The Cross-Wits premiered on December 15, 1975, and lasted for five years until it's cancellation on September 12, 1980. It was hosted by Jack Clark and produced by Ralph Edwards Productions. Cross-Wits had a revival version in 1986, hosted by David Sparks. The show's title in this version lacked a hyphen, so it was known as "Crosswits".

This show pits two teams of three (two celebrities & one contestant) in a game of filling in crossword puzzles. Each word in the crossword puzzle is a clue to a master puzzle.

Example:
LATE
NIGHT
TALK
SHOW
HOST


Answer: David Letterman




The 1975 Version's Main Game
At the beginning of each round host Clark announced the subject of the master puzzle. Then the contestant captain chose which position in the crossword puzzle to identify, and which star to play that position. Afterwhich host Clark read a crossword clue to that word. If the star couldn't answer the clue, then the contestant could answer it, but if neither one answered it correctly then control went to the opposing team; otherwise they kept control if they answered it correctly. Each correct awarded $10 times the number of letters in the word. For instance, if the word was "SCIENTIST", then the word would be worth $90 since there are nine letters in the word. After each correct answer (except for the last word), the contestant could either choose another position or solve the master puzzle (for which only the contestant could solve). If the contestant captain did solve the puzzle, he/she earned $100. The game was played in an unmentioned time limit, and the contestant with the most money when time expired won the game.


The 1986 Version's Main Game
The game was played the same way as the previous version except for these changes:

The game is played in three rounds & with this scoring format: 
Round 1 - 5 points per letter, 50 points for the solution 
Round 2 - 10 points per letter, 100 points for the solution 
Round 3 - 20 points per letter, 200 points for the solution 
Contestants no longer receive money equivalent to their score 

The Crossfire Round (Both Versions)
The winning player plays a bonus round called The Crossfire Round along with his/her choice of celebrity partner. They were shown one last crossword puzzle with 10 words, none of which are clues to a master puzzle. The host read rapid-fire clues to each of the 10 words. Each correct word won a prize for the contestant, and if they could solve all ten in 60 seconds or less, they won the grand prize.

In the 1975 version the contestant wins a standard prize package, while in 1986 the contestant wins a trip plus a chance to win a car.


The Car Round ('86 Version)
The winning contestant was faced with three celebrities whom didn't play that day's Crossfire Round. After choosing which car to play for the contestant chose which star hid that car. If he/she is correct, the winning player won that chosen car.


Notes
There was a UK version of Crosswits which premiered while the 1986 revival still aired. (See Crosswits (UK Version) for more details).


1975
Several game show hosts appeared in this version (the revival had game show hosts too). During one week, game show couples faced off against each other. They were Allen Ludden & Betty White and Ann & Bill Cullen. The Luddens won that week 3 games-2 games.


1986
The revival was taped at Studio 33 (now called the Bob Barker Studio) at CBS Television City in Hollywood, CA.

This version was the first to have a female announcer (most announcers before that time were male). Her name is Michelle Roth, these days she now works for the current version of Family Feud.