Richard Osman's House of Games

Richard Osman's House of Games is a British quiz show produced by Endemol Shine UK branch Remarkable Television for the BBC, hosted by Richard Osman. The show is played on a weekly basis, with four celebrities playing on five consecutive days to win daily prizes and the weekly prize of being crowned as "House of Games" champion. Points are accrued depending on where each celebrity finishes on each day and the points are doubled on Friday's show.

Richard Osman's House of Games
Also known asHouse of Games
GenreQuiz show
Directed byOllie Bartlett
John Smith
Presented byRichard Osman
Theme music composerMarc Sylvan
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series4
No. of episodes240 (as of 5 February 2021)
Production
Executive producersAlexandra McLeod
Tamara Gilder
Richard Hague
Stephen Lovelock
ProducerStuart Harrison
Production locationsThe Hospital Club (2017–18)[1]
BBC Scotland Street (2019–20)[1]
Riverside Studios (2020–)[1]
Camera setupMultiple-camera setup
Running time30 minutes
Production companyRemarkable Television
DistributorEndemol Shine Group (Season 1-3)
Banijay Group (season 4-present)
Release
Original networkBBC Two (Richard Osman's House of Games)
BBC One (Richard Osman's House of Games Night)
Picture formatHDTV 1080i
Original release4 September 2017 (2017-09-04) 
present
Chronology
Related showsRichard Osman’s House of Games Night
External links
Website

Format

Osman sits on a chair to the left of the screen, while the four celebrities sit on adjoining chairs. Osman hits a button on his table, activating a round generator, which is displayed on a big screen. He then explains what the round is about and in what format it will take place (i.e., whether it is a buzzer round, a pairs round or one where the players require use of their tablet computers). Five rounds are played each day, with the second round being played in pairs, and the final round always being "Answer Smash". In most games, a point is awarded for each correct answer, but in "Answer Smash", points are also deducted for incorrect answers.

At the end of each day, the scores are announced and the winner wins a daily prize, which is usually a normal everyday object of some description with the "House of Games" logo imprinted on it (the logo being a turquoise-blue background with a depiction of Osman's hair, eyebrows and glasses). The points are then converted to four points for the winner, three for second place, two for third place and one for fourth place onto the weekly leaderboard with the points doubling to 8, 6, 4 and 2 for Friday's "Double Points Friday" edition. The weekly winner receives the "House of Games" trophy (a silver cup with the Osman depiction on it) from Osman.

In Series 3, special "House of Champions" episodes aired featuring players who had previously won a daily or weekly edition of the show coming back for another week to fight for the Gold Champions Trophy. There were also daily prizes, which were similar to the prizes on the regular version of the show, however, they were mainly gold, rather than the turquoise-blue colour.

Games

Buzzer games

Rhyme Time (first played on Series 1, Episode 1): The players are shown two statements whose answers rhyme. They buzz in with the correct answers. On some questions, one of the statements is replaced with either a picture or a song (in which the singer is the rhyming answer they require). This is usually the first round of the week to ease the contestants into the format.

Broken Karaoke (first played on Series 1, Episode 1): The "House of Games" fictional karaoke machine is broken and can only show the first letters of each word of a particular song. The players must buzz in when they know the answer. The only clues that the players get are the year that the song was released or the genre of the song (first seen in Series 4) and that the letters come up in time with the tune of the song. From Series 2 onward, if the song has not been correctly guessed by the time the letters are filled in, the initial letters of the title are also provided as an additional clue.

What's in a Name? (changed to It's All In The Name in Series 2) (first played on Series 1, Episode 2): The players are given statements, the answer to which can be made using the letters from the full name of a particular player. Each player has two answers come from their name and a point is given for a correct answer, but if the player gets a correct answer from their own name, they get two points.

This Round Is in Code (first played on Series 1, Episode 3): The players are given a category, and answers are shown in alpha-numeric code (i.e. 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, etc.). The players have to unscramble the codes to get a point.

