Pyramid is an American game show franchise that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The show was developed by Bob Stewart. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted on CBS on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series. Most later series featured a full title format matching the original series, with the title reflecting an increasing top prize. Two teams, each consisting of a celebrity and contestant, attempt to convey mystery words and phrases within a common category, against a time limit, to win cash and prizes. The title refers to the show's pyramid-shaped gameboard, featuring six categories arranged in a triangular fashion. The various Pyramid series have won a total of nine Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show, second only to Jeopardy!, which has won 13.

Dick Clark is the host most commonly associated with the show, having hosted the network daytime version from 1973 to 1980 (which moved from CBS to ABC in 1974, and increased its namesake top prize from $10,000 to $20,000 in 1976) and The (New) $25,000 Pyramid from 1982 to 1988 on CBS. Clark also hosted two weeknight syndicated versions, The $50,000 Pyramid in 1981 and The $100,000 Pyramid from 1985 to 1988 (concurrent with the daytime show).

Bill Cullen hosted the first weekly nighttime version of The $25,000 Pyramid from 1974 to 1979. John Davidson hosted The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991, and Donny Osmond hosted a version simply titled Pyramid from 2002 to 2004; both aired five episodes per week. Game Show Network's The Pyramid, hosted by Mike Richards, who was an executive at format owner Sony Pictures Television, aired a single forty-episode season in 2012.

The current incarnation of The $100,000 Pyramid debuted June 26, 2016, on ABC with Michael Strahan as host. On November 11, 2024, it was announced that The $100,000 Pyramid would be renewed for an eighth season, which premiered on March 9, 2025.

Gameplay The Pyramid's game boards feature six categories arranged in a triangle (referred to as a pyramid), with three on the bottom row, two on the middle row, and one on the top. Most variations of gameplay feature two teams, each composed of a contestant and a celebrity. The game's central premise involves teams taking turns, with one player attempting to describe mystery words or phrases to their teammate against a time limit. The higher scoring team wins the game and plays the bonus round, known as the Winner's Circle.

Main game

At the beginning of the game, the host reads off six categories from which the team in control picks. These denote the common subject of a series of words or phrases to be described within that category, and usually take the form of wordplay (such as "Playing footsie" leading to a category of "things you do with your feet"). One member of the team is then displayed one word or phrase at a time on a monitor, and must describe each to their partner within a time limit. The team member giving the clues may use verbal clues that do not contain any part of the answer (for example, using "high up" for "height"), as well as non-verbal clues such as gestures. One point is scored for each item correctly guessed, and words for which illegal clues are given are eliminated from play. The clue giver may also choose to pass on a word; while a point is still awarded for any word correctly guessed after passing, no further clues may be given on a passed word unless time remains after all other words are guessed. All versions of the show feature a maximum of seven words and a 30-second time limit for each category, except for the 2002-04 version, which used six words and 20 seconds.

Three rounds are played, with each team playing one category per round until all six have been played or one team has attained an insurmountable lead, whichever comes first. Teams decide which member will give and receive for the first round; the roles are reversed for the second, and they again choose for the third.

In versions prior to the 2010s, tie scores were broken by an additional round of gameplay. The team that scored the tying point was offered a choice of two different letters of the alphabet. That team then played seven words beginning with that letter, after which the opposing team played words beginning with the other letter. The tie was then broken by whichever team scored more points or, if both teams solved all seven words, whichever team did so in a shorter amount of time. The 2016 version breaks ties by whichever team achieved their score in the shorter total time.

The winning team proceeds to the show's bonus round, known as the Winner's Circle. Once this round is completed, a second main game is played with the celebrities switching teams and a new set of six categories. The winners of this game play the second and final Winner's Circle of the episode.

Bonuses The game board has often featured a number of spaces which award bonus prizes to the contestants.

Throughout the 1970s, a random category during the main game doubled as the "Big 7", which awarded a prize to the contestant if all seven words were guessed correctly. Beginning in 1982, one category in the second game was designated as the "Mystery 7", in which the host did not reveal the topic of the category until after it had been played, and correctly guessing all seven words awarded a bonus prize. The Mystery 7 was initially shown as one of the six category names, but was later hidden behind a randomly chosen category. This bonus is the only one in play for the 2016 version, hidden on the board during the second game of each half-hour.

In 1983, The $25,000 Pyramid introduced a new bonus space called the "7-11", which was randomly concealed behind a category in the first game of each episode. If this was revealed, the team could elect to play for $50 cash per word solved, or $1,100 for solving all seven; the former option was dropped in early 1985. Throughout its run, this version awarded a bonus prize (originally a car, later $5,000 cash) to the eventual winner of any game that ended in a perfect 21-21 tie.

