Top 20 Funniest Game Show Moments in TV History

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (1999-2021; 2024-)

Math teachers everywhere felt seen on this day. On a special celebrity edition of Millionaire, Regis Philbin sits down with Everybody Loves Raymond star Patricia Heaton, and it is a trainwreck from the word go. A simple question about converting U.S. dollars to euros leaves her spinning out so bad she has to use her lifeline. But even that doesnt help her. The host takes pity on her, essentially walking her through the problem in a way that would never happen if it werent the celebrity edition. The audience screams with relief when she finally gives the right answer. Its as cringeworthy as it is funny.

Jeopardy! (1984-)

Things get personal during a tournament of champions between Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, and Brad Rutter. At the end of round one, Rutter is in last place, having earned no money. When the scores reset to zero at the start of the second round, Holzhauers playful and childish jab that Rutters score is still on the board draws groans from the audience. Alex Trebek suddenly realizes with stunning clarity how tough the competition has gotten. Its a great reminder that it really is just a game, and even the smartest guys around can still act like children.

Wheel of Fortune (1975-)

Confidence can only take you so far in life, as evidenced by this hopeful but misguided Wheel of Fortune contestant. The letters for this short and sweet clue flashed quickly as they do leading our eager player to ring in with a guess. This was quite a few years before The Shape of Water came out, so probably not what they were going for here. He very quickly realized how ridiculous that response was, prompting him to apologize which in itself is an objectively hilarious thing for him to do. Stuff your sorries in a sack buddy, because were still laughing at your bewildering response!

Super Password (1984-89)

After more than a thousand episodes, this Password spinoff was ending its run, and all bets were off. Frequent panelist Betty White fails to lead her partner to the correct answer. She takes the hosts magic toaster machine that provides the secret words and hurls it across the set in played-up anger. Its so weird to see our favorite Golden Girl have such a hot temper. The whole thing devolves into a free-for-all when host Bert Convy eggs her on to do it again, and she shatters his magic toaster on the soundstage floor. Well, it is the series finale after all. Its not like theyre using it again.

Classic Concentration (1987-91)

In his early days of hosting Jeopardy!, Alex Trebek was also lending his cool style to Classic Concentration. He deploys his famously dry wit in this segment where a presenter is showcasing one of the prizes and everything starts to go wrong. The presenter, named Marjorie, is demonstrating a fridge when its contents begin to fall out and she loses her footing on the platform, collapsing into embarrassed laughter. Trebek, being helpful, explains to her what a fridge is since she clearly has no idea how to behave around one. This is just one of the reasons we love him. Hes always so helpful.

Family Feud (1976-)

Steve Harvey loves to play up his complete confusion at a familys dumb answers. The Brown familys unique answers nearly break him. From the jump, they come up with wild answers to the survey question about things that follow the word pork. Punkins heavy accent has Steve Harvey thinking shes saying pork lawn instead of pork loin. Wills answer, Pork-cupine, is even crazier. His family cheers him on, even though theres no way its up there, and Harvey correctly predicts this moment is going to live on in YouTube infamy.

Jeopardy! (1984-)

Long before he replaced the late Alex Trebek as host, contestant Ken Jennings was in the middle of his legendary run on Jeopardy! He may have won millions, but not every answer was a winner. In this appearance, Jennings answers a question whose answer was rake with a potentially censor-unfriendly response. His cheeky smile as he says it is kind of precious. Whether or not he knows it isnt correct is up for interpretation. By this point in the show, hes beating both opponents by nearly $1,500, and theres room to have a little fun.

Family Feud (1976-)

Do you hear that? Its the sound of two husbands who know better. A leading question has two men completely unwilling to answer. Even Steve Harvey stays quiet. This is the kind of survey that makes you think the Family Feud writers want to break up some marriages. It becomes a standoff until, finally, one of them is brave enough to answer. We dont know whether its funny or really telling that no one seemed to remember happy was also an option.

Wheel of Fortune (1983-)

Solving puzzles can be nerve-wracking. Its especially tricky when the clue is as vague as the word people. Its kind of a rare thing to see the Wheel of Fortune crowd get this rowdy, but contestant Joe goes a little too off-base with his guess. Host Pat Sajak has to step in and remind him that this is a family show. But then the torture just goes on. The contestants still cant get a grasp on the puzzle on the second attempt. We dont know what wheel wishes are, but the correct answer, in case you were wondering, is well-wishers.

The Price Is Right (1972-)

Like every game show, there are rules and protocols. But Ruby Jean was so excited when her name was called, she tore right down the aisle, past her other opponents, and ran right up to join Bob Barker on stage. The adrenaline is pumping so hard she can barely understand what Barker is saying to her. Instead of just telling her to go to her rightful spot with the other contestants, he leads her to realize she just blew past the bidding portion of the game. Her horrified scream when she realizes what shes done is so endearing. Even Barker cant be mad at the enthusiasm.

