Co-Host: Mikki Padilla
Executive Producers: Scott Sternberg and Merrill Heatter
Series Premiere: July 21st 2008
Network: GSN
Airs On: Weekdays at 7:30pm
Top Prize: $25,000
Overview:
Catch 21 is based on the popular game at the GSN website. It combines trivia questions with the card game blackjack, and gives contestants the chance to win up to $25,000 in prize money.
Three contestants start the game, and each one is dealt one card. As in blackjack, the goal is to make it as close as possible to a score of 21 with the cards, while trying to force opponents to go over that magic number. Multiple-choice trivia questions are asked, and the contestant who buzzes in and gives the correct answer first gets another card. He or she can then decide whether to keep that card or force an opponent to take it.
When contestants have what they feel is a winning hand, and they have possession of the board (by being the most recent person to correctly answer a question), they can freeze their hand and force the other two contestants to continue playing and try to beat their score. There are no ties in this game, so play must continue until one contestant has the highest hand, and the other two have either frozen or gone over.
Scoring:
Contestants receive 100 points per correct answer, plus a bonus of 500 points if they win the round.
The Main Game:
The first few rounds are played with all three contestants. After two rounds of play, the contestant with the lowest point score is eliminated, and the remaining two contestants face off in one final round to see who will move on to the bonus round. This contestant also wins a $1,000 cash prize for being the last person standing.
The Bonus Round:
The Bonus Round is made up of three hands. One card is dealt for each hand, and the contestant is given a number of Power Chips based on how many rounds he or she won during the regular game. Power Chips allow the contestant to pass on any unwanted cards that are dealt.
Cards are revealed from the deck, one at a time, and the contestant chooses which of the three hands the cards should be placed on. The goal is to get three hands worth 21 to win the grand prize. The prize ladder is:
- 1 hand of 21: $1,000
- 2 hands of 21: $5,000
- 3 hands of 21: $25,000
