Gameplay
Two contestants (one a returning champion) competed, each paired with a celebrity partner.
In the first half of the game, the teams answered general knowledge questions, frequently involving puns or other wordplay, which were displayed on a huge electronic marquee, similar to one found on a pinball's backbox display. First, the players were shown blanks on the display's bottom line, denoting the number of words and letters in the answer; then a clue would crawl across the display's upper line. If no team buzzed in once the clue was revealed, letters of the answer then filled in at random as time progressed.
For example, a question might be "He's center and he's square/#### #####" (Paul Lynde), or "An athlete's supporter/###" (fan). (In the latter case, a celebrity buzzed in and blurted out, "Jock!" not realizing that there were only three letters in the correct answer. In pointing out that the answer was wrong, James wondered out loud whether he was spelling it, "JOQ"; after the correct answer was revealed, the celebrity groused about never showing up in a locker room "wearing a fan.")
Often, James would give an additional clue. For example, the blanked-out answer "### ### #####" would appear and James would say "What does this man pull out?" followed by "A showy organist". (The answer is "all the stops".)
For any given question, only the contestant or the celebrity would be eligible to buzz in; this alternated with each question, and was indicated by lighted panels in front of the eligible player.
Correct answers were worth one point. Five points won the game and the winning team played "The Magnificent Marble Machine" in the bonus round.
Read more about this topic: The Magnificent Marble Machine