[1] During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the show continued taping episodes from the homes of the participants, without a studio audience, but returned to The Bell House for the series finale.

The show features four to five individual games based on puzzle topics, wordplay, and trivia, interspersed by chatter from the show's hosts, as well as a segment featuring an interview and one or more games involving the celebrity guest of the week, who was originally called the "Very Important Puzzler".

In the original format, the winning player proceeds with all other winners to the final game at the end of the show.

The prize for winning this round is typically a small bit of memorabilia provided by the week's current Very Important Puzzler, but generally of low monetary value.

The Puzzler typically plays for a contestant who has registered either via the show's website or through its social media pages.

In its current format, the two contestants who won their games move on to play a Final Round, where they are each asked 8 questions on a common theme.

As Eisenberg lists others that worked on the show, the puzzle guru interjects the anagrammed forms of their names as well.

Occasionally, for comic effect, the puzzle guru will also provide an anagram for the call letters of WNYC ("CNYW").