History Main / RetiredGameShowElement

** "Back to School" weeks or other weeks where children aged 10-12 competed. These offered much easier material in addition to categories about tween trends and pop culture. The first one was held in 1999, and they were done twice a year in most of the TurnOfTheMillennium. However, two sportsmanship incidents forced ''Jeopardy!'' to stop doing them. The first was in July 2013 when a contestant's misspelled response was deemed unacceptable, sending social media in an uproar- what was ridiculous was that it wouldn’t have affected the game’s outcome regardless of if it was correct, as the winner had amassed such a high score that it would have been impossible to beat him. During the last week in December 2014, Alex had an incident with a StageMom who demanded that an act be re-shot to accommodate a child finishing Double Jeopardy! in the red.

** '''Megaword''' (1994-95; Season 12), an eight- to thirteen-letter word which gave a cash bonus for using the word in a sentence. It had all the hallmarks of a bad idea: aside from Pat's clear dislike of it from the start (making it the ButtMonkey of Season 12), Megaword had lackluster judging, an unusually-high difficulty level (thanks to generally lacking common letters), really long play times that added to production costs, and players clearly being unfamiliar with the word (leading to incorrect answers with only vowels remaining or, in at least one case, the entire answer revealed)...and yet it managed to get used at least 31 times in its 6½-month lifespan.

** "Back to School" weeks or other weeks where children aged 10-12 competed. These offered much easier material in addition to categories about tween trends and pop culture. The first one was held in 1999, and they were done twice a year in most of the TurnOfTheMillennium. However, two sportsmanship incidents forced ''Jeopardy!'' to stop doing them. The first was in July 2013 when a contestant's misspelled response was deemed unacceptable, sending social media in an uproar- what was ridiculous was that it wouldn’t have affected the game’s outcome regardless of if it was correct. During the last week in December 2014, Alex had an incident with a StageMom who demanded that an act be re-shot to accommodate a child finishing Double Jeopardy! in the red.

* If a family has a successful steal, the value of the stolen answer is not added to the bank. This changed after Bullseye was added to the show; a family that came up with a stolen answer was awarded the points it was worth. The current version of the show retained this rule for its first four seasons. Karn's second season introduced the play-to-300-points format, denying families the right to extra points for stealing the bank.

** "Back to School" weeks or other weeks where children aged 10-12 competed. These offered much easier material in addition to categories about tween trends and pop culture. The first one was held in 1999, and they were done twice a year in most of the TurnOfTheMillennium. However, two sportsmanship incidents forced ''Jeopardy!'' to stop doing them. The first was in July 2013 when a contestant's misspelled response was deemed unacceptable, sending social media in an uproar. During the last week in December 2014, Alex had an incident with a StageMom who demanded that an act be re-shot to accommodate a child finishing Double Jeopardy! in the red.

* From 2001-2022, the show had a Clue Crew. This team of {{Lovely Assistant}}s provided visual clues and categories. Clue Crew material was drastically reduced when the show resumed production during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Clue Crew was retired after Season 38 finished production.

** Celebrity shows, on the syndicated version at least. Special weeks were done annually in TheNineties with several one-offs scattered late in the decade. They were sporadically done in the following decade, culminating in a special $1,000,000 tournament in Season 26. The last celebrity week was held in Season 31, and none have been held since. A primetime tournament was held in the 2022-2023 primetime season on ABC.

* In the Fleming version and the first 30 years of the syndicated run, players who finished tied for the lead were declared co-champions and played again on the next show. Since November 2014, ties have been decided by tiebreaker clues. The winner becomes the returning champion on the next show, and the loser departs with the $3,000 prize for second place.

* In the Fleming version and the first 30 years of the syndicated run, players who finished tied for the lead were declared co-champions and played again on the next show. Since November 2014, ties have been decided by tiebreaker clues. The winner becomes the returning champion on the next show, and the loser departs with the $2,000 prize for second place.

* Now here's a rare example that didn't last a whole episode: the game "Breakthrough & Conquer" during the first half of ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' Season 1 had the ring (the "Conquer" portion of the game) elevated in one episode. When gladiator Sunny [[http://gameshowgarbage.com/ind007_agconquer.html dislocated her knee]], the original non-elevated ring was brought back ''right after the commercial break''.

* When ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' returned in 1984, one notable change was that only the contestant who won the game got to keep the money they won — the other players left with a ConsolationPrize. Beginning on May 16, 2002, the show replaced these with cash prizes: $1,000 for third place and $2,000 for second.

** If a family has a successful steal, the value of the stolen answer is not added to the bank. This changed after Bullseye was added to the show; a family that came up with a stolen answer was awarded the points it was worth. The current version of the show retained this rule for its first four seasons. Karn's second season introduced the play-to-300-points format, denying families the right to extra points for stealing the bank.

** The nighttime '''Jackpot''', which started at $5,000 and increased with every dollar amount hit. To claim the Jackpot, a contestant had to hit the wedge (adding $500 to the total starting in September 2006), call a right consonant (worth $500 a pop), and solve all on the same turn. Introduced in September 1996, retired June 2013.

