Finders Keepers
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Finders Keepers was a children's game show that aired on the Nickelodeon network in America from 1986 to 1989. The show featured two teams of two youngsters who participated in four rounds of game-play (divided into two sections) followed by a final bonus round for the winning team. "Finders Keepers" was originally taped at WHYY Studios in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was hosted by Wesley Eure. After two seasons, the show moved into syndication and began taping in Los Angeles, California; Larry Toffler replaced Eure who may have been unwilling to relocate.
Each section of game play featured an identical first and second round. The first half of each round had the two teams looking at a cartoon drawing of some random scenario. The host would then read clues describing an object drawn into the picture (but hidden.) The first team to buzz in and correctly circle and name the hidden object was given the chance to participate in the second round. (Later in the series, teams were given a board with the hidden objects drawn onto plastic laminates so that they already knew what they looked like. When the clue was read, they had to buzz in, pull a laminate off of the board, and stick it where it appeared in the giant picture.) For each correct answer the team would also receive a small amount of money ($25 in the first round, or $75 in the second.) If they ran out of time or found the wrong hidden item, their opponents got to steal the money by finding the item. If neither team found the hidden object, the host would reveal where it is in the pictue and read a clue to another hidden object.
For each correct find in the first round the teams were awarded with a chance to search a room in the "Finders Keepers" house. The house consisted of eight rooms that were whimsical versions of real rooms in a typical home. Examples included "Dad's Den", "Sherlock Holmes' Study," "Ali-Baba's Bathroom" or "Frankenstein's Laboratory." For the second round, the teams would then be lead into the house where the host would read a clue describing an object hidden in the room. They then had thirty seconds to tear apart the room (quite literally) to find the object. If they located the object, they won an additional amount of money, either $50 or $100 depending on the round. If they did not find the object, that amount went to the other team. The second half of round 2 also had an "Instant Prize Room" (indicated by the room's lights blinking and a school-bell sound) and if they found the object in that room, the team also won a prize. If the team failed in the "Instant Prize Room", the opponents would get the money (but not the prize).
At the end of the game the team with the most money won a chance to participate in a bonus round. Given a ninety-second time limit, the team would locate a chain of hidden clue cards throughout the house for a total of six possible rooms to visit. For each room "completed" they received a prize. Typical prizes included bicycles, a trip to Space Camp, or a video game system.