Top 10 Dumbest Game Show Ideas

Netflix was hoping to break up your late night “Office” binge with “Awake: The Million Dollar Game”. This gameshow makes its sleep-deprived contestants count quarters for twenty-four hours straight before having them compete in several challenges. For some reason, two people are eliminated right away based on how many quarters they counted. Instead of crazy challenges, contestants perform dull tasks that really aren’t very exciting to watch. And the grand prize can only be won if contestants came up with a close estimate of how much money they counted while they were barely awake. What could’ve been a campy game show full of drowsy people became a silly sleep experiment that’s way too reliant on quarters.

#9: “Late Night Liars” (2010)

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Despite it being their specialty, the Game Show Network has come up with a few bad game show ideas. One of its worst experiments revolved around puppets. On “Late Night Liars”, a panelist of vulgar puppets would provide answers to a question. The contestants had to figure which members of the panel were lying and who was being truthful. But since the puppets spent more time making jokes than giving hints, they weren’t all that helpful. Guests ultimately had to rely on general knowledge and blind luck to succeed. As entertaining as the puppets could be, they were just an unnecessary distraction from a flawed game show premise.

Do you like senseless property destruction and professional wrestler Chris Jericho? Then you would’ve been the perfect audience for the short lived show “Downfall”. On this destructive show, replicas of prizes rolled along a conveyor belt that was positioned on the roof of a building. If contestants failed to answer Jericho’s questions quickly and correctly, their prizes were sent hurtling into the ground below. The entire premise feels like a massive waste of resources. And the prizes crash into the ground so often that the spectacle gets old fast. “Downfall” wrestled with poor ratings until ABC quietly discarded the show after only five episodes.

#7: “The Chair” (2002)

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Most game shows feature contestants who look excited to be there. But ABC’s “The Chair” demanded the opposite. On this game show, contestants answered trivia questions while strapped to a chair. If their heart rate went above a certain level, the game stopped and they’d lose money until it decreased. Since most people can’t control their heartbeat, the game was stacked against the contestants from the start. In addition, watching someone try to stay calm is only exciting if their name is Bruce Banner. Shockingly, ABC wasn’t the only network to try this concept. FOX’s “The Chamber” also featured people answering questions in stressful environments while strapped into a metal chair. In the end, neither show kept audiences in their seats.

#6: “Labor Games” (2015)

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“Labor Games” has the most specific contestant requirements on this list. First of all, you or your partner must go into labor. Next, you have to get a bed in the maternity ward. Lastly, you must wait for a host to pop into your room with trivia questions about parenting while a graphic monitors the mother’s contractions. Don’t get us wrong. The idea of having a show dedicated to expectant mothers is nice. But making them compete in a hospital instead of literally anywhere else made the show feel exploitative. Based on its limited run, audiences weren’t too keen on visiting the maternity ward for this cringey quiz show.

In the overcrowded market of trivia game shows, “Amne$ia” tried to stand out with a unique concept. Instead of asking people questions about math or science, contestants had to answer questions based on their life and past experiences. This meant that the average viewer couldn’t guess the answers to most of the questions. While the guests struggled to recall the right answers, viewers tried desperately to stay invested. Host Dennis Miller’s color commentary and surprise guests from each contestant’s past weren’t interesting enough to get the show running for more than eight episodes. Ultimately, this trivia experiment was destined to be forgotten.

As the old saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover... unless you’re trying to win half a million dollars. On “Identity”, contestants have to match 12 strangers to 12 different identities. But outside of a few lifelines, guests don’t get any information about these strangers. Contestants have to make these matches solely based on physical appearances. While some strangers wore outfits that gave them away, there were some identities that were impossible to determine on looks alone. For example, how are you supposed to figure out who donated a kidney? Outside of the game’s random difficulty, the show’s reliance on stereotypes made the entire experience feel shallow.

#3: “Moment of Truth” (2008-09)

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On “Moment of Truth”, contestants were asked deeply personal questions while hooked up to a polygraph machine. In order to win money, they had to give honest answers in front of their families, significant others and a live studio audience. The questions were brutal. When contestants weren’t confessing to doing illegal or immoral acts, they were forced to reveal bombshells that threatened their relationships. In one of the most controversial episodes, a woman had to confess that she’d rather be with her ex right in front of her husband. It was hard to find the show entertaining when all the contestants and guests looked like they were on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Get ready to lose your appetite. The rules behind G4 TV’s “Hurl!” were as simple as they were disgusting. First contestants had to eat as much food as they could to avoid being eliminated. The remaining competitors then competed in extreme physical or endurance challenges in the following rounds, while still taking breaks to eat more. If they gave up or threw up, they would lose the game. Although the vomiting was originally censored, the “hazmat team” and bizarre sound effects made it clear what was happening. To add insult to injury, the contestants were only competing for a measly $1,000. We’re unsure what executive thought audiences would flock to a show that featured people vomiting, but we’re positive it made us sick. Before we cancel our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions. “My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad” (2008) “Hole in the Wall” (2008–12) “Distraction” (2003-04) “Set for Life” (2007) “Don't Scare the Hare” (2011)

#1: “Do You Trust Your Wife?” [AKA “Who Do You Trust?”] (1957–63)

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Back in 1979, “Three’s a Crowd” featured a host asking married men intimate questions. Each man’s wife and secretary answered the same questions to see who “knew him better”. This controversial game show wasn’t the only terrible show that revolved around married couples. In 1957, ABC premiered a trivia/variety show called “Do You Trust Your Wife?”. After the host proposed a topic to a husband, the man decided if his wife would be allowed to answer or if he’d take the question himself. The show’s implication that women aren’t capable of answering for themselves was ridiculously sexist, and its name change from “Do You Trust Your Wife?” to “Who Do You Trust?” couldn’t save it for long.