Z–A (first played on Series 1, Episode 4): The players are shown three blanked out words with the letters being filled in reverse alphabetical order (i.e., Z, then Y, then X, etc.). The players have to buzz in when they know what connects all three words.

Games House Of (first played on Series 2, Episode 3): The players are given questions, but instead of answering them normally, they have to give the answer with the words in alphabetical order (e.g. Sacha Baron Cohen stars alongside Pamela Anderson as the title character in what 2006 comedy film? The answer is Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, but in this round, they would give the answer as "America Benefit Borat: Cultural for Glorious Kazakhstan Learnings Make Nation of of").

The Elephant in the Room (first played on Series 2, Episode 4): The players are given a word, and are then given questions to answer, but instead of answering them normally, they have to give the answer with the given word removed from the answer (e.g., if the given word was "ham" and the answer to the question was Hammersmith, the player would have to say "mersmith" as the answer).

Roonerspisms (first played on Series 2, Episode 5): The players are shown two statements, the answers to which are spoonerisms of each other. They have to buzz in with both answers to get a point. On some questions, one of the statements is replaced with either a picture or a song (in which the song is the spooneristic answer they require). (e.g., a statement could say "Surname of Richie Rich's minder, portrayed by Ade Edmondson", and the other one say "Hat referred to in Scotland as a bunnet", then the answers would be "Catflap" and "Flat cap".)

The Backwards Round (first played on Series 2, Episode 6): The players are given questions, but the words are in reverse order. As with the questions, the players must give their answers in reverse. (e.g. for "Duo mouse and cat which created Barbera Joseph and Hanna William?", the answer would be Jerry and Tom (with the correct way round being "William Hanna and Joseph Barbera created which cat and mouse duo?" Tom and Jerry.) Some questions involve the identification of songs played backwards.

Opposites Attract (first played on Series 2, Episode 14): The players are given a category and a clue, and they have to work out what the answer relating to the category is, which is the opposite of the clue that they have just been given. Some opposites may be more cryptic than others. (e.g. If the category were rock bands, and the clue were "Green Cold China Georges", then the answer would be Red Hot Chili Peppers, as red is in the opposite side of the colour wheel from green, hot is the opposite of cold, Chile is on the opposite side of the world from China and George is the brother of Peppa in the show Peppa Pig.)

King of the Jumble (first played on Series 3, Episode 9): The players are shown two clues to answers that are anagrams of each other. They buzz in with the correct answers. On some questions, one of the statements is replaced with either a picture or a song (in which the song is the answer they require).

Two Clues in One (first played on Series 3, Episode 9): The players are given a category and are then given a clue to an answer related to that category, but the clue has the same initials as the answer.

A Blast From The Past Tense (first played on Series 3, Episode 12): The players are given a question, but they must give the answer in the past tense (e.g. If the answer to a question was "Take That", the players must give the answer "Took That", as took is the past tense of take.)

Internet History (first played in Series 3, Episode 19): In this round, the contestants are asked to identify a historical figure using fictionalised hashtags relating to their role in history. Contestants get a point for each correct answer.

Pop Art (first played on Series 3, Episode 21): After being given the year the song was released, the players are shown four picture clues representing a lyric from a popular song and must buzz in with the title.

Can You Feel It? (first played on Series 3, Episode 25): Each of the players are given a magnetic board with a word spelt on it (they're all the same word), the players are then blindfolded and have to have the board facing towards the screen. Osman gives them a question and they have to spell out the answer using the letters on their boards. The first person to hit the buzzer with the correct answer wins a point.

The Too Complicated Round (first played on Series 3, Episode 49): The players are given a category which they have to give a correct answer, but the question has nothing to do with the category. Instead, the players have to buzz in with the right answer relating to the category which has the same initials as the answer to the question. (e.g. If the category was Doctor Who actors, and the question was "Who was the first host of Have I Got News for You following the sacking of Angus Deayton?", the players would have to answer with Paul McGann, as he has the same initials as the answer to the question: Paul Merton.)

