Going local

On the GSN board folks started reminiscing about Bowling for Dollars and other local game shows over the years. Naturally, I had to chime in...

Other poster: Aside from that, you've got your usual suspects, localized College Bowl clones (mostly for high schools or small area colleges) and lottery game shows. Worth mentioning: At present, Ohio is the only remaining state lottery to feature a regular, weekly game show (the long-running Cash Explosion Double Play).

On the blog I try to keep up with news about local shows. Probably the biggest story in recent years was Washington D.C.'s Mac McGarry retiring after 572 years (slight exaggeration) as host of the local It's Academic. And there were a few stories about Ohio's Cash Explosion surviving to its 25th anniversary. 

There are a surprising number of local high school and college quizzers around the country. It's cheap programming, after all. Stories about them turn up in Google News, and then in my faux tweets. Local sports quizzers are also an interesting variant, like The Batter's Box in Chicago.