Lingo is an American television game show that GSN produced along with other companies. Versions of Lingo have also existed in other countries.

Broadcast history
The first US attempt at airing Lingo was in 1987, and the host was Michael Reagan, son of then President Ronald Reagan. The show was produced by Ralph Andrews (in association with Bernstein/Hovis Productions) in Canada for syndication in the US. This version of the show has become somewhat controversial, with allegations that the cash-strapped producers didn't pay some winning contestants their prizes. Despite the show's checkered run, versions of Lingo were subsequently produced in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Quebec and, most notably, The Netherlands.

On August 5, 2002, Game Show Network started airing the first episodes of its version of Lingo, with host Chuck Woolery. The first 20 episodes were recorded in The Netherlands, on the set of its Dutch counterpart; subsequent episodes were produced in the US. Three more seasons began in December of 2002, December of 2003, and August of 2005 respectively. The co-host for the third season was Stacey Hayes -- in early episodes, she was joined by a second co-host, but that role was quickly eliminated.

Shandi Finnessey, Miss USA 2004, took over as co-host for the fourth season.

GSN held a tournament of champions with particularly successful contestants from its second and third seasons. The network reruns earlier seasons of Lingo extensively on its current schedule. GSN has also approved a fifth season for the show, to premiere sometime in 2006.

Like any TV show Lingo has its detractors. But reviews have generally been positive. Fans of the show say the cleverly designed gameplay offers much play-along value for the viewer, Woolery maintains a friendly atmosphere with touches of humor, and the competition often generates real suspense. Unfriendly critics have derided the show's paltry prizes, the sometimes anticlimactic bonus round, and the introduction of Stacey Hayes as co-host in the third season.


How the game is played

Original 1987 Version

Main Game
The game is played between two teams. At the start of the game, each one gets a "Lingo" card with 25 spaces on it the champs' card contains even numbers, and the challengers' contains odd numbers. Seven numbers on each card are automatically covered at the start of the game. The team in control (beginning with the challengers) are shown the first letter of a five-letter mystery word, afterwhich they must try to guess the word and spell it out. After each guess, a square is placed around letters that are in the word and in their correct position, and a circle is placed around letters that are NOT in their correct position, but in the word. If they fail to identify the word in five guesses, fail to answer at anytime within the time limit during their turn, or give a misspelled/nonexistent word, the other team gets a chance to guess; if there is more than one letter unrevealed, one of those letters is revealed, and the team is given five seconds to make a guess. If there is only one unrevealed letter in the word, it is not revealed, but during the five seconds of thinking time, the team is allowed to confer.

The first team to solve the word gets a chance to pull out two lingo balls out of a hopper in front of them. 18 of them have numbers that correspond to the numbers on the board, three of them are red in which if pulled out, the team loses their turn. Also in the hopper are three prize balls (one of them being a jackpot ball which starts at $1,000 plus $500 for every game the jackpot wasn't claimed). The first team to make a lingo wins the game, $250 and the right to play the No Lingo round. Later in the show's run, the prize was $500 for a vertical or horizontal Lingo, $1,000 for a diagonal Lingo, and $2,000 for a Double Lingo (two lines completed with the same ball).


No Lingo
The winning team plays a bonus round called "No Lingo" (there's a very good reason for it which will be explained later). The team is shown another Lingo card, with sixteen numbers automatically covered before the start of the round, arranged in a star shape along the diagonals, middle row and "N" (middle) column; the center space, where the free space is on a normal bingo card, was left uncovered. The contestants were given $500 to start. They're shown another five-letter mystery word in which first two letters are shown. Each time the team misses the word, one draw is added (incresing the danger of making a lingo), and missing the word entirely gives the team seven pulls. After the draw is completed, if the team avoids making a "lingo," their money is doubled to $1,000. They can either take that $1,000 and quit, or go on and try to double their money to $2,000 this time (this option is offered to them each time a draw is completed during the round). Also in the hopper this round is a gold ball which, if drawn, was an automatic win at that level — the prize is doubled on the spot, and a new word is played unless the team elects to stop and take the money. (The gold ball was also returned to the hopper when drawn.) The numbers on the card were all odd numbers, and all the odd numbers from 1 to 75 were present on balls in the hopper, so a number drawn might not be on the card at all. (In the main game, the numbered balls always represented numbers present on the card.)

