History Main / PhoneInGameShows

* The Scottish comedy ''[[Series/LimmysShow Limmy's Show]]'' had the recurring sketch "Adventure Call", a phone-in [[InteractiveFiction text adventure game]] hosted by a man named Falconhoof (who may or may not be a parody of [[{{Main/Raven}} Raven]]), which charges calls [[TakeYourTime by the minute]]

* The Scottish comedy ''[[Series/LimmysShow Limmy's Show]]'' had a sketch with such a show called "Adventure Call", which is supposedly phone-in quiz meets retro RolePlayingGame (with a presenter named Falconhoof, who looks a lot like [[{{Main/Raven}} Raven]].)
** In one edition, a stereotypical contestant's decision to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfKhDiUNOG0 get the winged sandals]] is denied, as allegedly, you can't make a choice until Falconhoof has finished explaining them. Arguments ensue when said sandals are needed to cross a chasm with the PlotCoupon at the other end.
** And when Falconhoof gets a [[LovelyAssistant Lovely (yet annoying) Assistant]] jester, the caller clearly isn't amused, and wants her dead. Somehow, he actually honors the caller's request.

** And when Falconhoof gets a [[LovelyAssistant Lovely (yet annoying) Assistant]] jester, the caller clearly isn't amused, and wants her dead.
-->'''Caller''': It's my money, it's my game: kill her.

--->

** In one such sketch, someone's decision to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfKhDiUNOG0 get the winged sandals]] is denied, as allegedly, you can't make a choice until Falconhoof has finished explaining them. Arguments ensue when said sandals are needed to cross a chasm with the PlotCoupon at the other end.

-->...oh I'm so sorry, the answer we were looking for was "Vest Port"!

!!One of the hidden GameShowTropes on the prize board is hiding $5,000!

A phone-in game show is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, they're a form of live GameShow where viewers can call in to a special number and hopefully get a chance to come on air to potentially win something by providing an answer to a question or logic puzzle. They are insanely popular in Europe as a fixture of late-night television on quite a few commercial channels, and even on dedicated ''quiz channels'' that dedicate their lineup to only this type of show. If done right, they can at least be [[RuleOfFun fun to watch]], and leave you wondering if you should even phone in and give it a shot yourself!

#Take few calls, or don't even take any! Hope they don't actually have winning answers, especially if you made the question [[UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer ridiculously hard]] or [[EasierThanEasy ridiculously easy]].

Some politicians and regulatory organizations have asserted that despite appearing to be a game of skill, these programs are essentially a form of gambling since you need to pay to play (in most cases, serving as the main revenue source), and the odds of even getting on-air (or even getting the answer right for that matter) are quite slim. In late 2006, these concerns became the conduit for part of series of scandals in Britain surrounding the use of premium-rate lines on television as a whole. Complaints surfaced that ''Quiz Call'' producers had allegedly told its receptionists to completely ignore calls for a period (where they received 100 to 200 calls at 75p each), another show was accused of having their own ''staff'' posing as winning callers, and of course, the whole thing about those "impossible" questions.

At the first signs of the scandal, the damage had already been done: ITV shut down its all-games digital channel ITV Play (and suspended all use of premium-rate lines), Channel Five got fined £300,000 for having such a show coming up with a fake winner's name on a daytime phone-in game, Channel Four sold off its stake in Quiz Call (which folded at the start of 2007, but came back for a time on Five), and quiz channels became an endangered species in the UK altogether. Similar controversies have occurred elsewhere, though.

!!This genre provides examples of:

-->''Come on! You only have 60 seconds left to call in for a shot at $100! All you have to do is unscramble this famous thing! "TVTORPES"! Keep ringing those phones! We don't have all night! Call! Call now! [[hottip:*:Charge of $100 will be placed on phone bill per call, 18+ only, many will enter, very few will have a bloody chance.]]''

** ''Play TV Canada'' (which was produced in Budapest, by the same people responsible for one of the same name in Ireland) controversially threw [[http://mikebattista.com/2009/12/05/play-tv-canada-has-no-legs/ this]] one at viewers: "4 girls are travelling on a bus. Each of them have 3 baskets, in each basket there are 4 cats. Each cat has 3 little kittens. How many legs are in the bus?" [[hottip:answer:"222": The kittens were not on the bus, and the count included the driver's legs, and the legs of the seats as well]]

>> ...oh I'm so sorry, the answer we were looking for was "Vest Port"!

* LetsJustSeeWhatWouldHaveHappened: ...oh I'm so sorry, the answer we were looking for was "Vest Port"!

