Tic Tac Dough

Tic Tac Dough was an American television game show where contestants answered trivia questions to earn squares on a tic tac toe board.

Broadcast history

Tic Tac Dough originally ran during the 1950s, but was cancelled, plagued by the quiz show scandals of that era. Hosts included Jack Barry (who produced the show with partner Dan Enright) and Gene Rayburn.

The modern version premiered in May of 1978 on CBS and moved into syndication that fall. It remained in production in syndication until its series cancellation in 1986. Tic Tac Dough was hosted by Wink Martindale through 1985, when he left to create and host a new show, Headline Chasers, which would last only one year. Jim Caldwell emceed the eighth and final season.

A syndicated revival was tried in 1990 with Patrick Wayne hosting, but it lasted only half a season.

Rules of the game

The object of the game was to achieve a "three in a row" on a tic tac toe board, winning squares on the board by correctly answering trivia questions.

Tic Tac Dough used a "roll-over" format in its show (also sometimes known as "straddling"); there was no clear beginning or end to the game in any given half hour segment. Sometimes, in fact, a match between two players could run so long that it would take up multiple episodes.

Main game

A match between two players always begins with an empty Tic Tac Toe board, and the announcement of nine different categories. Standard categories are presented with a blue screen, and in later seasons, up to three special categories per round (like "buzz-in" or "opponent's choice") are signified with a red screen.

The champion, playing 'X', begins a round by selecting one of the nine squares on the Tic Tac Dough board. If the player is able to correctly answer the question assigned to the space, he is awarded an 'X' for the space. Then play continues with the challenger, playing 'O'. Play continues in this manner until one player achieves a "Tic Tac Dough" by achieving three 'X's or 'O's in a row, across, down or diagonally; doing so ends the match. In the event of a draw, where no possible way to win exists, the board is cleared, and a new game begins.

For each won square, $200 is added into the winner's pot. The center square, however, being of the most strategic importance, adds $300 to the pot, but is a two-part question. In a tie game, the pot carries over into the next round.

As Tic Tac Toe, if played correctly, always ends in a draw no matter who goes first, the excitement in Tic Tac Dough resulted from the correct and incorrect answers given by the players. If one player was clearly better at answering trivia than the other, he would easily win. If, however, both players were equally matched in their trivia skill, a draw would likely occur. This could, in fact, happen multiple games in a row, pushing the value of the pot up dramatically.

Bonus round

The winner of a Tic Tac Dough match was given the chance to "Face the Dragon". The Tic Tac Dough board was given nine numbered boxes. Behind two were the words "Tic", and "Tac", and behind others, dollar amounts ranging from $100 to $500. Behind the last box was the "Dragon", who, if picked, ended the bonus round. The object of the bonus round was to either pick the "Tic" and "Tac" squares, or gain more than $1000, before picking the Dragon. Doing so netted the player a bonus prize, which might be a furniture set or vacation.

If a player was fortunate enough to win five Tic Tac Dough matches in a row, he would win an automobile, regardless of his luck in "Face the Dragon".

One player in particular, one Naval officer named Thom McKee, was a relative mastermind on Tic Tac Dough. Over the course of nine weeks on the show in 1980, he was able to win against 43 opponents, win 8 cars, and take home $312,700 in cash and prizes (over $200,000 in cash), a syndication record for a solo player until 2002. His winning streak was a record for 24 years until Ken Jennings broke the record on Jeopardy! in 2004.

External link

• The Tic Tac Dough Supersite