1. America's Funniest Home Videos -- In 2008, "America's Funniest Home Videos" surpassed "What's My Line?" as network TV's longest-running primetime game show. The game has viewers from the United States of America send in their funniest and/or most amazing home videos--the funny of which usually was unintentional. The top 3 funniest home videos of the night walk away a combined $15,000 richer--$10,000 1st place, $3,000 2nd place, and $2,000 3rd place. At the end of each sweeps period, the $10,000 winner vie for an additional $100,000 in cash. As show creator Vin Di Bona had done 2 years earlier when he hired Alan Thicke to host a short-lived Saturday-morning game show called "Animal Crack-Ups," Vin hired stand-up comic Bob Saget to host the original hour-long pilot--which was telecast on November 26, 1989 on the ABC Television Network. 7 weeks later, on January 14, 1990, the show began airing once a week Sunday nights at 8 p.m. in a format that has NOT changed throughout its LONG existence. In 1997, Saget left the series after 8 seasons and was replaced in January 1998 by former MTV VJ Daisy Fuentes, who was paired with stand-up comic John Fugelsang. Sadly, the ratings took a nose-dive, and at the end of its 10th season in Spring 1999, the show was canceled by ABC. Less than 2 years later, on July 20, 2001, the show was successfully revived, this time with TV personality Tom Bergeron taking over as host--a job he STILL has today.

2. Jeopardy! -- The answer is: This classic game show hosted by Alex Trebek will start its 28th year in syndication on September 12. The question is: What is Jeopardy!? And who DOESN'T remember "Jeopardy!," the game show paired with "Wheel of Fortune" on most local U.S. stations. The show was conceived in 1963 by talk-show host Merv Griffin as "What's the Question?," after Merv thought to himself, "I'd give ANYTHING to do another game show." Merv hosted the original pilot for "What's the Question?," soon after which the show was rechristened "Jeopardy!" and film actor Art Fleming took over as host--a role he would play for the next 11 years. In 1984, after nearly a decade off the air, the show was brought back as a syndicated series entry, this time with Alex Trebek playing the role of host.

3. Wheel of Fortune -- ANOTHER game show created by Merv Griffin. The show was conceived in 1973 as "Shopper's Bazaar" and was hosted by an aspiring country songwriter named Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery. A 2nd pilot was made the following year, after the show was rechristened "Wheel of Fortune," with Edd "Kookie" Byrnes (formerly of "77 Sunset Strip") taking over Chuck's role as host. After test audiences determined Kookie (who admitted in later interviews was drunk throughout taping) didn't fit the show, Merv rehired Chuck to host the show, which debuted on January 6, 1975. Chuck quit the show in December 1981, just before Christmas, over a contract dispute with Merv, and Pat Sajak was hired to take over the show--a job he STILL has today. Pat remained host when the show launched a nighttime syndicated version in Fall 1983. Original letter-turner Susan Stafford left in Summer 1982, replaced that December by Vanna White. Pat left the network "Wheel" to host the flop-of-a-late-night-talk-show in early 1989, replaced as network host by former pro footballer Rolf Benirschke. By this time, viewers were tuning out of the network "Wheel of Fortune," and that summer, after 14 years, NBC canceled "Wheel of Fortune." Soon after, CBS quickly picked up the network "Wheel," with Bob Goen replacing Rolf--a role he would keep until January 1991, when the network "Wheel of Fortune" was canceled for good. Leftover network episodes aired on the original network home, NBC, until that September. Since then, "Wheel of Fortune" has spent 20 years airing exclusively in syndication.

4. Double Dare -- If you were a kid in the 1980s and early 1990s, you DEFINITELY remember THIS iconic kids' game show, the first successful kids' game show in TV history (though other kids' game shows did exist before this, none lasting more than 2 seasons), putting a then-low-rated cable network called Nickelodeon on the map. The show had 2 teams of 2 kids each asked questions, and if they didn't know the answer, they could dare the other team, who could double dare them back, and at that point, they could answer the question OR take a Physical Challenge. The show changed names each season--in Summer 1987, for the 2nd half of Season 2, the show temporarily moved to weekends and was renamed "Super Sloppy Double Dare." Soon afterwards, the then-fledgling FOX Television Network bought the syndication rights to the show, and the show's name was changed back to "Double Dare" for its 3rd season, with new episodes airing first weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on Nickelodeon, and then repeated the next day on local TV stations across the U.S. starting February 22, 1988. For the 2nd half of Season 3, the show was rechristened "Family Double Dare," with 2 teams of families competing, and the show aired 1st on Saturday nights at 7:30 on Nickelodeon, repeating 30 minutes later on the FOX network. Season 4 began production soon after FOX canceled "Family Double Dare," and the show went back to "Double Dare" that Fall until the show was rechristened "Super Sloppy Double Dare" in late January 1989--a title it kept when taping moved from WHYY Studios in Philadelphia to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida for its 5th season. The following summer, on June 7, 1990, Universal Orlando opened the Nickelodeon Studios theme park to the public, where taping began on Season 6 of "Double Dare," which had families competing once again, as they would until the show ceased production in 1992.

