Tempo Game Clock Goes Hollywood

Tempo Game Clock is now the official "Game Clock of the Stars".

The Producers

When J. Keith van Straaten (television comedian / actor / producer ) and Jim Newman (co-creator / producer) wanted to pilot a game show concept, named Word1, they needed a custom clock for a three player game. Tempo Game Clock turned out to be just the ticket. Following the first show, Mr. van Straaten remarked, "Went great! The clock worked like a charm. Thanks a zillion! I couldn't believe how smooth it was."

The Players

The very successful pilot shows were performed November 17-20, 2008 at the ACME Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles starring Bil Dwyer ("I've Got A Secret"), Suzy Nakamura ("Back To You"), and Gary Anthony Williams ("Boston Legal") with spokesmodel Kat Steel.

Video/Audio Hookup

The Tempo Game Clock controller was operated from a laptop computer offstage. The laptop was connected to the theater video system via the computer VGA connector (note: S-Video or other connectors can be used). Then the game displays (the 3 clocks) were projected on five large television screens around the stage. The Tempo Game Clock buzzer sounds were piped through the theater sound system.

Custom Time Controls

For time controls, the game has three rounds (a.k.a. periods) of 3 minutes, 2 min and 1 min respectively. Plus a bonus round of 30 seconds. A player is given a challenge question and her clock ticks down until she answers correctly. Then the next player's clock starts immediately to begin his turn. A player scores one point for each correct answer. Play continues in the round until all players are out of time. The low scoring player does not advance to the next round. Players also get a set number of free passes for each round. Many enhancements were made to Tempo Game Clock to meet show production requirements, all of which are included in the latest release.

Now it's your turn. Word1 is just a sample of the flexible time controls that can be customized. Create your own game show concept and pilot it at your theater, club or even in your living room. It's easy.

More photos

Player introductions
Game play 1
Game play 2

All Word1 show photos by M.C. Valada, Copyright © 2008 .