On September 4, 1975, for the first time, viewers of the USSR could watch with interest the game of experts in the intellectual program “What? Where? When?". For 38 years now, the popularity of this program has not waned. Read on to find out what this game is about.
Game idea and basic principle
The creators of this TV game are presenter Vladimir Voroshilov (in the first years of the program’s existence, due to the fact that he became persona non grata, his last name was not even indicated in the credits) and Natalya Stetsenko.
The rules of the game in the early years were significantly different from modern ones. In addition to the television version, after some time the sports version also became popular, when teams were formed in cities and qualifying “battles” were held. The game is based on the principle of brainstorming, when within one minute a team of experts needs to correctly answer any question. If an incorrect answer is given, then the opposing team - the TV viewers - gets a point. Victory goes to the side with six points. After the death of Vladimir Voroshilov (March 10, 2001, Boris Kryuk began to host the game. At first he was not in the frame, his voice was modified using modern technology, and his name was kept secret.
According to the predictions of astrologers in the program “What? Where? When?" was sentenced to 25 years. A quarter of a century later, on March 10, 2001, Vladimir Yakovlevich passed away. The anniversary games were his last tour.
Since 2002, the game has been released 17 times a year. The season consists of four series of games: spring, summer, autumn and winter (in 1991–2001 there were two series of games - summer and winter). The spring, summer and autumn series usually consist of 4 games, the winter series - of 5 (a “Final of the Year” is added, in which the main prize is the Diamond Owl).
Currently, there are clubs for fans of “What? Where? When?" in almost all major regions of Russia and in many countries where immigrants from the former USSR live. Clubs organize games based on the sports version of “What? Where? When?". Regular championships are held, as well as festivals and tournaments. The work of clubs is regulated by the International Association of Clubs “What? Where? When?". The newspaper “Igra” was also published, dedicated to “What? Where? When?" and "KVNu". "What? Where? When?" gave birth to another intellectual game - “Brain Ring”.
First rules
When the program “What? Where? When?" aired, the game was built on the following principle: two families represented two teams playing against each other. The game consisted of two rounds, which were filmed alternately at each participant's home. There was no presenter; the two stories were connected in editing using photographs from a family album. Two teams took part in the program - the Ivanov family and the Kuznetsov family from Moscow.
Game without a top
The main attribute of the game - the top - appeared only a year later, in 1976.
Unlike the modern one, it had two arrows that chose not the question, but the answering player. Since then, the game has been a “television youth club”. Its first episode was conducted by A. Maslyakov, and the first “experts” were MSU students: A. Ledenev, G. Velmakina, S. Glavatsky, D. Varzanovtsev, N. Kozlova and others. When the arrow of the top pointed to the player, he, without hesitation , should have given an answer instantly - there was no minute of discussion in the rules. There was no team either: everyone played for themselves. In the 1976 game, 14 questions were asked. The count has not yet been kept. The main goal of the game is to collect seven prize envelopes. In the game on April 24, not a single participant managed to win the main prize. In 1977, the top began pointing to letters from viewers with questions. A minute of discussion was introduced. A living symbol of intellectual play was presented - the wise eagle owl Fomka.
They also introduced a rule: if club members lost a question, the entire six players changed. The permanent director of photography of the program for twenty years was Alexander Fuks.
Questions
The first questions were invented by V. Voroshilov himself and the program’s editorial team, since the “team of TV viewers” did not yet exist, when the game became popular, they began to accept questions from TV viewers. There were an incredibly large number of letters, and the questions had to not only be carefully checked for accuracy, but also edited, and a dramatization thought through (for some, the necessary details had to be selected). The game requires erudition and a broad outlook in the field of modern science, the ability to think quickly, originally and out of the ordinary. A good question is one that requires knowledge not only of the disciplines of the school curriculum, but also ingenuity, resourcefulness, and attentiveness. A strong team should have harmonious cooperation between people with different ways of thinking, who should be specialists in different fields of science and spheres of life. Much depends on training and the ability to understand each other within the team.
Types of questions
A common question in verbal form. Experts must prepare the exact wording of the answer.
Multimedia question is constructed using video materials filmed either by the viewer himself, or by a professional camera operator, or by correspondents of the program. The correct answer may sometimes also be shown on the screen.
Question with the subject. A team of experts is shown a certain object and asked a question. When a correct answer is given, the club manager usually shows it on the object. Sometimes experts must, on the contrary, guess the object located behind the scenes, which is brought out to them with the correct answer.