The 1991 version offered additional bonuses. "Gamble for a Grand"/"Gamble for a Trip" offered the choice to reduce the round's time limit from 30 to 25seconds to win $1,000 cash or a trip, respectively, and "Double Trouble" offered the team 45 seconds to guess seven two-word responses for a $500 bonus.

The Donny Osmond–hosted version had one bonus: "Super Six", which was featured in both games each day, and awarded an additional prize for guessing all six words in 20seconds.

On the Game Show Network version, there were no bonuses behind the categories, but correctly guessing all seven words in a category awarded $500 to the contestant and added $5,000 to the Winner's Circle bank.

Winner's Circle

The winning team from the main game plays the Winner's Circle, in which one member must describe six categories, ostensibly of increasing difficulty, to their partner within 60 seconds by giving a short and concise list of items relating to each category in play. (For instance, the category "things that clean" could be described with clues such as "soap", "a vacuum", or "a maid's broom".) The team is credited with solving a category as long as the guesser says some form of its key word (any form of the word "clean") before time runs out. Some categories offer a synonym for the key word, such as "things that disappear (vanish)"; either one may be said to gain credit. Although it has not been stated in official rules, since Strahan has been hosting, the contestant gives the clues and the celebrity must guess the categories. In prior versions of the show, celebrities usually gave the clues. In the earliest episodes of the show, the host would ask the contestant whether they wanted to give or receive clues.

The clue giver may pass on a category and return to it after playing through all six if time remains on the clock. Giving an illegal clue removes the category from play. These include using gestures (which were permitted until 1974); using any part of a key word in the category, an acronym, a direct definition, or a direct synonym of it; using a descriptive prepositional phrase or adverb (unless the category implicitly allows it, e.g., "on a table" or "in my pocket" for "Where You Keep Your Keys"); or listing an item that does not fit the category. Each category in the Winner's Circle has a cash amount attached to it; successfully playing all six categories wins the top cash prize for that round, while failing to do so awards the cash amounts attached to all solved categories.

Top Prizes

Originally, every Winner's Circle was played for the $10,000 prize, and contestants left the show upon winning it. When the show became The $20,000 Pyramid, contestants would play the first Winners' Circle for $10,000; if unsuccessful, their next visit would be for $15,000, and any future tries would be for the full $20,000. However, players left the show after winning this round once, regardless of the amount at stake.

For the syndicated and CBS $25,000 and the two syndicated $100,000 series, the first visit to the Winner's Circle for either player on any given show was played for $10,000. If the same contestant won both games, a victory in the second Winner's Circle increased their total for the day (not including any main-game bonuses) to $25,000, regardless of their success or failure on their first attempt.

The syndicated $50,000 awarded top prizes of $5,000 and $10,000 in the Winner's Circle; that version and the two syndicated $100,000 series awarded their titular top prizes via special tournament events that brought back previously successful players.

The $100,000 series in particular involved a round-robin format wherein the three contestants who conquered the Winner’s Circle in the fastest amount of time over a series of several weeks returned to play again. The first player to win a Winner’s Circle round at any point won $100,000 and ended the tournament. If the win occurred in the first half of the show, then the second half was played by the two runners-up for a Winner's Circle prize of $10,000. The bonus cards were eliminated during the $100,000 tournaments, but the $5,000 perfect 21-21 bonus stayed during the 80s $100,000 version.

2012's The Pyramid set every Winner's Circle at a base of $10,000, adding $5,000 for every perfect 7/7 round the player achieved in the main game, for a $25,000 maximum.

The ABC $100,000 version offers $50,000 on a player's first trip to the Winner's Circle, and $100,000 on their second. Any player who reaches this round twice keeps their winnings from both visits, for a potential total of $150,000.

History Broadcast history The $10,000 Pyramid

On March 26, 1973, The $10,000 Pyramid, with host Dick Clark, made its network debut and was a ratings hit, sustaining its ratings even when episodes were delayed or preempted by the Watergate hearings. A year later, the ratings temporarily declined (against the original version of Jeopardy! on NBC) and CBS canceled it. The show was quickly picked up by ABC and began airing on that network on May 6, 1974. As per CBS custom at the time with celebrity game shows, three weeks of episodes for CBS were taped in Hollywood at Television City, Studio 31. The remainder of the CBS episodes originated in New York City at the Ed Sullivan Theater, moving to ABC's Elysee Theatre after Pyramid switched networks. Initially slotted on ABC at 4:00pm, replacing reruns of Love, American Style, it was moved to 2:00pm on December 23, 1974, replacing The Newlywed Game in the timeslot, and filled the old 4:00pm timeslot with The Money Maze, as part of a plan by ABC daytime vice president Michael Brockman to reorganize the daytime lineup to counter on its youth identity.

The $20,000 Pyramid