These are game shows I'm sure I've watched a bit of, at some point, but don't remember well or don't care much about. But still... I like to mention things I've seen.
This didn't last long at all, and I don't remember it well. I probably didn't see much of it. It was ostensibly set in a deli, of which the studio audience were ostensibly customers, I guess. There would be three comedians, each of whom would tell an unbelievable story, only one of which would be true. (The other two stories were, of course, baloney.) And the audience had to guess which one was true. Um... I'm sure there were plenty of different comedians, on different episodes. I'm sure I vaguely recall Gilbert Gottfried, as well as the Unknown Comic. It was probably a completely redonkulous show, which is why it was fun, and why it didn't last.
Deal or No Deal, on NBC
IMDb; NBC; TV.com; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
This was hosted by Howie Mandel. At least the American version was; the original show was from the Netherlands, but of course I never saw that. Anyway, models held briefcases which contestants would choose, and each one contained a different amount of money. Or something. Honestly, I don't really understand how it worked. I barely remember the show, and never had much interest in it. But I do recall when I worked at a restaurant, some of the employees would have a pool or something based on the show. For a little while.
Definition, on CTV (Canada)
IMDb; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
I don't remember anything at all about this show except the theme music, "Soul Bossa Nova," by Quincy Jones. I'd later hear it sampled in Dream Warriros' "My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Style," but it has probably become most famous as the theme music from the Austin Powers movies. Still, in spite of not remembering anything about the game show itself, I can't help but think of it, at least the title "Definition," whenever I hear the music.
Idiot Savants, on MTV
IMDb; TV.com; Wikipedia
For years now, I've vaguely recalled watching a game show on MTV in the 90s, but I couldn't think of the title or anything about it. Pretty much the only game show on MTV that I ever hear anything about is "Remote Control," but that's before my time (I mean before I had cable). I may have eventually seen some of it in reruns, I'm not sure. But whatever... that's not this. Anyway, since I was making this page for other game shows, I thought I should make a fresh attempt to figure out what the show I was thinking of was. And I found a list of MTV game shows on Wikipedia, and I guess this is what I was thinking of. It was hosted by Greg Fitzsimmons. And there was a giant brain with a TV monitor in front that had a face on it. The Brain was like a sidekick. And stuff. And there'd be four contestants who all came back throughout the week, and at the end of the week their scores from all five days were tallied. I'm getting this from Wikipedia, because the details aren't very familiar to my lousy memory, but a couple clips I found on YouTube seem vaguely familiar, maybe. It's a shame I don't remember the show better, because I'm sure at the time it aired, I was definitely a fan. And probably game shows I saw later, like Beat the Geeks and Win Ben Stein's Money reminded me of this show, somewhat.
Let's Make a Deal, on NBC / ABC / syndicated / CBS
IMDb (1984); official website; TV.com; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
I vaguely recall watching this show (hosted by Monty Hall) afternoons, after school, when I was a kid. Probably a syndicated version. I don't remember much about it, except for contestants having to choose between one of three curtains (or doors, or a mystery box), behind each of which were prizes of widely varying value. It could be something really good or really lame. I'm sure there was more to the show than that, which led up to the choice of curtains... and possibly they already had won something, which they could trade for the chance to choose a curtain. I also remember at the end of the show, some random item would be named, and if audience members happened to have that item with them, they could win something, without actually being contestants. I'm sure the show has been used as a pop culture reference often enough... such as offering people choices of "door number one, two or three." Anyway, it was a weird show. I think the audience dressed up in costumes. And stuff. (I'm including the IMDb link from the 1984-86 version, which is probably the one I saw. But there are several other versions.)
