Top Card

Top Card is the second game show to premiere on The Nashville Network, replacing TNN's original game show "Fandango". The show aired from April 1989 to March 1993 and was based on the card game Blackjack.

Gameplay

Three contestants tested their knowledge of country music (originally just general knowledge) to build a blackjack hand and win prizes.

Main game

Three rounds were played, with nine categories per round. The outer eight were entertainment categories, while the one in the center was a "Wild Card" category which could be about anything. Each category had a hidden playing card behind them. The player in control chose a category and a question was asked. The first player to buzz-in with a correct answer won the card behind the category. After the card was revealed, the contestant could either keep that card, or reject it and take the top card from a deck in front of hostess Blake Pickett. If the contestant kept the original card, that category was removed from further play (except for the "Wild Card" - if a card here was kept, a new card was placed behind it). If the contestant took the top card, the original card and category stayed in play. After choosing, the contestant chose another category and play continued in this manner.

The card values were as follows:
Tens and Face Cards = ten points
Number Cards = the number on the card as points
Aces = one point (and unlike blackjack, "only" one point, not one or eleven)

At any time during the game, after choosing to take either card, a player could "freeze" his/her current score, forcing the other player(s) to continue with the round. If at any time a remaining player beat a frozen player's score, that contestant also received the option to freeze. The original player who froze then had one last chance to play after the other player(s) had frozen.

Like in blackjack, the object of the game was to reach 21 without going over or get closer to 21 than the other opponents. Anything over 21 was considered a "bust", and any player who busted was eliminated from the round. A round could be won in one of three ways:

*Reaching 21.
*Being the only player in a round not to "bust."
*Having more points than any other opponent after all were "frozen," when time expired, or when all the questions in the round had been exhausted.

Round 1

Three contestants played this round, with the winner advancing to the "Championship Round". The other players continue to the next round.

Round 2

The two losers from round one played this round. In season one, a "Wild Card" question was asked to determine control; for the rest of the run, a question from the category in the upper left was asked. Afterwards, play proceeded in the same manner as the first round, with the winner advancing to the "Championship Round" to face the winner from Round One.

Championship Round

The winners of the first two rounds played the Championship Round, again with the same rules. The winner of this final round won the game, became champion and advanced to the "Top Card Plus" bonus round.

eason 2 Notes

*In the second season, the number of subjects was reduced to eight and the "Wild Card" category is replaced by a "Top Card" question, which could only be played if it was the only remaining category.
*The cards Ace through 10 were shuffled and placed behind each category, and only appeared once. No duplicate cards were found on the board.
*After a category was played, it (and the card behind it) was removed from the round regardless of whether the contestant selected its corresponding card or the top card.
*Paige Brown replaced Blake Pickett as hostess.

Top Card Plus

In "Top Card Plus", the winner played for prizes, including a grand prize.

eason 1

To start, hostess Pickett drew five cards from the Top Card deck to determine a starting bankroll. The total of the five card values was multiplied by $100 (Ex: 3h, 10c, 4h, 5d, Kd x 100 = $3200). Prizes were placed on the game board (where the categories were located in the main game); each one had a price, along with a hidden card. The winning player chose which prize to buy with their bankroll, and the corresponding card was revealed. As in the main game, the contestant could keep that card and add it to their score, or take the top card in front of Pickett. After each choice, the player could elect to stop and take the prizes won up to that point, or continue playing in an attempt to reach 21. The "Wild Card" was also in play for "Top Card Plus." If chosen, the champion's remaining bankroll would be exhausted.

Each selection of a prize carried a risk of losing everything. This happened if the player exceeded 21 at any time. In addition, one of the prizes concealed a Joker as its card; finding it also caused a player to lose all accumulated prizes.

If the contestant reached exactly 21 before stopping or finding the joker, they kept all selected prizes and won a grand prize (which was chosen at the start of the round in a blind draw from a special deck of cards). The grand prizes in the first season included a fur coat, a trip, a piano, or one of three cars.

eason 2

In the second season, "Top Card Plus" was played strictly for a car as the grand prize. To start, the winning player chose which car to play for. The categories from the main game remained on the Top Card board, with a prize and a card corresponding with each one. The winning player had four chances to win the car they selected. As in the game, the winning player chose a category, after which its prize was revealed. An incorrect answer forfeited that prize and card; a correct answer won the prize and allowed the player to see the hidden card. As long as it was not the Joker, the contestant could keep this card or trade it for the top card in front of hostess Paige Brown. Again, after each question, the player could elect to stop and keep the prizes won up to that point, or risk their prizes and continue playing. If the contestant busted or found the joker, they lost everything; if the player hit 21 in four tries or less, they won the selected prizes and the chosen car. If the player didn't hit 21 in four tries, they did keep all prizes won.

----Note: In either version, if the contestant found the joker on the first pick, the game did not end; instead, the player could still win a prize. However, the player was now required to take "both" the hidden card and the top card. The next cards from the deck were then revealed in succession. The champion may stop and take $10/point if he/she wishes. If 21 is hit, then the champion would win the prize. A bust would result in a loss.----In both seasons, contestants stayed on until they won the bonus round or until defeated.

Hosts and hostesses

The host for the first two seasons was Jim Caldwell (late of "Tic Tac Dough"), and his hostess was Blake Pickett. They were both replaced for the remainder of the run by Dan Miller (who went on to host Top Card's successor 10 Seconds, and later rodeo coverage play-by-play announcer on TNN along with Don Gay), and Paige Brown.

Announcers

TNN V/O Don Dashiell was the primary announcer on "Top Card", but for a few weeks in the third season, Brad Staggs was the announcer.

Notes

This was later replaced by another TNN game show "10 Seconds" in 1993. The last champion on "Top Card" was carried over to "10 Seconds".

Many on-line game show fans consider Jim Caldwell's hosting on this show to be a vast improvement over his previous hosting stint on "Tic-Tac-Dough"'s final 1985-1986 season.

External links

* [http://hometown.aol.com/tdelegge1/myhomepage/topcard.html The Top Card Rule Page]
* [http://www.geocities.com/rebich_josh/topcard.html Another Top Card Rule Page]
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0296445/ Top Card [e-mail]]