HISTORY OF GAME SHOW HOME GAMES
For as long as there have been game shows there have been home versions.  This is literally true; the very first radio game shows were Professor Quiz and Uncle Jim's Question Bee, both of which have multiple home editions.  Some of the earliest radio home versions were in the form of advertising premiums, simple versions printed on paper or light cardboard stock and mailed in a flat envelope to listeners.
 
As game shows, along with every other form of programming, began moving from radio to television, the home versions became larger and more sophisticated.  In the fifties, many manufacturers (especially Lowell) produced huge box games filled with elaborate pieces: hard-plastic mechanical game boards for games like Tic Tac Dough, dozens of props and clever wind-up timers for stunt shows like Beat the Clock, even a xylophone for the musical game show Dough Re Mi.  Some of the most popular games inspired equally elaborate second editions, or versions designed for younger players.
 
In the late fifties, Milton Bradley returned to the world of home games (they had made some of the earliest radio box games) and quickly had two enormous hits: Password and Concentration.  The success of these two games did two things to the marketplace for game show home games.  For one thing, Milton Bradley began releasing annually updated editions of their two big sellers, along with later hits like Jeopardy! and Family Feud.  The market for these editions proved so strong that in most cases, the home games continued to be produced and sold long after the TV game shows had been cancelled.
 
The second thing that happened as a result of Milton Bradley's success was that the market quickly became flooded with home versions of game shows.  This as television was still reeling from the quiz scandals and many new TV games were being introduced that emphasized game play over questions and answers.  Most of these new shows were dismal failures and would have fallen into well-deserved obscurity if not for the home versions that survive.  Today, these near-forgotten home games of the early sixties are among the rarest collectors can find, with several selling for over a hundred dollars at auctions.
 
By the mid sixties and continuing through the seventies, Milton Bradley became the dominant producer of game show home games, releasing most of the popular Goodson-Todman and Bob Stewart television shows, among others.  They typically waited for a game to become a hit before releasing a home version, and they also began a trend toward simplifying home versions to save costs, replacing large, elaborate plastic boards with smaller ones or even with much cheaper cardboard versions whenever possible.
 
The eighties brought some new home game producers including Pressman, which made some games as large and elaborate as any seen in the fifties (especially children's games like Double Dare and Fun House).  However, the popularity of game shows on television was waning, so there became fewer and fewer games to adapt.  By the end of the decade, the syndicated Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! were virtually the only shows inspiring new editions.
 
The eighties also saw the introduction of computer versions of game shows.  Early versions were crude and by today's standards almost laughably quaint, but as computers and programming have become more sophisticated, newer versions have had amazingly realistic graphics and game play.  Today, this area is also dominated by Wheel of Fortune (which lends itself very well to computer play) and Jeopardy! (which remains hampered by the need to type responses on a keyboard).  Many original computer games, such as the popular series of You Don't Know Jack games, are designed to be played as if they were television game shows.  In the nineties, Tiger Electronics introduced battery-operated handheld and tabletop versions of popular and classic shows.
 
The turn of the century saw a game show comeback of sorts, from the overnight success of  Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to the "reality" craze represented by shows like Survivor and Big Brother.   Many classic favorites such as Hollywood Squares and Pyramid returned to television in new syndicated versions, and even some cable shows achieved mainstream success.  A small publisher called Endless Games  began releasing inexpensive home versions of classic games such as Password, Beat the Clock and even What's My Line?  In the middle of the first decade of 2000s, slick adaptations on DVD using actual sounds and pictures from the shows, became yet another new way to enjoy the game show experience in your home. These new editions should keep fans and collectors busy for years to come.