Well Done If You Said That at Home (first played on Series 4, Episode 2): The players are shown a word cloud based on something like a film, TV show or book title, generated from a home viewer survey asking for three words they would associate with the title. The cloud is revealed to the players from the least popular word to the most popular. The players must buzz in with the correct title for a point. The title of this round is a reference to Osman's other quiz show, Pointless, which is based on home viewer surveys.

Sorry, Wrong Number (first played on Series 4, Episode 6): The players are given an instruction and a clue to an answer with a number in it. Players must buzz in with the answer correctly modified by the instruction. (e.g. If the instruction was "Multiply by 10" with the clue "Official residence of the UK Prime Minister", the answer the players should give is "100 Downing Street.")

Vowel Movement (first played on Series 4, Episode 9): The players are given a list of up to four items, one at a time, but all of the vowels have been changed. They must buzz in with the category that links the correctly spelled items for a point.

There Once Was A Quiz Show Host Called Richard.... (first played on Series 4, Episode ?): The players are given the lines to a limerick one line at a time and they must buzz in when they have worked out who or what the limerick is about. They must buzz in with the correct answer for a point.

Individual games

Correction Centre (first played on Series 1, Episode 2): The players are shown statements in which one word is incorrect and needs to be amended. Each player gets their own statements, and get a point for each correct answer, but an incorrect answer opens the statement to everyone else.

Mouse of Games (first played on Series 1, Episode 4): The team are shown a short description of something like a film, TV show or book title, which has had one letter from its original title changed. The players have to give the answer to the description of the changed title for a point. They are also given the year of the release of the original film if it is a film.

The Answer's in the Question (first played on Series 1, Episode 5): The players are shown a statement based on a category. Part of it is in capitals, that need to be rearranged to create an answer that is relevant to the category in question.

And The Answer Isn't (first played on Series 1, Episode 5): Each player is given a question with four possible answers. One is correct, but the other three are false answers created by the celebrities who are not answering this question. They need to find the correct answer for a point, but if they choose a false answer, the player who created the false answer chosen gets a point themselves.

Cine-Nyms (first played on Series 1, Episode 7): The players are shown a quote from a film, but its words have been replaced with synonyms of the actual words used. They need to work out the film for a point.

Highbrow Lowbrow (first played on Series 2, Episode 2): The players are given two questions with the same answer, however, one of them is highbrow (a more academic question) and the other is lowbrow (a more pop culture question). If they get the question right after the highbrow clue, they get two points, however they only receive one point if they get the question correct after the lowbrow clue.

The Pen-Ultimate Round (first played on Series 2, Episode 10): The players are each given two statements, which are claimed to be the opening lines to a piece of writing, such as a book, poem or speech. One is the correct answer and the other is a made-up statement by one of the other three contestants who is not answering the question. The players get a point for the statement if they guess correctly, but if they get it wrong, then the person who made the statement gets a point instead. This round is the actual penultimate round of the week.

Question Writers' Day Off (first played on Series 3, Episode 8): Each player is asked to pick a question from a choice of 8 written by the children (their names and ages are given) of the question writers (who have conveniently been given a day off by Richard), and they get a point for giving the correct answer.

House of Gamers (first played on Series 3, Episode 44): Like the Mouse of Games round, the team are shown a short description of something like a film, TV show or book title, but this time, a letter has been added to its original title. The players have to give the answer to the description of this changed title for a point. They are also given the year of the release of the original film, if it is a film.

Hose of Games (first played on Series 3, Episode 48): Like the Mouse of Games round, the team are shown a short description of something like a film, TV show or book title, but this time, a letter has been taken away from its original title. The players have to give the answer to the description of this changed title for a point. If it is a film, they are also given the year of the release of the original.

