Blockbusters (1985 Unsold Pilot)

"Get ready for our game of skill & strategy. Blockbusters! And here's the star of Blockbusters, JIM PECK!"

Blockbusters is an unsold 1985 revival of the 1980 Bill Cullen show hosted by Jim Peck, produced by Mark Goodson Productions, announced by Gene Wood and it was planned for syndication by The Television Program Source and it was taped at NBC Studios in Burbank, California on November 14, 1985.

Main Game
There are two solo players. The champion represented white while the challenger represented red. On questions in which somebody would win the game on the hexagon that would cause either side to make the connection. The game was best two-out-of-three, with the advantage alternating between players in the first two games. If a tie is achieved, a 4x4 tiebreaker board is used and either player could win in as few as four moves (white still went from left to right, and red still went top to bottom). Each game was worth $100 instead of $500.

Gold Run
The Gold Run was played exactly the same as before, with one exception that was added toward the end of the run. If the player won, he/she received an accumulating jackpot that started at $5,000 and increased by that amount for each unsuccessful attempt. The jackpot reset to $5,000 each time a new champion was crowned.

Trivia

 * The set, logo, hexagons, gameplay, Gold Run hexagons, music, and sounds are reused for the 1987 Bill Rafferty version.
 * This is Jim Peck and Gene Wood's second collaboration, the first was the 1985 unsold pilot that was taped prior, The Buck Stops Here.
 * The pilot was mistakenly aired on East Coast affiliates on January 5, 1987, instead of the actual premiere.