Make the Grade

To win the game, and $500, the contestants must answer a question in every category and grade level. If no one has accomplished this in two rounds, the one who is closest to the goal wins. The winner of a backstage draw begins by calling for a category and level. Depending on what appears behind the square (more of a rolodex type thing) either a question is asked, reward or penalty occurs, or a game round happens:

"?" A question is asked. Whoever buzzes in may try, and if correct, their color takes the square, and the appropriate spaces are lit on their gameboard. It is possible to win the game by answering only seven questions (which would form a diagonal line on the board). If no one is right, the square turns black, and is out of play.
"TAKE" The player may claim any taken square on the board, and go again.
"LOSE" The player must forfeit any of their squares on the board, and go again.
"FREE" The player who selected this box gets it free, and gets to pick again.
"FIRE" All three contestants leave their desks to play a "Fire Drill" game. The player who finishes the task first gets to choose what color to play for the remainder of the game. The player who finished second gets to choose what color they want of the two ones left, and the third one gets what is left. It is thus possible for one player to lead the entire game, and have to change positions due to a loss at the Fire Drill.

Halfway through, the first round ends (at a commercial break), and round two begins. There are no changes, other than the special squares are added once more. The first to finish their board wins. On one occasion, one player finished their board before the commercial break, so a new game started with three new players.
Runners-up get $50. The winner plays the Honors Round.

In the Honors Round, the champ gets :45 to answer questions from each of the day's topics. Each correct answer is worth $100, and getting one right in all seven topics wins $1000 more. During the second season, this changed to $700 more plus a return trip to Universal Studios, in Florida.

On at least one occasion, there was not enough time to start a new game, the "University Round" was played out. The game was a basic "keep the money or risk it for the next question" game, with the values of $50, $100, $200, $500, $1,000. In the second season, the host would simply go into the audience, and ask questions that weren't picked from the board to give away T-shirts with the logo on them.