Alphabetics was the name of the bonus round of the
game show Password. Players would be given clues by their teammate in an attempt to guess words from A to J in
60 seconds. Success would mean $5,000.
Failure would mean $100 per ever word guessed.
The board was set up like this:
A B C D E F G H I J
Apple
or
A B C D E F G H I J
Hamper
It was quite an excellent bonus round for a gameshow, and in many ways similar to that of other word games, such as the
$100,000 Pyramid (my all time favorite). The guesser's back is to the
board, and the
clue giver is facing the board. Heavy gestures are illegal and
discouraged. The clue giver is allowed to give one word at a time, in the style of the regular rounds of Password. It makes for some decent tension, but it is not as creative as Pyramid, IMO.