History IQ was a game show on the History Channel which premiered on October 2, 2000 and aired for two seasons. Marc Summers and Harvey were reunited and continued their original roles as host and announcer, respectively.

During each episode, three contestants participated in a process of elimination game. Season one's daily grand prize was $25,000. The daily grand prize was lowered to $5,000 in season two, but contestants also played for a spot to advance in a tournament in which the contestant who survived an 81-contestant field over eight weeks would win $250,000. The tournament was won by attorney Robin Grover; his winning episode aired on June 22, 2001. Shortly afterwards, the History Channel banished it to Saturday morning reruns at 6 a.m., where it is still being aired today.

The game was played in three rounds as follows:


Round 1
"Eye Q": A toss-up question was posed to the contestants after a brief historical video clip. The first contestant to buzz in and correctly answer the question earned $100 and control of the game. That contestant was allowed to answer questions related to the toss-up; each correct answer netted an additional $50. If the contestant answered incorrectly or if time ran out to answer, the other contestants could buzz in and take the $50 and control. The player with the lowest score at the end of the round was eliminated from the game.

In season two, the contestants were presented with a headline and three related facts, one of which was incorrect. The contestants were to buzz in and select the incorrect fact; successfully doing so netted $100, but incorrect guesses lost $100. The contestant who answered correctly was then asked a follow-up question. Correct responses earned $50 while incorrect ones lost $50.


Round 2
"Tri Q": The two remaining contestants were presented with a list of three people or items, followed by a question from Summers. The contestants needed to determine which of the people or items correctly answered the question. Correct answers earned $200 and control of the follow-up question. The player in control could either answer the follow-up or pass it to the opponent. A correct answer earned $100, but incorrect answers took money away.
The final Tri Q question in the round was the speed challenge. Summers presented another list of three names or items, but instead of a regular Tri Q question, Summers gave the contestants a clue. The contestants had to buzz in and identify which item from the list matched the clue. Each correct answer was worth $100 apiece, and the contestants had to answer as many questions as possible in 45 seconds. The contestant with the most money at the end of the round moved onto the final round.


Bonus Game (The History IQ Timeline)
"History IQ Timeline": The winning contestant was given a list of ten news headlines, one for each year in a span of ten years (i.e., 1914 to 1923). Each headline was to be matched to its corresponding year within 60 seconds. The player earned $500 for each correct placement; ten correct placements earned the $25,000 grand prize. Throughout the 60 second limit, the contestant could check his progress up to five times using "hot buttons." This allowed him to see how many headlines were in the right position (but not which ones.)

The Timeline was altered for season two, as contestants were presented with headlines one at a time and the grand prize was $5,000. When a headline was shown, the contestant had to pick the year the headline took place. If the correct year was picked, the headline was placed. Otherwise, the contestant could either select a different year or pass to place the next headline. Contestants had to place all ten headlines correctly to win the $5,000. Unlike season one, money was not awarded for each correct placement.

During the show's original run, home viewers could play along with the game online at the History IQ website. This is no longer available.

History IQ was produced by Glow in the Dark Productions.