* OneEpisodeWonder: ''The Debbie King Show'', aired by ITV Play, was a cross between a phone-in quiz and a news programme. Hosted by [=QuizMania's=] Debbie King, they still decided to go on with the show, even though ITV had announced earlier that day that the Play channel would be "suspended" as part of investigations into their use of premium-rate lines. [[SarcasmMode Whoops.]]

-->''Come on! You only have 60 seconds left to call in for a shot at $100! All you have to do is unscramble the name of this popular web site! "TVTORPES"! Keep ringing those phones! We don't have all night! Call! Call now! [[hottip:*:Charge of $100 will be placed on phone bill per call, 18+ only, many will enter, very few will have a bloody chance.]]''

!!GameShow Tropes in use by this genre:

* LetsJustSeeWhatWouldHaveHappened: ...and no one got the jackpot answer tonight, something Russia is famous for, we have "[[{{WhatAnIdiot/FamilyFeud}} Russians]]"!

Some politicians and regulatory organizations have asserted that despite appearing to be a game of skill, these programs are essentially a form of gambling since you need to pay to play (in most cases, serving as the main revenue source), and the odds of even getting on-air (or even getting the answer right for that matter) are quite slim. In late 2006, these concerns became the conduit for a series of scandals surrounding the use of premium-rate lines on television as a whole. Complaints surfaced that ''Quiz Call'' producers had allegedly told its receptionists to completely ignore calls for a period (where they received 100 to 200 calls at 75p each), another show was accused of having their own ''staff'' appearing as callers, and of course, the whole thing about those "impossible" questions.

* LuckBasedMission: Its legally not. But it is.

* OneEpisodeWonder: ''The Debbie King Show'', a cross between a phone-in quiz and a news programme with [=QuizMania's=] Debbie King on ITV Play. Unfortunately, its premiere came on the exact same day ITV announced it would be suspending the channel due to the premium rate scandal. [[SarcasmMode Whoops.]]

Many people (such as broadcasting watchdogs or politicians) believe that, despite technically being a game of "skill", these shows either equate to gambling (due to the need to pay to participate, and the low chances of actually getting on-air to the studio), or are pretty much trying to scam viewers through the combination of hard questions and other factors. These concerns were the conduit of a series of scandals beginning in 2006 and 2007 in the United Kingdom, where complaints surfaced that one show had allegedly told its receptionists to completely ignore calls for a period (where they received 100 to 200 calls at 75p each), one was accused of having their own ''staff'' appearing as callers, and of course, the whole thing about those "impossible" questions. ITV shut down its all-games digital channel ITV Play (and suspended all use of premium-rate lines), Channel Five got fined £300,000 for having such a show coming up with a fake winner's name on a daytime phone-in game, Channel Four sold off its stake in Quiz Call (which folded at the start of 2007, but came back for a time on Five), and quiz channels became an endangered species in the UK altogether. Similar controversies have occurred elsewhere, though.

** A Canadian show (produced elsewhere) controversially threw [[http://mikebattista.com/2009/12/05/play-tv-canada-has-no-legs/ this]] one at viewers: "4 girls are travelling on a bus. Each of them have 3 baskets, in each basket there are 4 cats. Each cat has 3 little kittens. How many legs are in the bus?" [[hottip:answer:"222": The kittens were not on the bus, and the count included the driver's legs, and the legs of the seats as well]]
** During the British phone-in scandals, one complaint surfaced involving a show which gave the answers "rawlplugs" (a piece of hardware used to anchor a screw into a drywall or plaster wall) and "balaclava" as items a woman would keep in her handbag. Seriously?

-->''Come on! You only have 60 seconds left to call in for a shot at $100! All you have to do is unscramble the name of this popular web site! "TVTORPES"![[hottip:*:Charge of $100 will be placed on phone bill per call, 18+ only, many will enter, very few will have a bloody chance.]]''

#Use a premium-rate phone number, so you can scrape money off callers. Offer an online entry form when legally required, but in any case, bury any of this important information in an UnreadableDisclamier

-->''Come on! You only have 60 seconds left to call in for a shot at $100! All you have to do is unscramble the name of this popular web site! "TVTORPES"!''

#Use a premium-rate phone number, so you can scrape money off callers. Offer an online entry form when legally required, but in any case, bury any of this important information in UnreadableText.

* UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer: Played straight to the Nth degree. Is it any wonder why these shows are targeted by telecom regulators so often? You could probably do a whole ''article'' of them. So here are some notable ones:

* ProgressiveJackpot

* DoubleTheDollers: Sometimes done as an incentive to "[[JustForPun double the dialers]]"

A phone-in game show is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, they're a form of live GameShow where viewers can call in to a special number and hopefully get a chance to come on air to potentially win something by providing an answer to a question or logic puzzle. They are insanely popular in Europe as a fixture of late-night television on quite a few commercial channels, and even on dedicated ''quiz channels'' that dedicate their lineup to only this type of show. If done right, they can at least be [[RuleOfFun fun to watch]], and leave you wondering whether you should even phone in and give it a shot yourself!

