You're flipping through the channels or scrolling through a streaming app late at night and there he is—Gene Rayburn, sporting a microphone that looks like a high-tech knitting needle. He’s standing in front of a panel of six B-list (or A-list, depending on the decade) celebrities who look like they’re having the time of their lives. This is Match Game. But if you’re trying to find a specific moment—say, the time Richard Dawson finally lost his cool or when Betty White made a joke so dirty the censors nearly fainted—you realize quickly that a match game episode guide is a chaotic mess of shifting titles, missing tapes, and weird spin-offs.
It’s not just one show. It’s a decades-long franchise that basically defined the "party atmosphere" of 1970s television. To understand the episode listings, you have to understand that the show evolved from a stiff, suit-and-tie affair in the 60s to a booze-soaked (allegedly) riot in the 70s.
The 60s Era: Where It All Started (And Why You Probably Won’t Watch It)
Before the double entendres and the "New Star Symbol," there was the original Match Game on NBC. It premiered in 1962. Honestly, if you saw an episode guide for this era today, you’d barely recognize it. The game was straightforward. Two teams, each with a celebrity and two contestants. They tried to match answers to simple questions. No "Dumb Dora." No "Bernice the Baker."
Most of these episodes are gone. Wiped. Back then, networks didn't see the value in rerunning game shows, so they just recorded over the tapes to save money. If you find a listing for an episode from 1964 featuring Peggy Cass and Peter Lind Hayes, good luck actually seeing it. Only a handful of these kinescopes exist in the vaults of collectors or the Paley Center for Media. It was a different beast entirely. It was polite. It was civil. It was, frankly, a bit boring compared to what came later.
The 1973 Reboot: The Golden Age of "The Blank"
This is what most people are actually looking for when they search for a match game episode guide. In 1973, CBS brought the show back, and everything changed. This is the era of the "Star Wheel," the tiered seating, and the legendary panel.
The numbering for these episodes is usually categorized by the year. You’ll see Match Game '73, Match Game '74, and so on, all the way up to Match Game '79.
The Regulars You Need to Know
You can’t navigate these episodes without knowing the seats.
🔗 Read more: Boris the Spider: The Weirdest Song The Who Ever Wrote
- Seat 1: Usually a rotating guest, often a nervous newcomer.
- Seat 2: Brett Somers. Always. Her chemistry with Charles Nelson Reilly is the soul of the show.
- Seat 3: Charles Nelson Reilly. The king of giant glasses and ascots.
- Seat 4: The "Big Star" seat. Richard Dawson sat here for years until he got his own show (Family Feud) and got tired of being bypassed for the Star Wheel.
- Seat 5: Often occupied by the likes of Vicki Lawrence or Fannie Flagg.
- Seat 6: The "dumb blonde" or "young hunk" seat. Think Joyce Bulifant or a very young, pre-Three's Company Suzanne Somers.
When you look at an episode guide from 1975, for instance, you’re looking for the "School Riot" episode or the "Dumb Dora" debut. One of the most famous episodes, often cited in fan guides, is the one where a contestant named Karen (Episode #0561) managed to match the entire panel. It’s a rare moment of actual gameplay success in a show that was mostly about the banter.
The Syndication Shuffle: Match Game PM
While the daytime show was airing on CBS, a nighttime version called Match Game PM started in 1975. This is where things get confusing for the casual viewer. The PM version was only once a week. It had higher stakes, three rounds instead of two, and generally felt a bit more "adult."
If your match game episode guide shows "PM Episode 22," it’s likely from the second season (1976-1977). These episodes are prized by collectors because they felt less rushed. The celebrities had more time to riff. This is also where the "Super Match" jackpot could reach staggering heights for the time—sometimes over $10,000.
The Richard Dawson Drama
You can't talk about the late 70s episodes without mentioning the tension in Seat 4. By 1978, Richard Dawson was the breakout star. He was the "king of the head-to-head match." Contestants almost always chose him for the big money. But Dawson was getting bored. He stopped laughing. He started looking at his watch.
In many 1978 episode listings, you'll notice a shift in the energy. Eventually, the producers introduced the "Star Wheel" to force contestants to match with other celebrities, not just Richard. Dawson hated it. He eventually left in 1978. Episode guides from 1979 show a rotating cast in his spot—everyone from Bill Daily to McLean Stevenson—but the magic had shifted.
