GAME PLAY:
        Players simply try to write answers to questions that will "match" their partners' answers.  Rules for six players are the same as the TV show, but the home game also has variations for fewer players.

DIFFERENCES TO TV SHOW:
        Scoring is done similarly to the TV show (you get some points for matching two, more for matching all three), but the point values are slightly different to allow for longer games.  There is no bonus game.

CHANGES IN LATER EDITIONS:
        BOX:  The first four editions had identical cover art with minor color variations (see right).  In the first two editions, the players on the cover are asked to "name a part of a chicken".  In the third and fourth editions, the question was changed to "name a good family game".  Not surprisingly, three of the players wrote "Match Game".
       The fifth and sixth editions have the same material in a much smaller box.  The question on the cover now says "name a kind of cheese". Fifth and sixth editions are identical except for color variations and the fact that somebody actually bothered to change a couple of the responses to the cheese question!
        CONTENTS:  Starting with some copies of the second edition, MB began replacing the vinyl "scribble boards" and crayons with six "magic slates" and wooden styli.  All other material stayed the same, with new questions in each edition, of course.  The fifth and sixth editions were packaged differently, and had slightly fewer question cards (approximately 80) in their smaller boxes.

FINE EDITION:
        For their upscale version (it cost SEVEN DOLLARS!) MB made a much more attractive looking game.  Instead of perforated cardboard cards, the questions are now on slick playing cards.  There are also more of them (approximately 120).  Magic slates are enclosed in a gold-looking folder, and you use a dial to keep score instead of the pegboard.  The only difference in game play is that this version uses exactly the same scoring system and point values as the TV show.  (Why they thought they needed to change the scoring for the regular editions is just one more of those strange MB mysteries.)
COLLECTOR'S EDITION:
        The Collector's Edition has the identical materials as the Fine Edition, but instead of being packaged in a normal cardboard box, it comes in a nicer leatherette case which buttons shut on the front apron.

BRIEFCASE EDITION:
        Rarest of all the Match Game editions would appear to be this little portable game, one we only recently discovered ourselves. The hard plastic case is about ten inches high and has a handle for easy transport.  It is just large enough to hold the essentials of the game, making it one of the very first home game "travel" editions.

COMMENTS:
        Each edition included an abundance of material, plus a nice, simple way of extending the life of the questions.  Under each question was an "other than" line where you could write a response that had proven popular.  The next time you came to that question, you told the players that their responses had to be something "other than" that popular choice.
        This is the original, straight-forward version of the game that was popular throughout the sixties.  It makes a very enjoyable low-key home game, actually much better than the home game that the more free-wheeling seventies version spawned.

GAME PLAY:
         As on TV, each player gets two chances to match as many of the celebrities as possible.  Celebrity answers are printed in the booklets, and after the player gives her answer, the MC reads the celebrity responses one by one, marking correct answers on the game board.  The winning player gets to play a Super Match (without a game board; the MC simply reads the question and the responses) then plays Head-to-Head with the MC (using the magic slates) for ten times the amount won on the Super Match.

DIFFERENCES TO TV SHOW:
        The biggest difference is in the questions themselves.  Instead of the comical and often risque set-ups for which the TV show became known, the questions here are much more simple and straightforward (i.e. "Edgar picked his BLANK carefully.")  In fairness, this is how the seventies TV show started out, before developing into the comedy show it would become.

CHANGES IN LATER EDITIONS:
        BOX:  The drawing on the first edition box was replaced by photographs of two generic "celebrities" for the second edition.  The third edition is mostly identical to the second, with a red background instead of blue.
        CONTENTS:  Identical, with new material.  The second edition questions are still pretty dry, but in the third edition, the questions are more like the ones for which the TV show is remembered, including references to "Dumb Dora" and then-current pop culture characters.

COMMENTS:
        Like Hollywood Squares or any celebrity game played mostly for laughs, it's totally impossible to capture what makes the game popular and put it in a box.  Since the celebrity answers are already determined, there is very little interaction, making this a spectacularly boring exercise.  If you've got enough people, use the questions (especially those in the third edition) and have your own "celebrities" write down their responses.  Even if you don't have enough for six on the panel, it'll still be a lot more fun.