What are YOUR favorite game shows?

I've never really thought of AFHV as a game show. I realize they give away prize money at the end of each episode but I still think of it more as an entertainment show than a game show!

I'll put in a nomination for Password. The original version, which began in 1961 with the late Allen Ludden as host was one of the best word games ever invented. He also hosted the 70s revival on ABC as well as the late 70s incarnation that was known as Password Plus. He left Password Plus due to cancer and was replaced by Tom Kennedy. There was yet another version of the durable word game titled Super Password, which was hosted by the late Bert Convy. Even though the Minneapolis-St. Paul blacked out this version due to syndicated programming, it ran for five years on NBC. A couple of years ago, CBS brought the game back in prime time, under the title Million Dollar Password, with Regis Philbin as host. It wasn't as good as its predecessors but it brought higher stakes to a game that was orginally played for a much lesser amount of money.

The other nomination is for Family Feud. The original version, hosted by Richard Dawson ran for nine years and IMHO was one of the best game show formats ever created. It was a game that had no right or wrong answers since the object was to guess the most popular answers to a survey of 100 people. Ray Combs hosted the network and syndicated revival and was replaced by Dawson in 1994 on the syndcated version. The Combs run was noted for introducing the Bullseye game which I thought was out of place on a classic format. The current version debuted in 1999 and went through hosts Louie Anderson, Richard Karn and John O'Hurley before settling on Steve Harvey. Harvey has proved that a comedian can be a good host and has brought life and higher ratings into the long-running game show.

I'd put down "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and "The Price is Right" on there.

In no order:

Concentration - The simplistic game of matching prizes and solving those ever-challenging rebuses was quite a durable feat during its original 15-year run on NBC from 1958-73. It also saw 2 versions produced from 1973-78 in syndication and on NBC again from 1987-91 as "Classic Concentration." The bonus round in the "Classic" version had one of the most intense endgames produced.

The various Pyramid incarnations - Bob Stewart took part of his Password format and made into something even more tense when he brought the show originally called The $10,000 Pyramid to the airwaves in 1973. The Winner's Circle still to this day remains as one of the most intense and durable big money endgames ever done. Dick Clark is the host most synonymous w/ this show though Bill Cullen wasn't too bad at all himself w/ his syndie version from 1974-79. John Davidson was out of place on the 1991 version he hosted, especially lacking in timing when it came to WC wins. Donny Osmond who (IMO) did a much better job than Davidson did but was no Dick Clark.

Before Pyramid debuted in 1973, how many daytime game shows could you think of that gave away a 5-figured cash payout in 1 minute on daytime TV on a daily basis?

Password - like To Tell the Truth, Password came back in many incarnations in one form or another.

Jeopardy! - This is one of the very few game shows to have 2 successful versions of the same show to last more than 9 years.

Wheel of Fortune - despite the small gimmicks here and there over the course of the last 10 years or so.

Price is Right, The - original version w/ Bill Cullen from 1956-65 was just basically the IUfB the whole 30 minutes and it worked remarkably for 9 years. Then in 1972, "Come on Down!" and the carnival of Pricing Games made it even more of the hit it is today.

To Tell the Truth - despite the lackluster celebs (save for Kitty Carlisle) on the 2000-02 version.

Family Feud - despite Louie Anderson and Richard Karn stinking the Feud up when they hosted, IMO.

Double Dark (Nick Version)

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? - Next to Double Dare, this show is one of the longest-running kids' game shows produced.

Remote Control

ESPN's 2-Minute Drill

Lingo - even though Bill Engvall's version is lacklustered at times

Scrabble

Sale of the Century w/ Jim Perry

Hollywood Squares

Russian Roulette

Name That Tune - Tom Kennedy version, especially

Split Second

tie-Let's Make a Deal and Match Game - namely Gene Rayburn's versions.

Let's Make a Deal - IMO, even though I'm not mega-fan of this show (even during the Monty Hall years), somehow Monty was able to make this vehicle work for 14 original years on NBC, ABC and syndication and like To Tell the Truth, The Price is Right, Hollywood Squares among other gs's, LMaD has surfaced up in each of the last 5 or 6 decades in one way or another. But after 1986, LMaD seemed to be a lost-cause show that returned on the airwaves unsuccessfully in the early '90s and in 2003. But in 2009, LMaD seemed to finally be back on the air successfully for more than 1-2 seasons.

Match Game - when MG originally came to the air in 1962, it was mostly just a fill in the blank-type of show with only a few team of players. It wasn't until 1973 when MG w/ Gene Rayburn became the party fun-zone show it was for 9 years, 6 w/ CBS and in nighttime and eventually daytime syndication in different forms until 1982. After 1982, MG as w/ LMaD seemed like a lost-cause show w/ 3 revivals that only lasted one year each.

IMO, AFV is not, never has been and never will be a game show.