Battle of the Child Geniuses
Host: Dick Clark
Announcer: Mark Thompson
In a "one-off" contest that was originally intended for adults, fifty kids are whittled to one using marginally
difficult questions. The eventual winner gets over $300,000.
At the start of this two-hour showcase, the fifty contestants are introduced. Sadly, forty of them will be
dismissed with a palm computer. Ten four-choice questions are asked, and those with the ten highest
scores from this round and pre-show testing move through to round two.
In round two, the ten winners are paired into five duels. Contestants may buzz in at their peril when they
think they know the right answer. Right answers win a point, wrong answers give a point to the opponent,
but a contestant must win by a correct answer. The five winners move through to round three, the five
eliminated win the computer and a cruise.
In round three, each of the five contestants has one-minute apiece to answer as many questions as possible,
before missing three. Upon missing three, the game ends. One question may be made to be a four-choice
endeavor. The three with the highest score move through to round four. A $5000 savings bond was offered
for a perfect ten, but went unclaimed. One person actually struck out in this round. The two dismissed competitors
won a digital video camera in addition to all the other loot.
In round four, each player was asked a question down the line. A right answer was worth one point, and
the first two to get five points won and moved through to the Grand Championship. The third place player
(who couldn't have won even with his final question) won $50,000 and the aforementioned prizes.
In the final round, each player answered questions, but a miss gave the opponent a chance to answer. Five
such "steals" won the match, the Championship, and the title "The Smartest Kid in America." (smirk) The
runner up, John Hawksley won a $100,000 trust account (poor kid) and the other prizes. The Grand Champion,
Michael Jezierny, won a whopping $300,000 trust account, and the other prizes.
Review: A bit long at two hours, this would make a good weekly effort for adults, if some of the rounds were
streamlined. The fourth round rules, unlike Joker's Wild, gave no chance for a player to catch-up if he were
able. As Randy Amasia put it, it was "just like watching 'Kiddie Greed," and he's right. The set was similar,
the nametags were similar, but at least Dick Clark did a good job hosting.
On November 9, 2000, the Battle returned, with a new format, 10 fewer kids, and a smaller prize pool.
Round one was the multiple choice round, and the 16 best of 40 moved on to round two, the 24 "also-rans"
receiving a palm computer.
Eight kids played in the first half, where two were competing to score three points first, but cannot win by
default. The winners moved on to the next round. The second half was played similarly.
In the next test, each kid was given a question from a category, which everyone played. First to three points
wins the round and moves on to the Final Round.
The final was played just like last time, but three steals won $150,000. Second prize was $75,000.