The Joker's Wild (1972)/At a Glance

Broadcast history

9/4/72 - 6/13/75 CBS 10 AM ET / 9 AM CT, PT (preceded by local programming east and Captain Kangaroo west; followed by The New Price Is Right to 3/23/73, The $10,000 Pyramid to 3/29/74, and Gambit to 6/13/75)

The two pilots, taped December 8, 1968 and January 5, 1969, had different question structures and scoring systems. The categories used in the 1968 pilot had celebrities representing them and asking the questions. The scoring used points with 1 point for each individual category (the contestant can take all three showing), 2 points for a double and three points for a triple. If a contestant misses a question, the opponent gets a bonus question to score the points. The 1969 pilot did not use the celebrity format.

The first to 13 points or better (provided the opponent could not get a score to pass or get three Jokers) won the game and played a bonus game. The player took up to three spins of the windows which now contained cash and prizes. After each spin, he/she could take what was on the board or spin again for better prizes but must take what is on the windows upon the third spin (should it reach that point).