Win, Lose or Draw is an American television game show that premiered in 1987 and ran in syndication and on NBC. It was taped at CBS Television City in Los Angeles and was created by Burt Reynolds and Bert Convy, who co-produced the series with Richard S. Kline for Buena Vista Television. The game was similar to Pictionary, a popular board game at the time. Reynolds, however, said that the game evolved from a weekly charades game that he had been hosting at his home, and that there are some differences in how Pictionary and Win, Lose or Draw are played.
Eventually, Reynolds was convinced to try to make a television series out of the weekly game night after Merv Griffin had told him of the success he had garnered with the launch of Jeopardy! in syndication in 1984. In November 1986, a pilot episode was staged at CBS Television City with Bert Convy hosting. Reynolds and his then-wife Loni Anderson played the game along with Tony Danza and Betty White, with Rod Roddy announcing. The set was modeled after Burt Reynolds' living room. The pilot, produced by Reynolds and Convy, garnered interest from both NBC and local station ownership groups, so much so that Reynolds and Convy, through their company Burt & Bert Productions and a partnership with Richard S. Kline of Kline and Friends Productions, decided to produce one edition for NBC's daytime schedule and another for syndication.
On September 7, 1987, both editions of Win, Lose or Draw launched. Vicki Lawrence hosted the edition produced for NBC, while the syndicated edition was hosted by Bert Convy. Bob Hilton served as the announcer for the daytime edition; Gene Wood was the initial announcer for the syndicated series but was eventually replaced by Hilton as the series progressed. Jay Wolpert produced the first season, which taped at the Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, with Stone-Stanley Productions taking over for the rest of the run, at which time production also moved to Hollywood Center Studios in Los Angeles. Originally the show aired on Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday mornings at 11:30 a.m. Rotating as announcers during the first season were Brandy Brown, Chase Hampton and Tiffini Hale from The Mickey Mouse Club, with Mark L. Walberg taking over that duty for the final two seasons. Teams were made up of two teenage contestants (one each of two boys and two girls), and a teenage celebrity. Gameplay was largely identical to the original run,
Home versions
Board game
Milton Bradley Company created its version in 1987. It could be played like the TV show, or a variation of the game with pawns and a game board. Party, Junior, and Travel Junior editions were produced, plus a Refill Pack for the game. All contestants who appeared on the show received a copy of the Party edition, as did select audience members. It sold 1 million copies in 1987 alone.
Computer and video games
Hi Tech Expressions released two editions of the MS-DOS version of the game in 1988, as well as a "Junior" version, followed by a version for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. Both versions of this party game featured a scene set in a living room, with the game contestants (representing real-life players) seated on opposite couches, much like the television show. While the game system drew a picture on the screen, one of the players would have a limited amount (60 seconds for the main game, and 90 for the speed round) of time to type in the word or phrase represented by the image. If the player typed in the incorrect answer, a player on the opposing team would have an opportunity to type the correct answer (in single-player games, the game system would type a random incorrect answer). The team that typed the correct answer would win money for that round, and the team that earned the most money at the end of the game won.
International versions
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Country !! Name !! Host(s) !! TV station !! Premiere !! Finale
|-
| Canada <br>
| Fais-moi un dessin
| Yves Corbeil
| TVA
| May 23, 1988
| August 30, 1991
|-
| rowspan="2"| France
| Dessinez, c'est gagné !
| Patrice Laffont
| rowspan="2"| Antenne 2
| 1989
| 1990
|-
| Dessinez, c'est gagné ! Junior
| Eric Galliano
| 1993
| 1993
|-
| rowspan="3"| Scotland (Gaelic)
| rowspan="3"| De Tha Seo?
| Neen Mackay
| rowspan="3"| STV
| rowspan="3"| July 25, 1990
| rowspan="3"| 1993
|-
| Cathy MacDonald
|-
| Norman Maclean
|-
| rowspan="5"| United Kingdom
| rowspan="3"| Win, Lose or Draw
| Danny Baker
| rowspan="3"| ITV
| rowspan="3"| January 30, 1990
| rowspan="3"| February 27, 1998
|-
| Shane Richie
|-
| Bob Mills
|-
| Teen Win, Lose or Draw
| Darren Day
| GMTV
| January 2, 1993
| February 20, 1993
|-
| Win, Lose or Draw Late
| Liza Tarbuck
| ITV
| April 14, 2004
| October 22, 2004
|}
See also
- Fast Draw, a 1968 game show with a similar concept to Win, Lose or Draw and Pictionary