If they make a lingo at anytime during a draw, they lose the money they've earned up to that point, and the round is over, but if they can successfully identify five words and then avoid making a lingo, they win $16,000. For the team's second crack at the "No Lingo Round", they start with $1,000 and work their way up to $32,000, and for their third and final No Lingo Round, they begin with $2,000, and victory is worth $64,000.

Later in the show's run, when the prize structure was changed for the main game, that main game prize was the opening "stake" for the bonus round. Up to five words would be played, which made the top prize $64,000 if the main game was won with a Double Lingo. Six balls were drawn if a word was not guessed at any level. Additionally, teams played until they were defeated twice in the main game.


Current Version

Main Game
The main game play is nearly identical to the original version, except that the object is to score the most points, instead of scoring a lingo before first. A correct guess of a word scores 25 points. The team has five guesses at the word, though if the team does not guess correctly, the opposing team is given control of the word and is granted a bonus letter. Control of the word will also be given to the opposing team if any of the following situations occur: The team runs out of time, guess is spelled wrong (and doesn't spell another legitimate word), guess isn't the length of a five letter word, guess isn't a word, the guess is a word that has already been guessed, or if the guess is a proper noun. Also, the guess must also begin with the established first letter of the word, otherwise control passes to the other team, but this may have only been encountered in the fourth season. A bonus letter will not be given if four out of five of the letters have been identified. Doing this would simply solve the word entirely. If both teams miss a word at the point where a word only has one missing letter left, the word is thrown out and a new one is played.


Lingo board
Play is again similar to the original version, except that ten numbers are marked off for each team at the start of the game. A Lingo scores and 50 points, unlike the original version where scoring a lingo won the game outright. A new Lingo card is then assigned and the other team starts on a puzzle. A red ball (now often called a "stopper," perhaps owing to Chuck's Scrabble experience), when drawn, passes control to the other team for the next puzzle as with the original version. No prize balls are featured as was done in the original version.


Second round
After time runs out for the first round, the second round begins. Lingo cards carry over from the first round. Point values are doubled, meaning a correct word guess is worth 50 points and a Lingo worth 100. Also, three "question mark" balls are added, and they can represent a number of the team's choice. After the second round is over, the team with the most points advances to Bonus Lingo.

If there is a tied score at the end of the second round, and time runs out, a tie-breaker is played. A mystery seven-letter word is shown, and the first and last letters are displayed. Teams must ring in on the red button on the podium with the correct word to advance to the Bonus Lingo round. An incorrect guess locks a team out, and gives a free letter to the opposing team. If that team does not know it, their opponents are unlocked and anybody can guess. If nobody knows what the word is, another letter is revealed, and continues to do so until a team figures out the word.


Bonus Lingo
In Bonus Lingo, the contestants try to guess as many words as possible within two minutes. For each correct guess, the team gets a chance to pull out a ball at the end of the round. Unlike the regular game, Bonus Lingo displays two letters at the start of the word instead of just the first letter.

In the first season, thirteen numbers were marked off the card, and a Lingo would mean that the team would win a prize package that was comprised of a digital camera, a bookstore gift card, a watch, and a pocket PC. Win or lose, the team won $100 for each ball.

The bonus round for future seasons was different. The teams could now use bonus letters. One bonus letter was given for winning the game and one for each Lingo attained during the game. Also, the draw was changed. Twelve numbers were marked off in such a way that one number, if drawn, could provide an instant Lingo. The prize for reaching Lingo was $5,000. If the team reached Lingo on the first try, the team also won a trip to Jamaica (season 2), a casino vacation (season 3), or $10,000 total (season 4). If there was no Lingo, $100 per ball was awarded.


GSN.com
In addition to hosting the television show, GSN also maintains a web site featuring the game. There are several different versions of the online game: a free version where users play against each other, and a paid version featuring tournaments with prizes. Occasionally, users of the paid version can win a trip to Los Angeles to play Lingo on the television show.