Chain Reaction (2006)


Aired
Pilot, March 29, 2006 GSN, August 1, 2006-June 9, 2007
Run time
30 Minutes
Host
Tim Vincent (Pilot) Dylan Lane (Series)
Origination
Sony Music Studios, New York City, New York

This is chronicling the 2006 version of Chain Reaction. This version was produced by Embassy Row and Sony Pictures Television.

Game Format[]

Pilot[]

Earlier in March 2006, GSN filmed a pilot with host Tim Vincent. Gameplay was very similar to the Lane version but with a few slight changes:

The teams of three could be of mixed gender rather than "guys vs. girls" in the series. In this case, a team of two men and a woman (for ex: united by their love of STAR TREK) went against a team of two women and a man (for ex: presumably grouped for their love of alcoholic beverages).
The game was played in five rounds rather than four in the series.
Each team started with a bank of $1,000 and then added to it in each of the first three rounds just like before.
Only the player who got the last word in that round's chain could solve the "Speed Chain" puzzle. That player was given 10 seconds and could get no assistance from their teammates, but could make multiple guesses at the chain's missing words during the 10 seconds. Also, if the player guessed one of the words, it was immediately revealed. However, if they failed to guess both words in the chain correctly, the other team could briefly confer and have their captain try to guess. In addition, the chains were worth $50 more than that round's word-guessing amount ($150 for the first Speed Chain, $250 for the second and $350 for the third).
At the end of the fourth round (still a betting round with wagers of $100 to $500) with one final Speed Chain played for $750.
A fifth round was played, also allowed for wagering, but the top limit was this time was $1,000 (again in $100 increments) Whichever team was leading after this round's play was declared the winner.

The bonus round was played just as in the early first season by needing to guess seven words in 90 seconds in order to double their front game winnings or 10 to triple them.

Main Game[]

Two teams of three, men vs. women, competed in each game. The teams were shown the beginning and ending words of an seven word chain. Each word related to the word above it and below it. A sample chain could be:

FINAL

FOUR

SQUARE

DANCE

PARTY

TIME

TRAVEL

Each word is part of a two-word term, connected by common words (final four, four square, square dance, dance party etc.)

As the game continued, the words would be revealed one letter at a time. In the first season, the final letter of a word would be revealed (though the fact that it was the final letter was not announced and sometimes wasn't evident). At that point, if the team did not guess the word correctly, the word was revealed and neither team received money. During the second season and following the tradition of the two previous versions, the last letter was not revealed, although a shuffling placeholder was shown in place of the last letter. If the word was not guessed correctly, the other team had a chance to guess that word, but did not receive another letter.

In round one, each correct word was worth $100, round two words were worth $200 and words in round three were worth $300. Whichever team was behind going into a round started the next round (in an event of a tie, the team who did not start the last chain started the next chain).

Speed Chain[]

After each of the first three rounds, whichever team correctly identified the final word to complete the chain was given the opportunity to complete a four word chain with the first letter of the middle two words given. An example could be:

HALF

B____

A_____

PIPELINE

The team had seven seconds to confirm and come up with the two words. If correct, they won the same value as a single correct word in the previous round ($100-$300). If neither team completed the chain, neither team got to play the speed chain.

Betting Round[]

In round four (known as the "Betting Round"), teams could wager between $100 and $500 of their bank before being given their letter. If correct, they won their bet and kept control, if not, they lost the money and control. A team automatically lost if they went broke, and the game ended immediately with the opposing team as the winners. If both teams ended the round with money in the bank, then the team with the most money won the game and kept the cash. The losing team received unacknowledged parting gifts and kept any cash in the bank.

Tiebreaker[]

After four rounds, the team with the most money won the game and moved onto the bonus round. However, if the fourth round ended in a tie, the teams were given an alternating Speed Chains in a "sudden death" format. If one team did not solve their Speed Chain, the other team need only one to solve their next Speed Chain to win the game. This occurred once on this version.

Instant Reaction[]

The team with the most money won after the forth round played the bonus round. The first two members gave clues by building questions, alternating one word at a time, If either clue giver gave more than one word in a row, builds a clue that is not loosely in the form of a question, or said part of an answer, the clue givers must move onto the next word. The third player cannot see the answer, but must ring in to guess the answer to the question that his or her partners are constructing. Once the answer guesser ranged in, not any more clues may be given on that word. Any team member could also pass as often as possible to throw out the current word.

Season 1[]

In Season 1, the team was given 90 seconds to go through as many as 20 words. The three players all had their hands over a small bell with the answer guesser blindfolded and standing between the clue-giving players.

In the first 30 episodes, if a team got seven correct answers, they would double their money from the main game; If they got ten correct, the main-game winnings were tripled. For the following 35 episodes, the requirements were reduced to only five and seven correct answers, respectively.

Season 2[]

In Season 2, The answer guesser sat in a chair with his or her back to the clue-giving players and held a signaling button to ring in. When the answer guesser ranged in, the clock stopped for up to three seconds while the answer guesser gave his or her answer. If a team guessed five correct answers in 60 seconds, they earned an additional $5,000 to their money from the main game; If not, they were given $100 for each guessed correct answer.

Theme Song (2006 Version)[]

It starts with word
Their's a "G" underneath
Guess the word "GAME" and you're right
The word "GAME" starts a chain
Get you letter
Take a guess
Connect the chain
Win some cash
It's guys against the girls right now
On Chain Reaction.