Winning Streak (1974)

Bill Cullen hosted this question-and-answer/word game. Two players competed in the main game, selecting letters from a display, trying to claim letters (by answering questions) to build a four-letter word. The first to build an acceptable word, then played the semi-final round. This round featured a game board with six numbers across the top, and 12 other numbers down the sides and across the bottom. The player selected a number from the top, which revealed a dollar amount from $100 to $200, which was the player's starting point. Next, the player picked a number from the sides or the bottom, which revealed a consonant or a vowel, and the player had to come up with a word containing that letter, to bank the starting dollar amount. The player could quit, or risk the money in an effort to double the cash, let's say $200. If the contestant opted to play on, he/she would select another number with the letter underneath revealed. Now, to double the money in the pot, the player had to come up with a word containing BOTH letters revealed for $400. Failing to do so, lost all the money in the bank, and the player was done on the show. The contestant could continue with a third letter, and if successful doubled the pot to $800 by using all three letters in a word. A fourth letter, and a correct word would take the pot to $1600, and so on--until the player went bust, or decided coming up with another word would be foolhardy, and opted to stop. But wait, that wasn't the contestant's money just yet. The player had to face the winner or the next main game, and semi-final game, to play a sudden death game against the other winner, for the combined pots of both players. The survivor pocketed the dough, and met a new challenger starting with a new main game. Despite Don Pardo promising, "You may win over $100,000", most games ended with a player pocketing $2000-$3000, because picking up the $100 grand, would require finding the top $200 starting money, then building a ten-letter word, using the letters revealed. That was HIGHLY unlikely to happen. Still, a nice, not great word game out of New York, from Bob Stewart, which lasted only six months on NBC.