the host wins bonus money: $1000 for a blue square, $2500 for a pink square.
After the first two rounds, the winner of the round plays "SCRABBLE Sprint" to double a Jackpot that starts at $25,000. The host must answer four words correctly without adding more than 15 letters (shown randomly, two at a time) to the words in total. There are no "STOPPER"s amid the letters; they're all good. An incorrect answer will deduct 3 maximum letters that can be added.
When a NETGAME MARATHON CHAMPION is found, the CHAMPION plays "Bonus Sprint" for the Jackpot (if the CHAMPION wins in two rounds straight, he plays the second "SCRABBLE Sprint" before playing "Bonus Sprint"). He must figure out two words using a maximum of only 5 added letters. Any incorrect answer ends the game.
"HOME VIEWER" SWEEPSTAKES
Throughout each netgame, a question will be asked for the "home viewer" sweepstakes. It may or may not be a multiple choice question, depending on the show. Anyone on the netgames group aside from the hosts competing in the Marathon may answer the question before the end of game. At game's end, those who are correct on the question will have their names placed in a random drawing, and the winner of said drawing will win EVERYTHING won in that netgame!