📖 Related: Passive Lyrics A Perfect Strategy for Modern Songwriters
The 80s and the Hollywood Squares Crossover
By 1982, the show moved to syndication and then briefly merged with another giant. The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour is a weird fever dream of television history. It lasted from 1983 to 1984.
The episode guide for this version is a mess because it’s a 60-minute block. Half the show is Match Game, the other half is Hollywood Squares. Gene Rayburn was still there, but Jon "Bowzer" Bauman from Sha Na Na co-hosted the Squares portion. Fans of the 70s version often find this era jarring. The set is neon, the music is synth-heavy, and the "vibe" is decidedly less "cocktail party" and more "early MTV."
Modern Reboots: Baldwin and Beyond
Fast forward to 2016. ABC brought it back with Alec Baldwin. If you’re looking for a modern match game episode guide, you’re dealing with "Seasons" in the Netflix/Hulu sense.
- Season 1 (2016): 10 episodes. Notable for Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski bringing that 30 Rock energy.
- Season 2-5: These episodes leaned heavily into the camp. The questions got much raunchier.
Purists argue about the Baldwin era. Some love the high-def snark; others miss the organic, slightly buzzed feel of the 70s. But for a researcher, these episodes are much easier to track because they weren't taped over by interns trying to save a buck.
Why Some Episodes Are "Missing"
If you’re looking at a comprehensive list and see gaps, it’s usually due to music licensing or "lost" tapes. Some episodes featured celebrities singing or making references to pop culture that legally became a nightmare to clear decades later.
Also, the "Match Game '90" version with Ross Shafer is often ignored in major guides. It was a short-lived attempt to modernize the show for the 90s, but without Rayburn, it just didn't click. It’s like the "Cousin Oliver" of the franchise—we know it exists, but we don't talk about it much.
How to Use an Episode Guide Effectively
If you're a serious fan, don't just look for dates. Look for "Panel Compositions." The best way to watch Match Game is to find a week where the chemistry is clicking.
- Find episodes featuring the "Holy Trio": Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Richard Dawson.
- Look for the guest spots from Betty White or Bill Cullen—they were masters of the format.
- Check the "Game Show Network" (GSN) air dates vs. the original air dates. GSN often skips episodes that have technical glitches or particularly "dated" (read: offensive) humor.
Basically, the show was recorded in "tape sessions." They’d film a week’s worth of episodes in a single day. This is why you’ll notice the celebrities wearing the same clothes for five episodes in a row, or why their energy seems to get progressively more chaotic as the "Friday" episode (actually the fifth hour of filming) approaches.
🔗 Read more: Light as a Feather Chick Corea: Why This 1973 Masterpiece Still Defies Logic
Finding the Best Moments
The real value of a match game episode guide isn't just the metadata. It's the "Easter Eggs."
- The "School Riot" (1975): Gene Rayburn gets jokingly tackled by the audience.
- The "Bird Girl": A contestant who made a very strange noise that became a running gag for years.
- The Wardrobe Malfunctions: Usually involving Gene’s breakaway props or Charles’s hats.
There’s a reason people still watch these 50 years later. It’s the feeling that anything could happen. It was a "safe" space for celebrities to be weird, catty, and genuinely funny.
To get the most out of your viewing experience, start with the 1975-1977 era. It’s the sweet spot. The show had found its rhythm, the "blanks" were clever, and the panel hadn't started hating each other yet.
If you're hunting for specific episodes, your best bet is to cross-reference the air date with the celebrity guest list. Websites like the Interviews: An Oral History of Television provide context on why certain weeks felt different. Use these guides to find the episodes where the game barely matters—those are always the best ones.
Don't worry about the score. Nobody else did. Just find an episode where Charles Nelson Reilly is wearing a particularly ridiculous scarf and enjoy the ride.
Your Next Steps for Finding Episodes
To track down a specific moment, your first stop should be the Internet Archive or YouTube, where fans have uploaded thousands of hours of digitized VHS tapes. These often include the original commercials, which are a trip in themselves.
If you want a more structured experience, check the BUZZR schedule. They are a sub-channel dedicated to classic game shows and they air Match Game in chronological blocks, which is much better than the random-order approach most streaming services take.
Finally, for the true deep-dive, look for the Match Game Episode Spreadsheet maintained by long-time collectors on various game show forums. These spreadsheets often contain "match data," showing which celebrities were the most "accurate" and which ones were just there for the drinks. This is the most granular way to experience the show's history and will help you pinpoint exactly when the "Dawson Era" ended and the "Star Wheel" chaos began.