How to Host a Game Show

Finding a Hosting Gig

Host a game show party at your house. You may not be able to make it to the big time just yet, but nothing is stopping you from getting some practice in. Invite your friends over for a special theme party where you run a live game show for their entertainment. You may not have the money to give out thousands of dollars to the winner, but maybe you can have a handful of moderately priced prizes. This is a fun way to mix up the typical dinner party where everyone just hangs out, and it gives you a low-pressure way to test your hosting skills.

Plan a game show event for your church or a local charity. A second way to get some practice hosting and have fun would be volunteering as a host for an event hosted by an organization. Hosting for an event gives you access to a larger audience and budget than hosting a party yourself. An organization you are part of could even have a game show night as a fundraiser, with you as host. A children’s hospital, a service club like Kiwanis, or your church might have a yearly fundraiser for a certain cause, so you could ask a few places like this if having your host would interest them. If they don’t already have a fundraiser, you could suggest a game show night with prizes donated by businesses and proceeds going toward a special cause. A fundraiser through a church that raises money for a missions team could host a game show that focuses on trivia from the country the mission trip is going to.

Search for professional host jobs. Although some game show hosts are hired solely for their personality, it is often in your best interest to have a degree in something like acting or TV production. You might be more likely to get a job as a crew for a game show which could eventually lead to a hosting job. If you are serious about it, you could try cold calling television networks and ask about what it takes to land a game show hosting job. People hired as game show hosts have often been in show business for a long time in other areas. However, channels like Game Show Network or your local TV networks may have open casting calls for new shows they are developing. A good place to start might be at a business that hosts experiences like an escape game or endurance challenges. You might not be on TV but could start getting hosting experience. Another good starting option might be working for a party service where you would host games and challenges for the kids.

Assembling the Show

Check all of the facts and information for accuracy. If you create any of the questions, puzzles, or prompts for the game show, you want to be very careful that you only use factually accurate information. This is also a good time to check for clarity of the questions. You want to make sure there is only one correct answer and that the answer is clear and understandable. One aspect of this is making the question as specific as possible. Rather than asking, “Who directed the movie Psycho?” you should say, “Who directed the 1960 film Psycho, starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh?” Giving the year and the actors help make sure the players won’t be confused since there is a 1998 remake of the film. An example of a question with multiple answers would be, “Who was president in 1809?” as this was a year when Thomas Jefferson ended his term and James Madison began his term.

Read through all the material you will say during the show. Part of the preparation for hosting a game show is reading through all of the questions, answers, and other script parts before the show. This helps ensure that you know all of the words that you will be reading so you don’t stumble and sound confused during the show. Some aspects of the script may need to be memorized if reading from a card or screen is not possible. Besides reading through the material, it’s good to rehearse through the whole show to get a feel for how it flows. If you can run through the script with players, this is also a good idea.

Find out how to pronounce contestants’ names. While you are talking to the players before the show starts, ask each person how to pronounce their name. You don’t want to make the mistake of mispronouncing it during the actual show, plus it may confuse and annoy them if you do mispronounce it. If you can make some kind of physical or mental note about proper pronunciation, this will help you during the game. Names with unique spellings like Halle (which could be Hal-ee or Hay-lee) can be tricky. You may also have names with different pronunciations like Alicia (uh-lish-uh or uh-leesh-uh).

Test all of the equipment before starting the show. You may have microphones, buzzers, screens, or sound equipment that enhances the show and you want to check all of this beforehand. If there are any set pieces or props that will be part of the game, you want to make sure these are in the proper place and are easy to move if necessary.

Find someone to assist you as a host. Almost every game show has announcers, prop technicians or some form of an assistant. You will be much more effective as a host if you have another person, or more, helping you. Once you have an idea of what the various parts of the show are and you know what will happen within the game, get as many people to help as it will take to make the game run smoothly. You may be the host, the face of the game show, but you can’t run the whole thing on your own. You may need someone to click through slides containing questions, move game props from one place to another, or reset game pieces. Your job as host is to help your contestants play and keep your audience’s attention, so your assistant or crew’s job is to keep the other parts of the game moving smoothly.

