Lingo (British game show)

The game is played between teams of two contestants, tasked with solving mystery words. The team in control is given the first letter of each mystery word and receives five attempts to guess and spell the word. After each guess, the team is told whether their guess contains letters that are in the mystery word and whether or not they are in the correct position. The two members of the team alternate taking each guess.

If the team fails to identify the word within five guesses, fails to make a guess within a time limit, gives a misspelt or otherwise invalid word, control is passed to the opposing team and one of the correct letters is revealed.

Contestants who are deaf or hearing-impaired are allowed to have an interpreter on the set, who may interpret between spoken words and sign language. However, the interpreter may not help with solving the words.

In the 1988 version (which was based on the original U.S. syndicated version), the game was played between two teams. They were each assigned a 25-space "Lingo card" (similar to American bingo) with odd or even numbers respectively with seven numbers on each card already marked. Each word was five letters in length and each correct guess awarded £50. The team would also be allowed to draw two balls from a hopper containing balls with the 18 remaining numbers on the card, two prize balls and three red balls. Drawn numbers were marked off on the team's Lingo card but drawing a red ball immediately ended the team's turn and passed control to their opponents. Forming a "Lingo" line of five numbers in a row vertically, horizontally or diagonally awarded a £100 bonus.

The team with the highest score at the end of the game advanced to the bonus round "No Lingo"; the team was given a new card with 16 spaces covered, arranged in a star shape along the diagonals, middle row and middle column (but excluding the centre space). Unlike the main game, the objective was to avoid forming a line of five in a row. The team once again had to solve mystery words (given the first letter and one additional letter) but were required to draw one ball for each guess taken and two more as a penalty if they ran out of guesses. The hopper initially contains 39 numbered balls consisting of the even figures from 2 to 80 (but excluding the ball corresponding to the centre space) and one silver ball.

If the team drew a numbered ball, it was discarded and marked off if it appeared on their card. If the team draws the silver ball, they no longer have to draw any more numbers for the round and the ball is returned to the hopper. After each successful round, the team's pot is doubled and they are given the option to leave with their winnings or play another round. If the team forms a Lingo at any point, the game ends and the team's bonus winnings are reduced by half. Up to five rounds could be played, beginning with a base pot of £100 and progressing to the grand prize of £3,200, beginning with the second round, the ball corresponding to the centre space is added to the hopper.

On Celebrity Lingo, the rounds' values are increased to £500, £750 and £1,000 for words and £750 (£100), £1,000 (£150) and £1,500 (£200) for puzzles (played with eight-letter, nine-letter and ten-letter words respectively). Unlike the civilian version, losing teams receive a consolation prize of £1,000.

• Wordle

• Lingo at IMDb
• Celebrity Lingo at IMDb
• Lingo at UKGameshows.com