Match Game (1962-99; 2016-)

Is there anything more embarrassing than accidentally telling a woman that she has pretty nipples? Maybe, but this is certainly up there. While chatting up contestants Karen and John, host Gene Rayburn turns to John and compliments Karens pretty nipples. Hes quick to course correct and says that she has pretty DIMPLES before squirming and withdrawing into himself like a turtle. You can tell that Gene was supremely embarrassed, which makes the clip that much funnier. Luckily, Karen is a good sport and takes it in stride. Freudian slip or simple slip of the tongue? You be the judge.

The Price Is Right (1972-)

To be honest, we dont know how more game show winners dont just up and collapse upon winning thousands of dollars. The Price Is Right contestant Arlene seemingly cant handle the fact that she just won the showcase, and her body completely shuts down onstage. While fainting is never funny, theres something hilarious about the way her body falls out of frame when the camera zooms in on her face. What makes it even better is hearing Bob nonchalantly declare that shes allll right, almost as if comforting a toddler who had just taken a tumble.

Family Feud (1976-)

The Fast Money round of Family Feud can be a goldmine of stupidity. Contestants are forced to give answers under a time constraint, which often results in a lot of rushed thinking and brain farts. This is the brain farts to end all brain farts. When asked during what months pregnancy does a woman begin to look pregnant, Cathy famously answered September. And the best part? She didnt seem to realize her mistake. Its not until the audience starts laughing that she realizes something is wrong and acts accordingly. The comforting well, you tried hand from Richard Dawson is just icing on the cake.

Catchphrase (1986-2002, 2013-)

We can only imagine what the censors were thinking with this one. During this episode of Catchphrase, a square is taken away on the board, and the contestants are left with what appears to be a banana doing something very suggestive. Everyone cant help but crack up. And it only gets worse from there. Another square is taken away, revealing the yellow mans snake friend, who is seemingly playing along. While its eventually revealed to be his cane and not his walking stick, it took almost every square to finally get that vital piece of information. The image itself and the incredibly awkward, drawn-out process makes this moment game show gold.

Wheel of Fortune (1983-)

Someone clearly doesnt know their superheroes. Which is weird, considering these two are, like, the biggest superheroes of all time. While solving the fictional characters clue that is clearly Superman and Wonder Woman, the contestant proudly declares that it is Superman and Spider Woman! We have no idea where he got spider from, considering that the word clearly contains both a w and an n. Well chalk it up to a harmless and unfortunately televised brain fart, but that doesnt mean we cant laugh at it. At least he quickly realizes his mistake. Too bad he didnt say it the first time.

Jeopardy! (1984-)

During Final Jeopardy of the teen tournament, contestant Leonard Cooper hilariously wrote, Who is some guy in Normandy? But I just won $75,000! And while he certainly did that, he could very well have lost. If his competitor Nilai had gotten Final Jeopardy correct, he would have beaten Leonard by $400, and Leonard would have been in a very, very awkward situation. Its great to see Jeopardy! contestants not take themselves or their answers so seriously though, and this proves that the otherwise academic show can still be fun. It also proves that cockiness can be just as funny as it is irritating.

Family Feud (1976-)

We all have our brain farts. Luckily for us, our slip-ups arent televised and made into a laughing stock for millions of people. Family Feud contestant Joanne isnt so lucky. When asked to name a yellow fruit, Joanne confidently says orange before immediately recognizing her mistake and squirming in embarrassment and frustration. The bluntness of the answer is certainly hilarious, as is the silly answer itself. But perhaps what makes this moment so special is Joannes reaction. She knows she messed up, and here we are over forty years later still laughing at her mistake. Its almost as if she knew we would be.

Hollywood Squares (1998-2004)

If Hollywood Squares is remembered for anything, it will be this famous clip. It all starts when Gilbert Gottfried believes having a child is the answer to the statement 94% of Hungarians, compared to only 46% of Americans, said doing this was necessary to be fulfilled. When the contestant disagreed, Gottfried shouted you fool!, much to everyones delight. What follows is pure pandemonium, as Gottfried calls both contestants fools after every question, and before long, other celebrities like Penn Jillette are joining in on the fun. Only on Hollywood Squares can you call the contestant a fool and send everyone into hysterics.

The Newlywed Game (1966-2013)

The Newlywed Game is a goldmine of inappropriateness. But sometimes it skips straight past gleefully inappropriate and goes straight to crassness. The women were asked what the weirdest place was where they had the urge to make whoopie. Not understanding the question, one contestant answered in a very specific way, much to everyones, and especially her husbands, delight. The clip was so controversial and infamous that it quickly became an urban legend, as future generations couldnt find the clip and didnt believe the people who recounted the story. Luckily, it was uncovered and brought back for all to see and is now a piece of game show history.

Family Feud (1976-)

If you ask people what their favorite Family Feud moment is, this is bound to come up. When asked for something a burglar wouldnt want to see upon entering a house, Rod enthusiastically screams naked grandma! Steve Harvey cant even manage to repeat the question. The answer itself, Rods ridiculous passion for it, and Harveys response all combine to create one of the funniest moments in game show history. And the best part? He ended up getting the points. Sure, occupant is a bit of a stretch, but hey, its technically correct. No one specified that the occupant had to be clothed.

Did your favorite game show moment make the list? Tell us what we missed in the comments.