What? Where? When? (Russian: Что? Где? Когда?, translit. Chto? Gde? Kogda?; ChGK) is an intellectual game show well-known in Russian-language media and other CIS states since the mid-1970s. Today it is produced for television by TV Igra on the Russian Channel One and also exists as a competitive game played in clubs organized by the World Association of Intellectual Games. Over 50,000 teams worldwide play the sport version of the game, based on the TV show.
Format Throughout the game, a team of six experts attempts to answer questions sent in by viewers. For each question, the time limit is one minute. The questions require a combination of skills such as logical thinking, intuition, insight, etc. to find the correct answer. The person who sent in the question earns a prize if the experts cannot give the correct answer, while the team of experts earns points if they manage to get the correct answer. The basic rules of the game are:
The game is played between a "team of TV viewers" and a team of six experts. Viewers ask questions to the experts, and the experts, during a one-minute discussion, try to find the answer to the given question. If the experts answer the question correctly, they earn a point. If their answer is wrong, the viewers' team gets a point, and the viewer who sent in this question receives a monetary prize. The experts do not receive monetary prizes. The experts sit around the round table divided into 13 sectors, 12 of which contain envelopes with questions mailed in by viewers and pre-checked for validity, while the 13th sector (see below) indicates a question randomly selected from questions submitted by Internet during the show. Questions from the 13th sector are not pre-checked thus their quality and validity are not guaranteed. The arrow on the spinning top selects the sector which will be played next. If the arrow points to a sector which has already been played, the next clockwise sector is selected. A question may involve material objects or media (video or audio) demonstrated to the players. Sometimes the subject of the question is placed inside a "black box" brought into the room and placed on the table but not opened until the correct answer is announced. In this case, the question usually ends with, "What is in the black box?" The experts may choose to answer the question immediately, before the minute starts. Then, if their answer is correct, they win an extra minute that can be used to discuss one question later in the game. They may also answer during the minute, but with no chance to win an extra minute. Usually, members of other teams of experts attend the game and informally discuss questions among themselves during the show. Once per game, but only if the viewers' team is in the lead, the playing team can ask for help from other experts present in the hall, who have 20 seconds to help. Surprisingly enough, despite the fact that teams actually compete with each other and have no material reasons to assist, the traditions of collaborative work in the club and the spirit of friendship—even between members of different teams—usually urge them to suggest the best answers they have to the playing team. The game continues up to 6 points scored by either side. When the experts get 5 points, they may declare "the final round" which means that only one expert remains to play the round. This clears the score, and this question "costs" 6 points. The expert must give the exact answer (any variations are not accepted) to win the game with the score 6:0. In the 2012 series, the rule of a "minute for loan" was added: if the viewers' team has 5 points, the experts' team may choose to have one extra minute for a particular question (the viewer who sent the question in is awarded their prize even if the experts' answer is correct) and answer one of the later questions without discussing it. The room stewards, along with the host, are monitoring the conduct throughout entire game. Hinting the right answer to the experts' team is strictly forbidden. The stewards may show a red card to all of the room to signal that the hinting attempt has been noticed (the host may also suspend a game to announce the hinting attempt). Then, steward shows the card at the person who tried to hint the experts, and that person is removed from the room until the end of the game. The experts' team may be denied the answer, and therefore, lose a point which will go to the viewers' team.
Special sectors Blitz: three easier questions with 20 seconds to discuss each one. The experts must answer all three questions correctly to win the point. Superblitz: same as blitz, but only one expert remains at the table. In recent years, the last expert to win a superblitz within a calendar year is awarded a prize. 13th sector: the computer randomly selects one of the questions received on the Internet during the game. If this is the final of the year, Boris Kruk asks instead. If he wins his part of the prize divides to all non-winners (8 or more). 0 (zero) (before 2001): questions by the game-makers. Host Vladimir Voroshilov entered the room, chose one of three questions placed in the sector, and asked it himself. This was the only time where the host could be seen in the show. In some series the zero sector had the special rule: it was played only if the arrow pointed at it directly, the clockwise rule did not apply. The sector could be played up to 3 times this way. After Voroshilov's death, the sector was replaced with the 13th sector.
Prizes (Russian version) The TV viewer gets 50000₽ + 10000₽ for every extra point the Team of TV Viewers has (Ie, they earn an extra 50000₽ if score 0:0-5:0) but they receive 100000₽ for the 6th point, if experts answer incorrectly, or request call the club or minute in loan. Starting from 2022 season prizes for every TV Wiever's winning questions awarded 100000₽ The best question (submitted by a member of the Team of TV Viewers) gets an 150000₽ (sometimes an ordinary question may receive this) In the final show of the year, the team of TV viewers play for a super-prize: the deposit (with compounding prizes and elements of a jackpot). This sum is divided by each player that have won (by either 1,2,3,4,5 or 6). If Kruk wins the 13th sector, this part is divided by the 12 question submitters. The best player of the year gets The Diamond Owl.
Music pause Music pauses are used as timeouts. Music plays in a cabaret style.
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