Joker Joker Joker

Host
Jack Barry
Announcers
Jay Stewart Bob Hilton
Broadcast
Syndication (Weekly): 9/1979 - 9/1981
Packager
Barry & Enright Productions
Distributor
Colbert Television Sales

ANNOUNCER: "Welcome to the game where lucky spins and correct answers bring high rewards to the entire family. It's..." AUDIENCE: "Joker! Joker!! Joker!!!" ANNOUNCER: "And now, here's the host of the show, Jack Barry!"

Joker Joker Joker was a children's version of The Joker's Wild. It was originally done as special weeks on the CBS version where the children played during their Easter vacation, as well as a successful set of shows on the syndicated version.

Gameplay

Two child contestants played the game which was highly similar to the adult version except they played for points not dollars. They took turns pulling the lever to spin the wheels on a giant slot machine on stage. On the wheels were five child-friendly categories. When the wheels stop, up to three categories were shown. The player in control selected a category and host Barry asked a question. A correct earned points but an incorrect answer gave his/her opponent a chance to answer the same question for the same value. Points were awarded according to how many of that category appeared.

A single category was worth 50 points, a pair was worth 100 points, and a triple was worth 200 points. The first player to reach 500 points or more in proper turn won the game.

Also on the wheels were Jokers which were wild. The contestants can make the Joker any category and match it up with the one they chose, and they can also use the Joker(s) to go off the board, and select a different category. But if at anytime three Jokers come up, that player can instantly win the game by answering one question from any category correctly. The winner of the game won a $500 savings bond plus a chance to play the bonus game with his/her parent or relative from the audience; the loser got a $100 savings bond.

An important rule from the CBS era carried over to this era: the children were allowed to confer with their parents/relatives when choosing categories, but must answer questions themselves.

Face the Devil

In this bonus round, the categories & Jokers were replaced by dollar values ranging from $25-$200, and devils which resembled host Jack Barry. The winning player can take as many spins as he/she liked. The goal on each spin is to spin only money amounts, each time he/she did that, that contestant would win the combined total of the money amounts shown. But if at anytime a devil appeared that player would lose all the accumulated money up to that point. That's why the host gave the contestant the option to stop the game and keep whatever he/she won after each successful spin (the parent/guardian/friend/relative must make the decision). But if the contestant can reach $1,000 or more, that player not only gets to keep the cash, but also wins a special prize package; and if the winning player can spin a natural triple (three of the same money amounts), he/she automatically wins the money & prizes.

During the CBS era, the Jokers & Devils round was in play; however, prizes already won were not at risk when going for future prizes.