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Game Ka Na Ba? (Or noted as “Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba?, meaning Philippines, Are You Ready To Play?”; stylised as Game KNB?) is a Game Show produced by ABS-CBN which originally ran from October 8, 2001, to October 23, 2009. Although going through five different formats of the show, the common goal of the game is to go through multiple rounds of trivia to win up to 1 million pesos.
The show's original theme and premise is derived from cellphone culture spurred by the rise of SMS messaging which experienced a surge of popularity in the Philippines during the late 90s,note as evidenced by both the Nokia ringtone-derived theme song and the logo based on a stylized depiction of a black-and-pea soup green LCD display commonly found on a cellphone of the era.
In the original 2001 - 2004 format, 15 contestants are randomly selected from the crowd to participate to answer up to five questions with a Yes or a No. The last two standing (or in some cases, the fastest two from the last question) will advance to the Face-Off round where they have to sort correct answers to a specific category. The winner of that round will go to the Jackpot round where they may have a shot on a million pesos.
The Pyramid format (2004 - 2006) chose five contestants (10 by the end) and a multitude of pre-eliminator rounds ensues, but for most of the formats run, a contestant has to answer a question right with a Yes or a No and be the first five of the subsequent round to answer a question right to advance to the main game. By that point, contestants have to answer trivia questions to get to the top of the pyramid. Once you reach the top, the defending champion pops up to Face Off with the winner, and have to bet how much they can answer based on a specific category. The winner of that round will participate in a Jackpot round in the hopes of getting a million pesos.
The Atras-Abante format (2006-2008) selects ten contestants and a randomized system selects a category and a letter to accompany it. If a contestant can name one based on the two, they can advance to the main game (first five only). By then, a game of strategy ensues. Once a contestant answers a question right, they can either advance (“Abante Ako!”) or force one contestant to go back one spot (“Atras si… Abante Ako!”). The first two to exit the main area advances to the next round with the defending champion (the first contestant also earns a bonus prize). The Knock-Out round follows with three specific categories and the defending championship selects a category. After a twenty second thinking zone, contestants come up with correct answers one-at-a-time, with misses resulting in elimination and the last man standing advancing to the Jackpot round. There is also some extra cash for those who can clear their list.
The Word & Picture Format (2008-2009), which is somewhat similar to Jeopardy!, has a set of contestants in the crowd. If lucky enough to be picked, the contestant has to answer a question before proceeding to the main game. After a set of five contestants advance, the Pick-A-Word round has contestants selecting a word that is based on a specific question. The top three then selects pictures of celebrities in the Take-A-Pic round. The contestant who accumulates the most money goes to the Jackpot round.
The final Team format (2009) has seven teams geared up in a gate. Once the question is asked, all teams run to the buzzer. Getting it right advances them to the Taranta (Panic) round where contestants try to get an answer right while getting splashed with water as a distraction. The top two teams advance to the Diskarte (Strategy) round. The default trivia-answer continues, but with three lifelines to help the team (pass a question to the opposing team, freeze a contestant to answer, or force a contestant back to the starting line). The winning team goes to the final Jackpot round.
It’s a lot of formats to keep up, but by the time the Team format came to an end, ABS-CBN had said it would return as a seasonal game show had the current host of the show (Edu Manzano) not frog-hopped to another network (GMA). A skimmed interactive version of the show would serve as its revival by October 12, 2020, with Robi Domingo as host.
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- Ascended Extra: Edu Manzano, who was a celebrity contestant during Kris Aquino's run of the show, would go on to host the show following Aquino's departure.
- Audience Participation: During the intro of the show, contestants clap and dance along with the theme song before shouting the Game Na catchphrase. They also do the Papaya/Do Run Run dance.
- Bonus Round: It changes depending on the format, mainly dubbed as the Jackpot round. Winning usually equals a million/two million pesos:
- 2001-2004: The contestant selects a category that will be the basis of the questions asked. There are four levels, each with 5 multiple-choice questions, except for the million-peso level, which has one open-ended question. As the contestant progresses, the number of available answers decreases. Failing a level will drop the contestant to 100,000 pesos. Think of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? but without the lifelines.
- Pyramid: A contestant gets a question from the host, followed by a 60-second timer to check the Tarantarium for answers. After the time is up, they must give an answer. It’s 50,000 pesos if they don’t answer correctly.
- Atras-Abante: Eight categories are shown within 10 seconds. One is randomly selected and with three letters revealed, another three need to be selected (as the starting letter for an answer). After the category is revealed, they get 60 seconds to provide any possible answer. Not getting all of them right results in selecting six envelopes with a bonus letter. If a bonus letter (correlating with a correct answer) gets selected, the contestant receives a showcase prize.
- Word-Picture: 9 random words are shown and the contestant selects one of them. All seven questions are based on that word and there is a 60-second time limit. The losing result is similar to the previous format.
- Team: Seven questions are given in a 90-second limit. A broad category is given, and a contestant must press a button and say “MINE” to get the question. After an answer is given or if the contestant considers skipping the question, they say “Sure-na!”
- Character Catchphrase: Couple of them.
- Most commonly said at the start or in commercial breaks: “Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba?” The audience then says: “Game Na!”
- Kris has “Korek!” (to say in a joyful tune) and “May Tama Ka!” (this one is to cheekily mock the player for getting it right)
- Edu has “Steal!”
- Contestants have to occasionally say “Sure-na!” to confirm their answers.
- More of a Catch-Action for all contestants: The swiping action for the sensors to buzz in to answer the question before the host says the name of the contestant who swiped in.
- Chiptune: The original theme tune
, whose main melody is derived from the ringer used on old Nokia phones popular in the Philippines during the late 90s to early 2000s. - Dancing Theme: Edu is pretty famous for starting the “Papaya” craze that originated from the Atras-Abante format. He also tried to do the “Do Run Run” dance in the Team format.
- Game Show Host: Kris Aquino, Edu Manzano, and Robi Domingo.
- Home Participation Sweepstakes: Usually announced before the bonus Jackpot round, where home players are given two answers and they can subsequently answer via their phones with text messaging.
- Became this with the 2020 revival, as you needed to download the Kumu app to participate with the show.
- Mystery Box: In the form of envelopes from the Atras-Abante/Word-Picture bonus round if they happen to not get all answers correct.
- New and Improved: The format changeovers were done to not give a boring factor, according to Edu Manzano.
- Obvious Rule Patch: The early episodes of the Team format (for the Taranta round) didn’t allow Edu Manzano to assist the contestants by reading out the answers to them. This was fixed by September 2009.
- Pop Quiz: Pretty much this game show altogether.
- Progressive Jackpot: For the Word-Picture format, there is a jackpot that begins at 100,000 pesos and increases by 10,000 every episode it is not won. The jackpot is awarded to anyone who gives five consecutive right answers in the main game.
- Reality Show: Next Level Na, Game KNB? cashed in on the extreme reality show format popularized by Fear Factor by introducing physical and luck-based challenges, sometimes to the point of contestants being challenged to eat or drink unusual substances in keeping with the fad at the time.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: The show's title is stylised as Game KNB?, evocative of the txtspeak shorthand utilized by cellphone users to make up for the restrictive 160-character limit on cellphones of the day.