Running the Show

Introduce the game and the rules. Even if you are hosting a very simple game show that everyone is already familiar with, it is best to go through all the rules with them. It helps the audience follow what is going on. It also helps make sure that players know what to do and what is going on throughout the game. The amount and type of information that it is necessary to tell them will depend on the game itself. If there are rounds or stages to the game, you may want to explain each part separately just before moving to that part or explaining the whole process from start to finish. Do the contestants all play through a certain puzzle at the same time? Do they each get separate questions or chances? Can you lose money for wrong answers? This is the type of information you want to make sure the players know. For example you might say, “Contestants will answer a series of questions, each worth a certain amount of money. You will have a chance to answer each question by being the first to hit your buzzer. If the first player gets the answer wrong, the other two players will write their answer down and being awarded half of the points if the written answer is correct.”

Explain how to win and what the prize is. Almost every game show has a little bit different format and set of rules that dictate how a contestant can win the game. As you are explaining the rules at the beginning of the game, make sure to include what it takes to win. The players might earn money throughout the game and whoever has the most wins, or they could accumulate points and the player with the most points gets the chance to win something in a final round. Consider whether or not there is only one winner, or if the players who don’t finish first still get any prizes or money. Maybe all of the contestants win something, but only the top player gets the top prize or their earnings. If there are multiple rounds or parts to the game, explain if different players could win each section and how the final winner is decided. You might say, “Each player will attempt to solve 5 puzzles, worth 10 points each. Whoever earns the most points will play in the winner’s circle for the prize money. The winner’s circle has five more puzzles, each worth an increasing amount of money. You win money for each puzzle you solve correctly. Ties after the puzzle round will solve one final puzzle, the winner being whoever finishes first. Those players who don’t make it to the winner’s circle will receive complimentary concert tickets as our thanks for playing.”

Interview the contestants. Talk to the contestants during the show to give the audience more information about them. This will help the audience connect more and make them root for a winner. You can ask basic questions like what they do for a living and what made them want to be on the show. It’s also typical to find out something interesting that the person likes or does which will give them more backstory. You could ask the players what they would do with the money if they won. Ask if they watch and play along with the game at home. Try to find out if they have done something that many people never would like skydiving. Say, “I’ve been told that you have a knack for whittling toys out of wood. How did you come into that hobby?” Or, “Most people don’t like to file their taxes, but you have made it a practice of doing tax work for all of your friends. Why is that?”

Keep the show moving. As the host, you are in charge of helping contestants play the game. You will be the one to move through the various sections or stages if the game has multiple parts. It is important to make smooth transitions between questions and parts of the game. If any player cheats or breaks the rules in some way, you must make this known and assign any necessary penalty. Game show hosts often say things like, “That’s all the time we have for this round, let’s see what happens next.” You could say, “I’m sorry Shelley, you’ve run out of time. It’s John’s turn to give it a try.”

Recap the scores periodically during the game. If your game show has multiple players who gain points or prizes throughout the show, you should remind all the players of each other’s scores. This is a way to increase the competitiveness between the players because they will know who is ahead and who is close behind. For single-player games, it helps them keep track of what they have won so far and will fuel their desire to keep playing. You might say, “It’s been a close game, and everyone still has a shot to win. Stacy leads with 1200, Rick follows with 1050, and Molly is still in the game with 900.”

Be friendly and casual with the players. Except for rare occasions, the best game show hosts are the ones who joke with the players and make the game a fun environment. When players get wrong answers or fall behind, keep encouraging them, and never humiliate them. Game shows are meant to be fun as well as competitive, so help the contestants keep a light attitude even when the game is at stake. Use the players’ names throughout the game to make them feel good. Speak with an upbeat voice and smile a lot. This will help the players feel at ease if the game starts to get stressful. Say, “Well Stan, you are currently behind, but this is the game of second chances, so don’t give up!” Or to a wrong answer, you could say, “No, I’m sorry. That’s incorrect, but a good guess.”

Be snappy and quick-witted with unpredictable contestants. Game shows can draw a wide array of personality types, so it is important to manage the players if you have someone who is a little far out there. You have to still be friendly to them, but if you have a player who is being sarcastic or sassy, you can try to make it something to joke about to keep them in the spirit of the game. With particularly difficult contestants, hosts sometimes cross the line between joking banter and insulting. You want to make sure you keep it friendly. You could say, “Can someone check Stacy’s buzzer, she seems to be a little behind.” But don’t say, “Whew, Stacy, you don’t seem to understand this game at all.”