Whew!

The gameboard consisted of five rows ("levels") of five squares each, with values from $10 to $50 in $10 increments, and a sixth level of three squares with values of $200, $350, and $500. Levels were numbered from the bottom of the board, working upward. Two contestants (or during the later half of the run, two teams of a celebrity and a civilian) were told the categories for the first two rounds of play at the start of the match. The current challenger decided whether he/she would play as the charger or the blocker for the first round, and the champion took the other role. (If there was no returning champion, a coin toss determined which contestant made this decision.) The charger was led offstage to a soundproof booth, and the blocker then placed six blocks on the board. Up to three blocks could be placed on any of the first five levels, and just one on the sixth.

The charger was brought back onstage and given 60 seconds to advance through all six levels by correcting "bloopers", or factual statements in which one word had been changed. (Example: "The B&O was the first American passenger smell", with "railroad" as the correct answer.) The charger started on level one by choosing one of its squares; if a blooper was hidden there, it was revealed on that space's trilon and read out. The incorrect word was marked with an underline, and was the only part that the charger needed to correct. A correct answer allowed him/her to move to the next level, while a miss or failure to respond within three seconds required him/her to choose another space. Uncovering a block incurred a five-second penalty, which was counted down by Kennedy and the audience (and sometimes the blocker as well) before the charger could continue. If the charger revealed all the spaces on a level without a correct answer, the level was "exhausted" and the charger was allowed to advance.

If the charger believed that he/she was running short on time, and had not yet reached level six, he/she could call a "Longshot". The clock was stopped, the charger immediately advanced to level six, and the blocker hid one secret block on that level in addition to the one that may have already been placed there. The charger then selected one square and attempted to correct its blooper if one was hidden there. The charger won the round by either clearing all six levels or successfully completing a Longshot. If the charger ran out of time, or either hit a block or failed to correct a blooper after calling a Longshot, the blocker won the round. The charger could not call a Longshot after reaching level six or during the five-second penalty for hitting a block, but could do so at any other time, even while Kennedy was reading a blooper.

The contestants traded positions for the second round; if a third round was needed, Kennedy revealed its category at that time and the champion decided who would play which role. The first contestant to win two rounds won the match and advanced to the Gauntlet of Villains. Each contestant received the total value of all bloopers he/she corrected and of all blocks hit by the opponent during the rounds that he/she won. The runner-up also received consolation prizes.

The contestant stood at the beginning of a path lined with 10 wooden caricatures of stereotypical villains, each with one arm raised as a barrier. He/she had 60 seconds, plus one extra second for every $100 earned in the main game, to reach the end of the path by correcting bloopers. If the contestant either responded incorrectly or failed to respond within two seconds, the correct answer was shown on a small screen embedded in the current villain's chest and Kennedy read a new blooper. A correct response led to the villain's arm being lowered so that the contestant could advance to the next one.

The contestant won $100 for each villain passed, or $25,000 for completing the Gauntlet. Since CBS had a $25,000 winnings limit in effect for its game shows at the time, any contestant who won this bonus round immediately retired from the show. Unsuccessful champions played the main game again. Later, an additional rule forced the champion to retire after five attempts at the bonus round.

The villains in the Gauntlet were, from start to finish:

1. Alphonse the Gangster
2. Bruno the Headsman
3. Mr. Van Louse the Landlord
4. Nero the Fiddler
5. Count Nibbleneck the Vampire
6. Frank and his little friend Stein
7. Kid Rotten the Gunslinger
8. Jeremy Swash the Pirate
9. Dr. Deranged the Mad Scientist
10. Lucretia the Witch

On November 5, 1979, in an attempt to increase the show's ratings,[1] Whew! changed its format to accommodate the addition of celebrities to the game. Originally conceived as a three-week special series of episodes, the change instead became permanent and the show adopted the title Celebrity Whew! to reflect it.

Each contestant was paired with one of the two celebrities and they both took turns charging. They shared blocking duties, with each of them placing three blocks when it was their turn. The rules were otherwise unchanged except, towards the end of the series, if one of the teams was able to win by sweeping the first two boards, they got to play the third board unopposed for bonus money with a randomly generated set of blocks.

In the Gauntlet of Villains, one member of the team took the first half of the Gauntlet and the other took the second half. The rules were the same as before: each $100 earned in the front game was worth one additional second on top of the base 60-second time, and completing the Gauntlet won $25,000 which retired the player immediately upon winning it.

All episodes are presumed to exist in the possession of Burt Sugarman, the current copyright holder of the Whew! program and format.[4]

The theme song was composed by Alan Thicke. Original recordings of the theme were presumed to have been lost until 2012, when they were discovered by the Museum of Television Production Music.[5]