House of Games

British TV quiz show (2017–) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

House of Games, credited as Richard Osman's House of Games for its first nine series, is a British quiz show produced by Banijay UK Productions subsidiary Remarkable Entertainment for the BBC. The show is played on a weekly basis, with four celebrities playing on five consecutive days to win daily prizes, and the weekly prize of being crowned as "House of Games" champion. Points are accrued depending on where each celebrity finishes on each day and the points are doubled on Friday's show.[2]

Also known asRichard Osman's House of Games
Directed by
  • Ollie Bartlett
  • John Smith
Presented byRichard Osman (2017–2026)
Michael Sheen (from late 2026)
Quick facts Also known as, Genre ...
House of Games
Also known asRichard Osman's House of Games
GenreQuiz show
Directed by
  • Ollie Bartlett
  • John Smith
Presented byRichard Osman (2017–2026)
Michael Sheen (from late 2026)
Theme music composerMarc Sylvan
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series9
No. of episodes845
Production
Executive producers
  • Alexandra McLeod
  • Tamara Gilder
  • Richard Hague
  • Stephen Lovelock
ProducerStuart Harrison
Production locations dock10 studios (2024–present)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companyRemarkable Entertainment
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release4 September 2017 (2017-09-04) 
present
NetworkBBC One (primetime)
Release20 November 2020 (2020-11-20) 
5 November 2021 (2021-11-05)
Related
Richard Osman's House of Games Night
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Richard Osman has hosted the show since its start in 2017. From late 2026 it will be hosted by actor Michael Sheen.[3][4][5]

Format

Osman sits in a chair to the left of the screen, while the four celebrities sit in a line in individual chairs. Osman hits a button on his table, activating a round generator, which is displayed on a big screen. He then explains what the round is about and in what format it will take place – for example, whether it is a buzzer round, a pairs round, or one in which the players require use of their tablet computers. Five rounds are played each day, with the second round being played in pairs, and the final round always being "Answer Smash". The first round is quick general knowledge questions with a comic twist, such as rhyming words. The fourth round is typically "slow", where the question takes several minutes to be answered, and only one contestant receives a single point each time. In most games a point is awarded for each correct answer, but in "Answer Smash", points are also deducted for incorrect answers.

At the end of each day, the scores are announced and the winner wins a daily prize, which is usually a normal everyday object of some description with the "House of Games" logo imprinted on it (the logo being a turquoise-blue background with a depiction of Osman's hair, eyebrows and glasses). The points are then converted to four points for the winner, three for second place, two for third place and one for fourth place onto the weekly leader board; in Friday's "Double Points Friday" edition, the points awarded double to eight, six, four and two. The weekly winner receives the "House of Games" trophy (a silver cup with the Osman depiction on it) from Osman. If there are two players tied for first place at the end of the week, both players are declared joint winners and win a trophy each. In more recent episodes, a tie for first place is resolved by a tie-break question; the first to buzz in wins if they answer correctly or their opponent wins if they answer incorrectly.

Beginning with Series 3, special "House of Champions" episodes aired featuring players who had previously won a daily or weekly edition of the show coming back for another week to fight for the Gold Champions Trophy. There were also daily prizes, which were similar to the prizes on the regular version of the show. However, these prizes were mainly gold, rather than the turquoise-blue colour. From series 6 onwards, there were also special "Redemption" weeks with four previous losing contestants who had never won a day prize.

A week's worth of shows is recorded on a single day, so the celebrities are booked for only one day,[6] changing outfits between shows.

Contestants

Weekly winners in bold.

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

Series 5

Series 6

Series 7

Series 8

Series 9

Festive

Festive Series 1

Festive Series 2

Festive Series 3

Festive Series 4

Transmissions

More information Series, Presenter ...
SeriesPresenterEpisodesStart dateEnd date
1Richard Osman15[7]4 September 2017[8]22 September 2017[7]
250[9]28 May 2018[10]14 December 2018[9]
3100[11]7 October 2019[12]13 March 2020[11]
4100[13]12 October 2020[14]12 March 2021[13]
5140[15]16 August 2021[16]29 April 2022[15]
6100[17]5 September 2022[18]3 February 2023[17]
710025 September 2023[19]1 March 2024
810023 September 20247 March 2025
910029 September 202527 March 2026
105TBATBA
Michael Sheen100
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Spin-offs

Richard Osman's House of Games Night

On 20 November 2020, Osman launched a five-episode spin-off called Richard Osman's House of Games Night, broadcast weekly in primetime on BBC One.[20] A one-episode Christmas Special aired on 28 December 2020.[21] A second series, consisting of six episodes, began on 1 October 2021.[22]

The series follows the exact same format as the main show, but with the addition of rounds not seen in the original. There are no double points in the final episode. Series 2 features a house band led by David O'Doherty. In 2022, House of Games Night was cancelled after two series.

Transmissions

More information Series, Start date ...
SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
120 November 202018 December 2020[23]5[20]
Christmas Special28 December 20201[21]
21 October 20215 November 2021[24]6[22]
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Contestants

Merchandise

On 17 October 2019, Osman and Alan Connor published Richard Osman's House of Games: 101 new & classic games from the hit BBC series, a quizbook based on the programme.[25]

International versions

More information Country, Name ...
CountryNameHost(s)TV stationPremiereFinaleRef
Australia Claire Hooper's House of Games Claire Hooper ABC TV 21 April 2025 27 June 2025 [26][27]
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Footnotes

  1. This person finished on a negative score during one episode this week.
  2. This person won all five episodes in the week.
  3. The equal highest (20) and equal second highest (19) single episode score.
  4. The equal second highest single episode score (19).
  5. The equal highest single episode score (20).

References

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