Sqrambled Scuares

Gameplay

Two contestants compete; each is spotted 100 points to start the game.

Players take turns picking squares from a game board of 16. If the player reveals a letter, it is placed on the descrambler board in its proper word, but in the order it was found, and the player is awarded points and a chance to unscramble the squares; consonants are worth 10 points, while vowels are worth 20.

Once both players have found a letter during a round, they may ask for revealed letters to be placed in their proper positions for a cost of 10 or 20 points (consonants and vowels, respectively). All letters placed in this way are covered with a transparent yellow card, whether by spending points or finding a "Placer" (below).

Special Squares

As the game is played, players may find various special items that will help or hinder them as the game progresses:

Solving

After finding a letter, or placing one, a player has five seconds to state "I'd like to unscramble the squares". The host will then give the player a chance to give the solution; if the solution given is correct, that player picks up an additional 100 points, while his or her opponent loses 100 points. Scores can never go below zero.

Players can also ask to unscramble the squares before picking or placing a letter; this is generally not done if there are no more Missers on the board, although it has happened on occasion.

If nobody has unscrambled the squares after all of the letters have been found or five minutes have elapsed (whichever comes first), the players alternate turns placing letters only until one of them unscrambles the squares. Players still lose points for each letter placed.

On at least one episode, the winner of each round also had the first chance at a bonus question called the "Sqrambled Scuestion". The question had four multiple-choice options, read in a random order. If the player gave the correct answer, they won a $25 Wal-Mart gift card and a 50-point bonus. An incorrect answer gave the opponent a chance at the points and gift card.

Winning

The game is played in two rounds, each with one puzzle. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins $50 and first chance to play the "Super Sqramble"; in the event of a tie (the most recent being Episode #392 on October 26, 2009), both players win the game and $50, and play Super Sqramble together.

Super Sqramble

The day's winner has 60 seconds to unscramble a 9 or 10-letter word, two letters of which are on a yellow background. Once 15 seconds have elapsed, the host tells the player the location of one of the yellow letters, and once 30 seconds have elapsed, the host tells the player the location of the other yellow letter. Players may move letters around as they wish during the round.

At any point during the round the player may press a button to stop the clock and indicate that they know the word. If they are correct, they win an additional $100 "Super Stash of Cash" ($500 on every 100th show). If not, the time resumes and they may continue moving letters and guess again.

Should the first contestant fail, their opponent (who watches the proceedings from a "second try" chair) is given a third letter to move into its proper position and ten seconds to unscramble the word for $50.

In the event of a main-game tie, the contestants work together in the Super Sqramble and split $200 if they win.

Changes

Originally, only the day's winner could try Super Sqramble. When the "second try" rule was first implemented, the runner-up had only five seconds to unscramble the word.

Home Scramble

During the commercial breaks, short three-second clips appear with different letters on-screen. During the show, the host gives the location of one of the letters. The letters unscramble to form a word pertaining to a particular category, and viewers who call or e-mail the show with the correct word are entered into a drawing for prizes.

Typically there are three winners each week, and each wins a gift certificate to the local Golden Corral.

Set

The show's set is very basic, with sixteen four-sided boxes in the center of the stage; each box consists of the number, a "bonus card" side (if applicable), the hidden letter (if applicable), and a blank side. On each side of the border are six "blank" colored boxes.

The score displays use an orange seven-segment readout on a black background; the episode's sponsor (currently Auntie Anne's) has a card located between the contestants.

The puzzle board has two lines of holders for the letters, with two TV monitors showing the category; the entire board flips around for the Super Sqramble, with the monitors changing to a 60-second clock.

Changes

The original score displays used a rotating designation for "One Hundred", "Two Hundred", etc. written in script over a two-digit number with the contestant nameplates underneath; the current score displays (and nametag placements) debuted on March 31, 2003 (Episode #26).

For at least the first 100 episodes, the show used twenty-five boxes at center-stage; this presumably allowed for longer puzzles, more Missers, or both. In addition, the puzzle board had no category displays.

The plaque showing the main sponsor's logo (the sponsor that provided the bonus money) was added between the contestants' scores on June 7, 2004 (Episode #84). Two weeks later (June 21), an oversized $100 bill was placed underneath the show's sponsor plaque between the contestants. This was changed to a single picture with a wad of money on October 6, 2008.

The lights to denote the current contestant's turn debuted on July 3, 2006, as did a more colorful backdrop behind the contestants. The lights bordering the contestant podium (also to denote turns and winners) first appeared on July 31, 2006 and remained through 2011.

The contestant nameplates were given a much larger font beginning on June 9, 2008 (#284), which was also used for the last seven Hickory episodes. The current style, which debuted when the show moved to Myrtle Beach, has colored squares behind each name, which themselves are composed of individual letters.

The first sponsor shown on the contestant podium was High Country Bank from June 7, 2004 to May 2, 2005; from May 9 to June 20, the Scrambled Squares logo was seen instead of a sponsor, suggesting that BZB was paying the winnings out-of-pocket. On June 27, 2005, Piedmont Federal began sponsoring the "Super Stash of Cash", with United Community Bank sponsoring the "Big Bundle of Bucks" beginning on January 19, 2009 (#337) and alternating with Piedmont; occasionally, a second sponsor's plaque would be adjacent to that of the primary sponsor. United Community became the sole sponsor beginning on December 7, 2009 (#400), when the show returned to airing one new episode per week; the "Super Stash" plaque was also retired.

When the show returned to airing two new episodes per week on May 30, 2011, United Community sponsored both episodes; the following week (June 6), TCBY began sponsoring the Big Bundle of Bucks on each episode. While no official reason was given for the abrupt change, United Community's last two episodes had very fast Bonus Sqramble solves (two seconds on #438, five seconds on #439).