#Use a premium-rate phone number, so you can scrape money off callers. Offer an online entry form when legally required, but in any case, bury any of this important information in UnreadablyFastText.
#Take few calls, or don't even take any! Hope the callers don't actually have winning answers, especially if you made the question [[UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer ridiculously hard]] or [[EasierThanEasy ridiculously easy]].

Many people (such as broadcasting watchdogs or politicians) believe that, despite technically being games of "skill", these shows either equate to gambling (due to the need to pay to participate, and the low chances of actually getting on air to the studio) or are pretty much trying to scam viewers through the combination of hard questions and other factors.

These concerns were the conduit of a series of scandals beginning in 2006 and 2007 in the United Kingdom, where complaints surfaced that one show's producers had allegedly told its receptionists to completely ignore calls for a period (where they received 100 to 200 calls at 75p each), one was accused of having its own ''staff'' appearing as callers, and of course, the whole thing about those "impossible" questions. {{ITV}} shut down its all-games digital channel ITV Play (and suspended all use of premium-rate lines), ChannelFive got fined £300,000 for having such a show coming up with a fake winner's name on a daytime phone-in game, ChannelFour sold off its stake in Quiz Call (which folded at the start of 2007, but came back for a time on Five), and quiz channels became an endangered species in the United Kingdom altogether. Similar controversies have occurred elsewhere, though.
----

A phone-in game show is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, they're a form of live GameShow where viewers can call in to a special number and hopefully get a chance to come on air to potentially win something by providing an answer to a question or logic puzzle. They are insanely popular in Europe as a fixture of late-night television on quite a few commercial channels, and even on dedicated ''quiz channels'' that dedicate their lineup to only this type of show. If done right, they can at least be [[RuleOfFun fun to watch]], and leave you wondering if you should even phone in and give it a shot yourself!

#Use a premium-rate phone number, so you can scrape money off callers. Offer an online entry form when legally required, but in any case, bury any of this important information in UnreadableText.
#Take few calls, or don't even take any! Hope they don't actually have winning answers, especially if you made the question [[UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer ridiculously hard]] or [[EasierThanEasy ridiculously easy]].

Many people (such as broadcasting watchdogs or politicians) believe that, despite technically being a game of "skill", these shows either equate to gambling (due to the need to pay to participate, and the low chances of actually getting on-air to the studio), or are pretty much trying to scam viewers through the combination of hard questions and other factors. These concerns were the conduit of a series of scandals beginning in 2006 and 2007 in the United Kingdom, where complaints surfaced that one show had allegedly told its receptionists to completely ignore calls for a period (where they received 100 to 200 calls at 75p each), one was accused of having their own ''staff'' appearing as callers, and of course, the whole thing about those "impossible" questions. ITV shut down its all-games digital channel ITV Play (and suspended all use of premium-rate lines), Channel Five got fined £300,000 for having such a show coming up with a fake winner's name on a daytime phone-in game, Channel Four sold off its stake in Quiz Call (which folded at the start of 2007, but came back for a time on Five), and quiz channels became an endangered species in the UK altogether. Similar controversies have occurred elsewhere, though.

-->''Come on! You only have 60 seconds left to call in for a shot at $100! All you have to do is unscramble this word: "TVTORPES"!''

A phone-in game show is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, they're a form of live GameShow where viewers can call in to a special number and hopefully get a chance to come on air to potentially win something by providing an answer to a question or logic puzzle. They were insanely popular in Europe as a fixture of late-night television on quite a few commercial channels. There have even been entire ''channels'' that dedicated their lineup to this type of programme. Of course, the whole existence of such programs is not just to let the average viewer staying up at 2:00 AM in the morning have a chance to win $500 by guessing what comes next in a pattern, they've historically been a money grab for their organizers. But how? They require their contestants to call a premium-rate phone number to even enter the game, and combine it with the small odds of actually making it on the show itself (because the host(s) will often [[{{Padding}} pad the show]] talking about current events and encouraging people to call rather than actually ''take'' calls), and the smaller odds of even finding the answer to their question, and you've got a recipe for profit.

With that, these shows have been compared to, and even considered to be a form of gambling. These concerns were the conduit of a 2007 scandal in the United Kingdom surrounding these shows (and broadcasters' use of premium-rate calls to begin with), where complaints surfaced that one show had allegedly told its receptionists to completely ignore calls for a period (where they received 100 to 200 calls at 75p each), one was accused of having their own ''staff'' appearing as callers and winners, and many were accused of having too many questions with [[UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer unexpectedly obscure answers]].