Wordplay was a game show, which ran on NBC from December 29, 1986-September 4, 1987. It was hosted by Tom Kennedy, and was the last game show he hosted prior to his retirement.

The game was played by two contestants on a board with 9 words. A contestant would select a word, and each of three celebrity panelists would give a definition of the word. The contestant would then have to guess which celebrity's definition was the correct one. Correct responses earned cash. The board was arranged in such a way as that some words connected to other words. Connecting words would be worth cash in the amount of all the spaces connected to the word selected. However, if a contestant guessed wrong, the challenger could get the money if they guessed correctly. In the event that both contestants guessed wrong, the space became a block, preventing connecting dollar amounts through that space.

Dollar amounts were doubled in round 2, and doubled again in round 3. At the end of the third round, the player with the most money played a bonus round, in which the player would play on a different board for an increasing cash jackpot. Also, in the main game, one word was designated a bonus word. The contestant who picked that word AND got the right definition would win a trip.

The bonus round was called Double Definitions (although it was called Speedword in the first episode, a name already used by fellow NBC game show Scrabble). The contestant is shown 24 connecting boxes on a 4-row/6-column grid. Behind each one were two definitions, each defining a common word (i.e. "Writing Implement/Animal Enclosure" would be "Pen."), and the contestant would have to guess that word. The contestant had 45 seconds to start at the left and make a connection to the right (ala the Gold Run in Blockbusters). S/he could make as many guesses as wished, but if s/he passed, a block would go up and s/he would have to work around it. Each correct guess paid $100, but if the connection was made, the contestant won a jackpot which started at $5,000 and increased by $2,500 when unclaimed (the highest jackpot was $27,500).

The series replaced the long-running soap opera Search for Tomorrow.

Announcer: Charlie O'Donnell. Music by Level 22. A Syd Vinnedge-Scotti Bros. Production in association with Fiedler-Berlin Productions and Rick Ambrose Productions.