Hey, Alexander! (first played on Series 4, Episode 2): The players are shown a board of eight categories. Each player chooses one category, and a statement is then read by the voice of Alexander Armstrong (who is voicing a virtual assistant based on Amazon Alexa, hence the pun on the name of the round). The player must determine if the statement is true or false for one point. Armstrong and Osman both work on fellow quiz show Pointless.

Hidden in Plain Sight (first played on Series 4, Episode 14): The players are shown two statements relating to one category. There is also a certain string of letters in the statement that spell out, in their entirety, the answer to the category description. These strings of letters can be inside of one word or can overlap through several words. The player must identify the answer and where the answer is spelled out in the question for the point.

Pairs games

Note: All pairs games are played in the second round, and on each show, the person who is in last place after the first round gets to choose which of the other celebrities they want to be their partner for this round.

Distinctly Average (first played on Series 1, Episode 1): The pairs are given questions about for which they must write numeric answers on their tablet computers, and the average of both their answers is taken as their team answer, the closest pair to the correct answer win themselves a point.

Build Your Own Question (first played on Series 1, Episode 2): The pairs are given a left and a right hand set of options, one member chooses from the left and one chooses from the right. The choices chosen are then used to make a question, to which a correct answer gives each player a point.

Dim Sums (first played on Series 1, Episode 4): The pairs are given a sum and they need to find two numbers that could be used to make the answer (e.g. the sum could be ? x ? = 18.) The pairs are then given four options that they could use, but they have to work out what the numeric values of those options are as well. A correct sum earns the players a point.

Chron-Illogical (first played on Series 2, Episode 1): The pairs are given three statements which they have to put in chronological order, they all have a loose theme, and one of the statements is about one of the four contestants. The team members get a point each if they put the statements in the correct order.

You Complete Me (first played on Series 2, Episode 8): The pairs are given a question which has a two word answer. One of the players in a pair buzzes in with the first word of the answer, and then the other player in the pair has to give the second word for them both to get a point.

All in the Details (first played on Series 2, Episode 9): Before the show, each player answers questions about specific details of a book, film, etc, based on 3 pre-prepared statements with the key part of the statement left for the players to fill in themselves. Their partner must identify the subject from the answers.

Venn Will I Be Famous? (first played on Series 2, Episode 17): Each pair is given the names of three famous people and two statements. They must select the one person to whom BOTH statements apply. (e.g., if the people were Michael Jackson, Nicolas Cage and Mr. Blobby, and the statements were "I have had a UK Christmas No. 1 in the 90s" and "I have married Elvis's daughter Lisa Marie Presley", then the person who fits both would be Michael Jackson, as Mr. Blobby only fits the first one, and Nicolas Cage only fits the second one.

You Spell Terrible (first played on Series 3, Episode 2): The pairs are given a question which one player must buzz in to say the correct answer, and the other player must spell it out correctly to get a point.

Totes Emoji (first played on Series 3, Episode 3): Each player is asked to identify an answer based on a category chosen which one of their opponents has described in emoji before the show.

The Two Wrongies (first played on Series 3, Episode 43): All the players are asked general knowledge questions before the show, and the players in each pair have to guess what wrong answer was said by their teammates to the questions they answered incorrectly.

I Complete You (first played on Series 3, Episode 45): The pairs are given a question which has a two word answer. In a reverse to You Complete Me, one of the players in a pair buzzes in with the second word of the answer, and then the other player in the pair has to give the first word for them both to get a point.

Reichard Ösmans Haus Der Spiele (first played on Series 3, Episode 50): The pairs choose from a list of words in different languages and the question is in that language. They choose which of the three possible answers (also in the said foreign language) is the correct one.

The Z-List (first played on Series 3, Episode 55): The pairs are given a category and have to write down a correct answer between them. The team who goes furthest down the alphabet (i.e. nearest to Z) wins a point each, and if the team gives the answer that is the furthest possible, they get 2 points each.

