Classic Television - Weekdays

The Who, What, or Where Game

Original channel

NBC

Original run

December 29, 1969 – January 4, 1974

Presented by

Art James

Narrated by

Mike Darrow

The Who, What, or Where Game was an American television game show that was broadcast weekdays on NBC from December 29, 1969 to January 4, 1974. The host was Art James, and the announcer was Mike Darrow; Ron Greenberg packaged the show, which was recorded in NBC studios 6A and 8H in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

Three contestants, one usually a returning champion, competed.

Each player was spotted $125 at the start of the game and used that money to wager on his knowledge of the questions presented. Each category (which dealt in various subjects, with one category per game usually "Pot Luck," with random questions) had three question choices: a who question (dealing with people), a what question (dealing with things), and a where question (dealing with places). Each question had odds attached to it depending on the difficulty of the question. Easy questions paid off at even (1:1) odds, noted by an E under the question. Depending on the difficulty, other questions could be given odds of 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, or 5:1. Each question was read only once.

Originally players could wager up to $25 for first round questions and $50 for second round questions, but this was later changed to $50 for the entire game. Answering correctly won the amount of the wager multiplied by the odds while only the amount of the wager was taken away for a wrong answer. If a player's score dropped to zero during any point in the game, that player was eliminated from further play.

The contestant who made the highest wager for any given question was given the right to answer it. If two or more contestants picked the same category and wagered the same amount, James put the question up for auction with the tied contestants now being able to wager up to their entire score if they desired. Bidding continued until one player elected to let the opposing player answer. In the rare case that the auction failed to break the deadlock, both contestants would write their answers down.

Later in the show's run, a "lightning round" category was played (known as the "3 W's Quick Round"), in which players buzzed in on rapid-fire questions for 60 seconds. This was the only time when any buzz-in technique was used in the game.

After all rounds had been played, the three players played the "Pot Limit" round with one final category. Once again, the category and question odds would be displayed for the contestants. However, players could wager any or all of their scores. Whoever was ahead at the end of the game was declared champion and returned the next day, with each player leaving with the money he or she had earned. A champion could return for a maximum of five days.

Later in its run, The Who, What, or Where Game instituted a monthly car giveaway contest in which the champion with the highest winnings also received a new car.