10

Who would have thought a simple show about surveying people would be this big of a hit. The concept itself is in 3 of the Top 11 shows.

Why we like it: The show itself has been huge in every incarnation but Richard Dawson is still the best at what he does - the British Swanky bordering on dirty game show host. He even got a movie gig out of it as he played Killian on The Running Man.

Trivia time: The original "Feud" theme music by Bob Israel was based on a piece often played on "Price Is Right, The" (1972) for new cars; it was re-recorded as a banjo-picking, hillbilly-type theme song. John Lewis Parker sampled it for the 1999 incarnation.

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Trivia time: Elaine & Diane Klimaszewski, models during the 1990 version, went on to further fame as "The Coors Twins".

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Why we like it: Some critic in our panel call it 'Wheel of Stupid People', but avid players know you need word smarts and financial strategy to be successful at the game. Part of the allure is also WHO is turning the letters as we see Vanna White (who got to Contestants Row on a game show that's further down the list).

Trivia time: Wheel was the first game show to be closed-captioned.

7

Trivia time: "Password Plus" got its title when Carol Burnett was in a run-through of "Password '79", and she said "This is more than Password, it's Password plus!"

6

Simply put, the game that changed everything. All you had to do was answer 15 multiple choice questions and you can win one million dollars. Simple, yet very complex.

Why we like it: As Survivor was essential to the resurgence of the reality show, Millionaire was essential to the resurgence of the traditional game show. Regis Philbin and Meredith Vieira had their own charms to add to this game, which still needs to find a way to get back to Primetime.

Trivia Time: The Japanese version boasts the highest number of millionaires with 23, although many of them came from celebrity players.

5

Quite possibly the best word game show created, it had generations racing up the monolith for mega money.

Why we like it: Let's take the Donny Osmond version and put it away from our mind. Far, far away. Dick Clark was the master emcee for this show of word relaying. The bonus round may be the best round ever created in the history of game shows.

Trivia Time: Billy Crystal set the record by going up the Pyramid in 26 seconds.

4

Bill Cullen and an auction format launched on NBC in 1956. Fifty years and countless accords later, Bob Barker is STILL going at it.

Why we like it: This show, ironically, got the most amount of #1 votes, but this never made it on some people's lists. Still, this show, which is going 35 years strong, continually reinvents itself and Bob Barker is going strong right along with it.

Trivia Time: as of June 27, 6411 installments have aired of the current incarnation.

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Why we like it: so it only lasted for 3 seasons. This game has everything. Knowledge, strategy, intuition and or course, luck. It also made a household name of Peter Tomarken, Rod Roddy and those cute little mischievous Whammies.

Trivia time: One of the show's many running gags was the "Flokati Rug", a prize offered in the first round of many episodes. Although one of the lowest-valued prizes ever offered (only $350), the Flokati rug appeared to carry a "curse" to whoever landed on it; that contestant, it seemed, would invariably lose the game, or (if he or she did win) would hit a Whammy before being able to claim the prize and thus find out what a "Flokati" rug was supposed to be. It wasn't long before Peter started making jokes about it during the show, and (even though it was eventually won by a few contestants) the Flokati rug remains one of the unofficial "symbols" of Press Your Luck to many fans. The Flokati Rug is mentioned on one of the PYL shorts from USA Network's syndication run of Press Your Luck. The Flokati Rug returned in the Gameshow Marathon version of PYL. Kathy Najimy landed on the Flokati Rug, now valued at $1799... and promptly Whammied the rug away three spins later. As for the '80s Rug, it was awarded to the contestant whose total winnings caused the show to top $6 million in total winnings.

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Why we like it: Maybe this was GSN's choice, but it wasn't ours. All you have to do is match the stars and fill in the joke punchline. We're still waiting for a good remake of this show. Come on. We know you can do it.

Trivia time: former contestants include actresses Kirstie Alley & Jenny Jones, and NFL coach Brian Billick.

1

It's America's favorite quiz show in which you have to give the questions to answer such as this one...

"What is Jeopardy!?"

Why we like it: We admit that the majority of us are eggheads. We also admit that this show, now in it's 23rd year in this incarnation, also has that perfect mix of knowledge, strategy and luck. Although the players don't use that strategy as much as we'd like them to, it's still the best game out there with no signs of slowing down.

Trivia time: One contestant in the Trebek era actually won the game with only $1 (then Air Force Lt. Col. Darryl Scott, he won another $13,401 the next day); there have been few players who have held the co-champ title twice, and there has never been a three-way tie

Final Jeopardy!: This is the title of the show's infamous theme from 1984.... what is "Think!"

5

Which person in your group is sabotaging your chances of making money?

Why we like it: This show really did not get the love that is should have gotten here in the states. Maybe it was too esoteric or maybe us Americans are smarter than the rest of the world. This show is really clever and should have lasted longer.

Trivia time:  Mensa hailed it as "the smartest show on television".

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Or maybe we prefer to see our entertainment in a more cut-throat fashion. Donald Trump is the PERFECT host for this show, where it's only business and never personal.

Why we like it: As much as we like to bust on Mark Burnett, there are two shows that he created that are ingrained in our game show psyche. This is one of them.

Trivia time: Instead of becoming the CEO of one of Trump's companies, the winners of the show are hired as PR spokesmen for Trump and his brand. For example, Kelly Perdew, winner of the second season has been reported as working at a desk "in a small, windowless space next to the assistant to Donald Trump's wife. It was reported that Kelly is mainly involved in Sales and Marketing rather than the so called President/CEO role."

3

America's biggest interactive musical competition. Vote for your favorite performer.

Why we like it: Thousands of pages have been devoted to American Idol commentary... on our site alone. We love our Chaos Theory and we love this show. Everything about this show in terms of personnel is not only perfect, but the blueprint in what future shows have been churning out. That being said, nothing beats the original.

Trivia time: Two brothers from Denver named Jimmy and Scott Osterman were among the hopefuls at the "American Idol 2" tryouts in Austin, Texas. Their audition, which included a cringe-making version of Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract", had judge Simon Cowell about to deliver a scathing putdown when the pair revealed themselves to be "Pop Idol" hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly in disguise.

2

The Tribe has spoken. THIS is the show that put reality gaming on the map. Mark Burnett's original baby of 16 people playing a socialist version of Diplomacy has expanded to a billion dollar business.

Why we like it: After 12 seasons of show, this still amazes and delights people everywhere, and if you think it's run out of steam, just listen to all of the buzz that they are getting from 4 tribes of different races. 

Trivia time: The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, was considered as a host for Survivor, but was told that being a New Zealander counted against him.

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The Amazing Race, hosted by Phil Keoghan, is the most exciting and thrilling hour in reality television. The last 5 minutes of the show can literally keep you on the edge of your seat.

Why we like it: You are never safe. Time after time, we have seen people drop from first to Philiminated. The stunts, the excitement and the unforeseen twists is why this show is our favorite reality show.

Trivia time: Four teams in the history of The Amazing Race failed to reach the end of a leg. Joe & Bill (Season 1) and David & Jeff (Season 4) were way behind during the Final Leg and had to be notified that the race had finished. Marshall & Lance (Season 5), being plagued by a knee injury and already losing enthusiasm for the race, decided to quit The Amazing Race (the only team ever to do so). Lena & Kristy (Season 6) were unable to complete (but never gave up) a luck-based Roadblock, and host Phil Keoghan had to go out and officially eliminate them.

The Final Leg: the longest Race ever was the fifth Race... all 72,000 miles of it.