** The '''½ Car''' tags which allowed contestants to win a subcompact or compact car by claiming both halves and solving the puzzle. For a week in Season 28, they were each a ⅓-size space surrounded by ⅓-size $500 wedges. When introduced permanently three weeks into Season 29, the tags covered the "5"s on two $500 spaces. Hitting one added $500 per letter to a contestant's score along with the tag. Each time a tag was landed on, a double car horn sounded. ½ Car tags were lost if a contestant hit Bankrupt or if an opponent solved the puzzle in the same round a tag was picked up. The ½ Car was not used on team weeks with the exception of episodes where married couples played. The tags were originally on the wheel for the first three rounds of play. Starting in Season 33, the tags were only available in Rounds 2 and 3. The ½ Car was retired at the end of Season 36.
* When the Bonus Round became permanent in 1981, players asked for five consonants and one vowel that would help them fill as many letters in the blank puzzle as necessary to solve with a 15-second time limit. However, [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome almost everyone]] wound up picking R, S, T, L, N, and E, with the occasional C or D replacing one of the consonants. On October 3, 1988, the rules changed to give the contestants those letters and have them pick three extra consonants and one vowel. The time limit was also reduced to 10 seconds.

* In the Fleming version and the first 30 years of the syndicated run, players who finished tied for the lead were declared co-champions and played again on the next show. Since November 2014, ties have been decided by tiebreaker clues. The winner becomes the returning champion on the next show, and the loser is given the $2,000 prize for second place.

* In the Fleming version and the first 30 years of the Trebek run, players who finished tied for the lead were declared co-champions and played again on the next show. Since November 2014, ties have been decided by tiebreaker clues. The winner becomes the returning champion on the next show, and the loser is given the $2,000 prize for second place.

** The Teen Tournament which was held on a rotational basis from 1986-2019. This had slightly easier material to accommodate the contestants being high school age. Prior to 2001, the Teen Tournament winner was guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions. While no official Teen Tournaments have been held since the COVID-19 pandemic cut Season 36 short, a High School Reunion Tournament is being planned for Season 39. This event will be composed of 27 past Teen Tournament players with $100,000 and a Tournament of Champions berth for the winner.

** Celebrity shows, on the syndicated version at least. Special weeks were done annually in TheNineties with several one-offs scattered late in the decade. They were sporadically done in the following decade, culminating in a special $1,000,000 tournament in Season 26. The last celebrity week was held in Season 31, and none have been held since. A primetime tournament is being held in the 2022-2023 primetime season on ABC.

* When ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' returned in 1984, one notable change was that only the contestant who won the game got to keep the money they won — the other players left with a ConsolationPrize. Beginning on May 16, 2002, the show replaced the prizes with $1,000 for third place and $2,000 for second place.

** Similarly, when the syndicated Bonus Round setup was altered in October 1987 to have the player pick from five nice prizes displayed onstage, [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome many contestants]] went for the [[MoneyDearBoy $25,000 cash]]. Those that didn't chose the luxury cars, and very rarely was anything else picked. In September 1989, the format changed to the contestant choosing a random envelope from the letters W-H-E-E-L before being replaced with the current Bonus Wheel in October 2001.

** The '''Free Play''' wedge. It worked similar to the Free Spin except the extra turn was taken as soon as the wedge was hit, and no extra turn was offered if the first turn was successful. The wedge also offered a free vowel. Free Play was removed from the wheel in the first run of ''Celebrity Wheel of Fortune'', and its retirement was made official at the beginning of Season 39.

* The original "Beat the Dragon" BonusRound involved contestants looking for a hidden tic-tac-toe among four X's and four O's on the game board while avoiding the Dragon. The contestant earned $150 per square revealed and could stop and take the money at any time. When the series moved to syndication, this changed to contestants picking squares hiding amounts from $100-$500 with $1,000 as the goal. Finding TIC and TAC meant the contestant automatically won.

* Time Is Money (debuted 2003): In its original incarnation, there was a major rule change on its third playing that removed the $500 voucher that could be traded for a second try (making its name an ArtifactTitle, plus the producers had trouble filming and editing the game. Roger had planned a comeback on the Turntable with a smaller set, but never ended up getting around to it before he was fired. The game was absent for 10 years until making a surprise return in September 2014, with a new set and revamped rules. This time, the game is now played for a $20,000 prize, with the contestant receiving a 10-second attempt for the full prize, and then a TrialAndErrorGameplay round a la Bonkers with the money draining away.

* Back to '72 (2021-22): A special {{Retraux}} game specifically for the 50th season MilestoneCelebration.

** In the Fleming version and the first 30 years of the Trebek run, players who finished tied for the lead were declared co-champions and played again on the next show. Since November 2014, ties have been decided by tiebreaker clues. The winner becomes the returning champion on the next show, and the loser is given the $2,000 prize for second place.

** The Seniors Tournament, held annually from Season 3 through Season 12. This tournament was open to people at least 50 years of age, although redundant in the sense that qualifiers could audition normally. Originally held in May, it moved to July to accommodate the College Championship. The last Seniors Tournament was held in December 1995, likely so it could be burned off.

** The Teen Tournament which was held on a rotational basis from 1986-2019. This had slightly easier material to accommodate the contestants being high school age. Prior to 2001, the Teen Tournament winner was guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions. The show's official website has not made mention of any future Teen Tournaments since the COVID-19 pandemic cut Season 36 short.