Two teams, each composed of a celebrity and contestant, attempt to convey mystery words to each other using only single-word clues, in order to win cash prizes.

The Lightning Round passwords were shown on a small, pop-up display which appeared only in front of the clue-giver (which the camera could also see), and the contestant was allowed to give multiple responses to each clue.

On the ABC version from 1971 to 1974, immediately after completing the Lightning Round, the player was given a chance at "the Betting Word," in which they could wager any amount of their winnings on their celebrity partner's ability to guess it within 15 seconds.

[citation needed] Before the cancellation of the Goodson-Todman game show Snap Judgment on NBC in 1969, that program's set was changed to make it resemble the look of the CBS Password.

Also in 1965, the show adopted an annual "Tournament of Champions" where contestants on the daytime version who won both their games were invited back to compete for more money.

The winner of the annual contest won $5,000, received a free trip to Macedonia, and faced the previous year's champion in a best-of-seven match for $10,000.

As television's first successful celebrity–civilian team game, Password attracted a large and loyal audience that made it into a solid Nielsen favorite for nearly five years while shows came and went with great frequency on the other networks.

[citation needed] On July 11, 1966, CBS preempted Password in favor of live coverage of a press conference held by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on the progress of the Vietnam War.

CBS daytime head Fred Silverman canceled Password in the spring of 1967 after squabbles over where the show would be taped (New York City or Hollywood).

[4] Goodson-Todman sold reruns of the CBS version to local stations via syndication in the late 1960s, and in some markets, they performed quite well in mid-morning or late-afternoon slots.

These plans never materialized and ABC went ahead, managing strong results against NBC's Somerset and reruns of Gomer Pyle, USMC on CBS.

[citation needed] ABC promoted the show to 12:30 PM (11:30 AM Central) on September 6, where it faced stronger challenges in the form of CBS' long-running Search for Tomorrow and NBC's The Who, What, or Where Game, which had been on for two years.

Password held up well there for six months until the network moved it up a half-hour to 12:00 PM (11:00 AM Central) on March 20, 1972, for the new Hatos-Hall game Split Second.

Although Goodson-Todman had success with celebrity-driven formats such as Match Game (which debuted in 1973) and Tattletales (which began earlier in the year) through the late 1970s, the lack of civilian contestants and significantly altered rules on Password drove more viewers away.

[citation needed] On February 24, 1975, Goodson-Todman abandoned the all-stars format (but changed the contestant configuration in order to avoid another set redesign) in a last-ditch effort to save the program.

[citation needed] On June 27, 1975, four members of the show's staff played a "mock game" which filled some time after the final Lightning Round.

Password" and mentioned that numerous elementary schoolteachers in the U.S. used the various editions of the Milton Bradley-packaged home game as a tool to teach their pupils English.

For this final episode, the use of hand gestures was permitted since Showoffs, the Goodson-Todman game show that would replace Password the following Monday, involved the use of charades to communicate the words.

[citation needed] CBS picked up a new version of the show entitled Million Dollar Password, hosted by Regis Philbin, which premiered on June 1, 2008, and ran for 12 episodes over two seasons.

[2] The series was taped in New York and was the second million-dollar game show that Philbin has hosted (the first being the American network version Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?).

[citation needed] NBC greenlit a new version of Password from Fremantle with Jimmy Fallon as executive producer, on May 17, 2021, during NBCUniversal's upfronts presentation.

[citation needed] On May 12, 2023, the series was renewed for a second season; however, production was delayed to November 2023[13] due to Fallon's support of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.

[citation needed] It is believed that the videotapes that were used for the ABC Password were recycled and reused for the Dawson version of Family Feud, which began on July 12, 1976.

[citation needed] Both NBC daytime versions were preserved and have aired in reruns on GSN and Buzzr, though a few select episodes are skipped due to either poor tape condition, puzzles or clues that may be deemed offensive, or celebrity clearance issues.

[citation needed] On December 2, 2008, BCI Entertainment Company LLC (under license from FremantleMedia Enterprises) released a DVD box set "The Best of Password, starring Allen Ludden: The CBS Years - 1962–1967".

[citation needed] An early mock-up of the packaging showed host Ludden on the later CBS set, with the original ABC logo on the front of the desk (as well as on the spine), while a slew of celebrities was listed on the bottom of the cover.

[citation needed] According to a November 11, 1997, issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine,[20] it was reported that Gordon Elliott was being prepped to become the brand new host of a version of Password planned for syndication in the Fall of 1998, with Pearson/All-American Television to have produced the series.

[citation needed] On May 14, 2016, an article from Buzzerblog[21] received word from an anonymous but reputable source that Password was listed as a possible new alternative series on the internal ABC affiliate website.

[citation needed] A computer version of Super Password was released by GameTek for MS-DOS systems, as well as the Apple II and Commodore 64, shortly before the series was canceled.

[citation needed] An online version of Password was once available on its now-defunct website Uproar.com where instead of just one partner every time, you were allowed to play along with lots of other people in a party atmosphere.