Trump Card

Host: Jimmy Cefalo
Hostess: Debi Massey

Premise: Three contestants can win $15,000 by answering general knowledge questions.

Rules: Each player has a Trump Card, which looks like this:

1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15

In round one, the players select questions from four categories, each of which has four questions. The first player to buzz in and answer filled in a mark on their card. Incorrect answers eliminated the player from the next question.
The object of round one was to answer four questions and light up the four corner boxes. The first to do this won $750.

At the beginning of round two, the contestants got a "Trump Card." A player could use a Trump Card after getting a question right. When a player had a Trump Card played on them, a "T" was displayed on their board, and it took an additional answer to remove it. The Trump Card also imposed a .5 second penalty on that player's buzzer. Five questions were in four new categories, and the first player to light up all the numbers in the middle row won $1500.

In the "flash round," there were no categories, and players raced to finish their card. Whoever got all the numbers lit on their card won the game and $3000.

The player with the most money (The player who won the flash round) took on the Big Board for $10,000. The player had 45 seconds to answer questions and light numbers on a 5x5 board. Each correct answer was worth $100, and five in a row won the money. To assist the player, a card was drawn, and the number picked was lit on the board. If the player did not use their Trump card in the game, he or she got an additional pick, which was a big help when the numbers lined up.

1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25

Later, the prize structure gave $2500 to those who finished in 45 seconds, $5000 to those who finished in 35 seconds, and $10,000 to those who finished in 25 seconds.

The top 21 winners of the year returned to play in the $100,000 Tournament. Seven games were played for a flat $3000. Thus, nothing was won for a four-corner or line win. All that matters is filling the board. That player went on to play in the next round, along with eight others: the six other qualifiers, and I guess the two people who got the most numbers filled on their card that didn't win. The three finalists played the final game for another $10,000; and the runners-up got $2500. The winner had to get another five in a row for $100,000.