Wipeout was a short-lived U.S. game show, which aired in 1988 with Peter Tomarken former host of Press Your Luck hosting. It also later became a British game show of the same name, presented by Paul Daniels (1995-1997) and later Bob Monkhouse (1998-2003). It was also an Australian game show hosted by Tony Johnston. The title comes from the fact that incorrect answers cause the contestants to lose their acculumlated prize money.


The Main Game

Round One
In the first round, there are three contestants, who start with no money in the bank. The board is made up of a 16 screens, each of which has 16 possible answers to a question (one per screen), 11 of which are correct, and the remaining 5 of which are incorrect, or Wipeouts. One contestant starts, and has to guess one of the correct answers, and wins money if they do so. However, if they get an incorrect answer, they lose all the money they have accumulated. After a correct answer, a contestant can either play on, and guess again, or pass the subject to the next player along, who must guess an answer. This continues until either all the Wipeouts, or the correct answers, have gone.

This is what they score in any country:

In America - $25 for the first answer, plus 25 for every susequent answer revealed with the last being worth $275. 
In the UK - £10 for the first answer, plus 10 for every susequent answer revealed with the last being worth £110. 
In Australia - there were two boards & since it was a kid's game show they played for points. Each correct answer on the first board was worth 25 points & correct answers on the second board were worth 50 points. 
Behind one of the correct answers is a "Hot Spot". The player who selects that answer and avoids a "Wipeout" for the rest of that round wins a bonus prize. If the player with the "Hot Spot" finds a "Wipeout", the "Hot Spot" goes back on the board behind one of the remaining correct answers.

After the first round, whoever has the least amount of money accumulated is eliminated, and any money accumulated so far is "safe".


Round Two
The second round is a best of 3 competition, with a similar board to the first round, but with 8 correct answers, and 4 Wipeouts. Each board is preceded by an auction, with the players bidding on the number of answers they can get right, with the winner having to get as many correct answers as they bid, and winning the board if they do so. If they fail, then their opponent can win the board by getting one correct answer, otherwise play passes to the first player to get an answer correct, and so on until someone gets a correct answer, and wins the board. The first player to win 2 boards wins the game, and goes onto the final.


The Final Round
In the final, there is just one contestant, trying to win a car. A new board with 12 monitors is present, with 6 correct, and 6 wrong answers. There is one minute available, and the player selects 6 answers, then must press a button. If all the answers chosen are correct, the contestant wins, but if not the number correct is shown, so the contestant must work out the correct answers in the time available, to win the car.

NOTE: In the Australian version, kid's play for a different grand prize.