Don't State The Obvious (first played on Series 4, Episode 5): Each person in turn is given something they must describe to their partner by writing down 3 words. If the partner guesses correctly, the team scores a point. However, both the opposing pair also get to write down 3 words. If any of their words match with the describer's words, they block them from getting a point.

Password123 (first played on Series 4, Episode 15): Each team is asked to pick from a choice of 4 celebrities, and are asked to guess their "password", which is a combination of the answer of 2 questions about the said person. They have 3 guesses to get the password correctly, but after each incorrect guess, Richard will tell them if they have got either of the 2 questions right, without saying which if any are correct.

Stick It (first played on Series 4, Episode 19): Each player is given 30 seconds to draw a person as a stick figure, and their teammate has to guess who the person is supposed to be.

Random games

Is It Me? (first played on Series 1, Episode 1): Each team member is given a card with something specific on it. Osman asks questions and each player must raise their card up if they think that the answer on the card is correct to the statement, and lower their card if they do not think it relates to it.

The Nice Round (first played on Series 2, Episode 3): A category is given and each player gets given an individual question. The other three players are given the answer on a card, and have to write down a word on their tablet, which they think would give the answer to what is on the card, without mentioning anything to do with what is on the card. The player trying to guess the answer can also nominate players to get a point for giving a good clue.

But What's The Question? (first played on Series 3, Episode 4): A list of four answers is provided at the start of the round, and each player is given one answer chosen by an opponent. They are then shown three questions and must pick the one which leads to that answer.

Lucky Dip (first played on Series 3, Episode 11): A bag of 4 balls numbered 1 to 4 is given to players, who must each pick a ball (from left to right, as seen on the screen), and the person who picks ball number 1 gets the first chance to answer, the person who picks ball number 2 gets the second chance to answer, etc. A list of four answers is provided for each question, and the order of answering continues until the correct answer is given.

Win When They're Singing (first played on Series 3, Episode 16): The players hear the introduction to a well known song, then, after a few seconds, it is faded out. They need to buzz in when they think the first word is sung in that particular song.

The (Not Quite So) Nice Round (first played on Series 3, Episode 44): A category is given and each player gets given an individual question. The other three players are given the answer on a card and have to write down a word on their tablet, which they think would give the answer to what is on the card, without mentioning anything to do with what is on the card. Unlike The Nice Round, the player trying to guess the answer can also nominate players to get a point deducted for giving a bad clue.

Who Goes First? (first played on Series 3, Episode 98): A question with four options is shown, but to decide who gets to the answer the question first, another question is asked to the contestants, such as "How many pets have you owned?", and the contestant who has the highest to that answer gets to go first, and if they get the question right, they get the point, but if they get it wrong, the next person down gets the same question with 3 choices left and it carries on going down until someone gets it right.

There's No 'I' in Osman (first played on Series 4, Episode 47): The players are made to stand up and, in turn, offer a correct answer to a category which Osman gives. Their answers must not contain a certain letter, for example "Monopoly spaces without an 'I'". If a player fails to give Osman a correct answer, they sit down. The last player standing wins a point.

Tablet games

Put Your Finger on It (first played on Series 1, Episode 2): The players are given a picture question and have to point out who or what they think is the correct answer. (i.e. it could be a specific person or an unusual item.) Everyone plays on their own tablet.

Where Is Kazakhstan? (first played on Series 1, Episode 3): The players are given a map of a certain part of the world on their tablets. They are given a question and have to point on their map where they think it is. The closest to the correct place wins a point.

The Rich List (first played on Series 1, Episode 4): The players have to write down an answer that is correct based on a statement given by the computer (there are multiple correct answers to each question). The players only get points for a correct answer that is unique, but as an added twist, Osman will also write down an answer to make it even harder.

