Game Show Battle Rooms: A review of the new game show opportunity

During my elementary school cable-TV-watching glory days, I spent mind-numbing hours watching reruns of “Family Feud” and “Deal or No Deal” on the Game Show Network, a channel normally frequented by people eligible for the senior citizen discount. 

So when my mom scheduled a slot at Game Show Battle Rooms, a company on 105th and Metcalf that allows anyone to compete in classic game show competitions like “Family Feud,” “Wheel of Fortune” and “The Price is Right,” I was ready to see if I could finally achieve game show celebrity status. As soon as I saw the host dressed in a golden metallic suit, it felt like the moment I had been training for. 

The company allows groups from six to 64 people and costs $29.95 per person for an hour-long slot, with 20 minutes spent on each game. In COVID-free times, offices or separate families can compete against each other, but my family of six masked up and split into two teams, allowing us multiple turns at each game. 

After choosing my nickname for the “show” — Lil Bill is always my go-to — my team was ready to play “Survey Battles,” a copyright-free version of “Family Feud”. As the announcer played Kidz-Bop-friendly music to introduce our teams, it was time to guess America’s answers. The game was pretty much identical to the show it was knocking off, with survey answers collected and three strikes before the question went to the other team. 

Next was “Spin and Solve” — my favorite of the games. Similar to “Wheel of Fortune”, each team took turns spinning a giant wheel to guess letters and gain clues to fill in a phrase. Although I didn’t even know what some of the phrases meant with all letters filled in, spinning the multicolored wheel decked out with “Wild Card” and “Hint” sections helped me live out my game show fantasy. 

I can wander through the Hen House aisles for half an hour without finding a single item on the grocery list, so “What’s That Cost” was where my problematic shopping trips came back to bite me. The game required each team to match price tags to common shopping items like Starbucks coffee concentrate and sponges. I try my hardest not to hear the Starbucks barista read my order total to avoid thinking about my draining bank account, so you won’t be seeing me on “The Price is Right” anytime soon. 

A point was given to the team who won each round of each game, and a couple rounds of Plinko at the end of our slot allowed the opportunity to win more points. Thanks to my sister’s unnatural Plinko talent for the other team and my team’s lack of price-guessing skills, we didn’t win the giant champion trophy. 

Although I’m still bitter my team didn’t get a polaroid on the wall of previous winners, Game Show Battle Rooms beats out pickleball or axe throwing in terms of gimmicky family activities in my book. If you need me, I’ll be searching for Hollywood game shows that allow 17-year-old contestants.