I don't watch many but I like to flip them on if I'm not doing anything. No question for me. Jeopardy is fast paced and smart and lacks a lot of the silliness and gimmicks prevalent in something like Wheel of Fortune. In general, I like the trivia shows best. I thought Win Ben Stein's Money on Comedy Central was fantastic, and always watched it after school. Going back, Groucho's You Bet Your Life was brilliant. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb8m34A7sNA[/yt] I like Wheel of Fortune and Price as right as a kid, but they don't do much for me now. Family Feud is the lamest game show in my opinion.
I would say that trivia shows are actually my least favorite, especially something like Jeopardy where the questions can be so out there and ridiculous that only people with insane memories and lots of free time to take in useless facts will succeed. I guess I don't find that all that impressive. I prefer word games, like Lingo or Chain Reaction, which require intelligence and problem solving skills. I also really liked Supermarket Sweep and Shop Til You Drop back in the day. Not sure what the appeal was exactly, they were just damn entertaining. I do find it kind of funny that you say Wheel of Fortune has silliness and gimmicks; compared to a lot of the game shows on TV now, it's downright somber! I'm trying to think of other shows I've liked over the years...I enjoyed Family Feud only during the Richard Karn years, not a fan of the other hosts. Two shows that my family loves which I could never stand are Match Game and Press Your Luck, now those were gimmicky and full of silliness. Others I like include Double Dare, Password, I've Got a Secret, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, What's My Line?, and Win, Lose, or Draw. I was big into classic game shows in my late teens/early 20s when they had a comeback on TV for a while, so I'm sure I'm missing many of the ones I enjoyed from back then.
I love Jeopardy- tape if every day. I just wish they'd get rid of the "Clue Crew". I assume they added them to spice up the show but I think it makes the game bog down. I used to love Win Ben Stein's Money. I never watch Wheel of Fortune at home, but it's fun to watch at a bar.
I love the Canadian version of Cash Cab. That one's been fairly successful and really fun to watch. It's been going on long enough that they even changed cities.
Name That Tune Tic Tac Dough The Price Is Right (with Bob Barker AND Johnny Olson) Press Your Luck (big bucks, big bucks, no whammies) Family Feud (Richard Dawson only) Jeopardy The $10,000 Pyramid (or whatever the hell amount of money it was - seemed to change every year!) The Match Game (Gene Rayburn: the original gangsta) The Gong Show And I guess Whose Line Is It Anyway? does, technically, count, even though the points don't matter.
Richard Dawson's Family Feud Bob Barker's The Price is Right. I can still watch and enjoy "Wheel of Fortune", been watching it more now since a new local affiliate has taken it on so now it comes on after the local news program I watch.
This is my list too. I would also add Rock n' Roll Jeopardy which was on VH1 and hosted by the guy that hosts Survivor. They stopped making it when Survivor took off.
My favorite game shows are usually the things I watched a lot when I was a kid. My favorites were: $25,000 Pyramid Double Dare Family Feud Hollywood Squares The Price is Right