Size Matters (first played on Series 2, Episode 2): The players are given a category and have to write down a correct answer relating to the category. The player who gives the correct answer with the most letters in the answer wins a point, and they get a bonus point if the correct answer is the longest possible answer.

I'm Terrible At Dating (first played on Series 2, Episode 5): The players have to write down what they think the answer is to a question to which the answer is a year. The player who is closest to the correct answer gets a point, but if anyone gets the year exactly right, they get two points.

Outplay Osman (first played on Series 3, Episode 39): The players have to write down one of the possible answers to a question. Osman then gives as many answers as he can think of in 30 seconds, and any player with a correct answer that he has not given gets a point.

Final round

Answer Smash: The teams are given a category and a picture relating to that category appears on the screen. Below the picture is a general knowledge question. The players have to "smash" the answers together to create one answer. (e.g. A picture of Mr. Stink and, if the answer to the question was Tinky Winky, the answer the players would have to give is "Mr. Stinky Winky".) A point is given for a correct answer, but a point is deducted for an incorrect answer. If there is a tie for first place at the end of Answer Smash, one additional question is played with only the tied players taking part. Starting with Series 4's episodes broadcast in 2021, the question was shown first, followed by the picture.

Daily prizes

On each day, the celebrities play for "daily prizes", which, as explained above, are regular everyday items with the show's logo on them. Each day had its own set of prizes, which were as follows:

Series 1

Series 2

The same format was used, but with new prizes. In weeks 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9, they were as follows:

In weeks 3, 6, 7, 8 and 10, they were as follows:

Series 3

The same format was used, but with new prizes. In weeks 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8, they were as follows (in weeks 3, 5 and 8, Thursday and Friday were reversed):

In other weeks, they were as follows:

In the House of Champions weeks, the golden prizes were as follows:

Contestants

Weekly winners in bold.

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

Transmissions

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
14 September 2017[4]22 September 2017[5]15[5]
228 May 2018[6]14 December 2018[7]50[7]
37 October 2019[8]13 March 2020[9]100[9]
412 October 2020[10]2021100[10]

Spin-offs

Richard Osman’s House of Games Night

On 20 November 2020, Osman launched a five-episode spin-off called Richard Osman’s House of Games Night, broadcast weekly in primetime on BBC One.[11] A one-episode Christmas Special aired on 28 December 2020.[12]

The series follows the exact same format as the main show, but with the addition of rounds not seen in the original.

New Games

Don’t Cry For Me Guatemala (first played on Series 1, Episode 1, Round 3): The players are given a question before the show in which the answer is part of the lyrics of a well-known song (unbeknownst to them). A live band then sings the song and cuts to the answers given by each player to see if they have completed it.

Don’t Trust The Experts (first played on Series 1, Episode 2, Round 4): Two experts give each player a fact in their area of expertise. Only one of these facts is true, which the player has to determine.

Clash In The Attic (first played on Series 1, Episode 3, Round 4): The players are given questions before the show and must find an object in the House of Games attic that provides the answers to the questions.

Sounding Off (first played on Series 1, Episode 4, Round 2): The players must guess the historical event that their teammate is recreating using Foley art.

Altered Rules Of Previous Games

Answer Smash: The teams are given a category and a picture relating to that category appears on the screen. But unlike the regular version, the picture is below the general knowledge question. The players have to "smash" the answers together to create one answer. (e.g. If the answer to the question was Claudia Winkleman and the picture was Manfred Mann, the answer the players would have to give is "Claudia Winklemanfred Mann".) A point is given for a correct answer, but a point is deducted for an incorrect answer.

Transmissions

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
120 November 202018 December 2020[13]5[11]
Christmas Special28 December 20201[12]

Contestants

Merchandise

On 17 October 2019, Osman and Alan Connor published Richard Osman's House of Games: 101 new & classic games from the hit BBC series, a quizbook based on the programme.[14]

Footnotes

  1. The first week to have all five episodes won by the same person.

References

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