Press Your Luck, on CBS
IMDb; Retro Junk; TV.com; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
I used to watch this when I was a kid, but all I really remember about it is the Whammy, an annoying, animated goblin-like critter that contestants could potentially land on instead of cash or prizes, when... doing... a thing... on a board. Um, I guess there were trivia questions or whatever, which if answered correctly let a contestant "spin" on the board, a square made up of a bunch of panels with different things... like I said, cash, prizes, or whammies. Each panel would be surrounded by lights or whatever, and the lights would move from panel to panel around the square, and I guess contestants could stop the thing whenever they wanted, and they'd say things like "big bucks" or "no whammy." If it stopped on the whammy, the animated thing would take away whatever money they'd already won. I guess. This being an 80s show (albeit one that I think had a very 70s feel to it), I probably associated the Whammy somewhat with the Noid from Domino's Pizza commercials. But they were totally unrelated. Anyway, even though I don't really remember the show, I'll always remember the expression "No whammy!"
Pyramid, on CBS / ABC / syndicated
IMDb; TV.com; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
I'm not at all sure the IMDb and TV.com links I've included are for whatever version I saw. The show has had various hosts and gone by various names (with different dollar amounts in the title). I feel like I probably saw the $25,000 Pyramid, though I could be wrong. (I vaguely feel like I saw something called "The $64,000 Pyramid," but I must be confusing that with another game show, "The $64,000 Question," which is odd because there is absolutely no way I ever saw that show.) I'm not sure which host I saw (maybe Dick Clark, maybe not). Gameplay was similar to that of another game show called "Password," but I'm not sure whether or not I ever saw that show. Basically, there would be two teams, each with a celebrity and a regular person. A random word would be given to one contestant, who would have to try to give clues for their partner to guess what the word was. (That's basically the rules of "Password"; the rules for "Pyramid" were a bit more involved than that, but I don't remember it well enough to go into. Look at Wikipedia, if you're interested.) Anyway, I'm sure both this show and "Password" inspired various parodies and pop culture references, such as a scene in one episode of Family Guy in which Peter was on "Password" with Tony Randall as his partner. Can't think what else to say.
Tic-Tac-Dough, on NBC / CBS / syndicated
IMDb; TV.com; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
I'm sure I saw some version of this when I was a kid (probably the 1978-86 version, which is the IMDb link I provided, but there are others). I vaguely recall the electronic tic-tac-toe board, but I don't remember the game at all. All I really remember is the title of the show.
The Weakest Link, on NBC / syndicated
IMDb; TV.com; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
An American version of a British game show (I'm not sure if I ever saw the original at all). Both versions were hosted by Anne Robinson. I'm sure I saw very little of even the American version, and honestly, I don't remember anything about the actual game. I just remember Robinson's catchphrase, "You are the weakest link. Goodbye." Which she'd say when dismissing contestants who lost. Or whatever. Mainly I think of the show for pop culture references or parodies of it in various other shows or movies, though I can't even think of any of those, specifically. Oh, except for the Bad Wolf episode of Doctor Who. That was cool.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, on ABC / syndicated
IMDb (primetime); IMDb (daytime); official website; TV.com; TV Tropes; Wikipedia
This was based on a British gameshow, which I never saw. The American version was hosted (in primetime) by Regis Philbin (of Live! fame). There was a syndicated daytime version hosted by Meredith Vieira. Um... contestants would answer a series of multiple choice trivia questions, which went up in value as the game progressed, and of course they got progressively harder. They'd also have three "lifelines." For each question, they'd have a chance to poll the audience on what they thought the answer was, or phone a friend and ask what he or she thought the answer was, or have two of the incorrect answers removed from the (four) multiple choices. (According to the internet there were other lifelines, but I never saw any of them.) There was a whole structure of levels at which I guess a contestant could choose to quit and take whatever money they'd already earned, or keep going and try for a higher level. I don't really know what to say, I never watched a ton of the show, but it was wildly popular for awhile. Personally, I just thought it was fairly okay. And I should say the show spawned a catchphrase, "Is that your final answer?" Oh yeah, and there's a version on facebook that I've played a little bit, just for fun.