Black box: a black box is brought out to experts, and the presenter gives a description of the object lying in it. Sometimes several black boxes are brought out (game December 10, 2011 - the question involved all three boxes at once: large, medium and small).
First players
The players of the first seasons - Moscow State University students or engineering workers in jeans and checkered shirts - wore beards and joked a lot, loved bard songs and conversations in the kitchen. The symbol of the ChGK of those times was Alexander Byalko, a nuclear physicist who looked like a Finnish lumberjack, the hero of the Strugatskys - taciturn, witty, with hidden sadness in his kind eyes: in 1982, he gave an early answer four times in one game, and on the New Year's Eve broadcast with the score 5:5, in front of the whole country, he lit a fire with a stick, a rope and a plank, which saved all the teams from relegation from the club. A happy, blissful time of ignorance - when the players, the millions of observers of the process, had enough time to simply think, or, in extreme cases, listen to the reasoning of Academician Petryanov-Sokolov about whether it is possible to teach a person to think. Vladimir Voroshilov, whose last name was finally allowed to be mentioned in the credits, published the book “The Phenomenon of the Game” - not a memoir, not a collection of anecdotes, but a theoretical understanding of the TV game: the principles of asking questions, the mechanism of collective interaction, etc.
The symbol of the era of the 90s was Alexander Druz, silent, ironic, and a little awkward. His principle of play is not instantaneous intuitive comprehension, but sober, almost commercial calculation.
Sectors
Sector "zero"(introduced in 1992), replacing the “green sector” with the largest amount, which was in 1991 (20 thousand rubles). If the arrow of the top stopped on this sector, the presenter went out into the gaming room, chose one of three “zero” cards lying on the table, on which, as a rule, Vladimir Voroshilov’s own questions were written down. He did this in his own manner, so that sometimes the players could not understand where the introduction ended and the question began. Voroshilov called this version of the game “a game of an intellectual casino against experts.”
The “zero” sector was played up to three times per game. Once, in 2000, it fell out 4 times. Presenter Vladimir Voroshilov came out into the hall with a bonus card “Zero”. It was identified by the number “0” on the table. During the first period of its existence, questions from the “zero” sector were, as a rule, asked by the sponsors of the program (with the questioner and the team making individual bets), and subsequently by the presenter himself, who came out to the experts and asked his question. Most often the questions were on logic. After the death of Vladimir Voroshilov, the cards with questions were taken to the announcer's room. In June 2001, the three-map Zero sector played its last game. The last question in this round was won by the club team, and the answer to the question was given by Maxim Potashev.
Thirteenth sector(“Internet vs. Experts”) is played only once per game. On the table it is marked with the number “13”. If the arrow of the top pointed to it, experts are asked one of the questions sent during the broadcast of the game on the site 13.tvigra.ru (until 2012 - 13.mts.ru). According to the presenter, the choice of question is random and made by computer, so no one knows the exact answer to it. The question appears on the screen and the presenter reads it. In case of an incorrect answer, the person who sent his question is assigned to the team of TV viewers (which gets a point), and receives the appropriate amount of money depending on the round of the game. Often disliked by many experts and persons present in the hall due to the triviality of his questions and answers, in some cases sparking strong disputes during the game. Introduced into the club since the winter series of games in 2001.
Blitz sector: Experts must answer three questions in a row, each discussion should not exceed 20 seconds. As a rule, all three questions are related to each other by a single topic (animals, cars, events, art, etc.).
The sector is unloved by experts for its non-trivial nature, which is why it is more often lost than won. In this case, the team of viewers gets a point from the person out of three whose question was not answered (he also receives the winning amount, depending on the round). First introduced in 1986, from 2001 to 2004. wasn't played out.
Super blitz sector: a complicated version of blitz, in which only one “expert” plays at the table (the player’s name is called by the team captain, although in the 2008 final the player was chosen by the top). The player is asked three questions, as in blitz, and is given 20 seconds of thinking for each. At the same time, the presenter asks for complete silence in the hall. The player is sometimes allowed to voice his thoughts out loud. We criticize the super blitz most of all, since out of the many cases of its loss in the history of the club (the super blitz was introduced in 1986), it was taken less than a quarter of the time.
Basalai sector: a special sector that operated from the 1997 Winter Games to the 1998 Summer Games.
Sector Bergerac: a special sector that operated in the 1998 Summer Games.
Sectors Hobbit, Avanta, Sonnet: special sectors operating in the 1998 Winter Games.
Retro sector: A special sector that was active in the 2000 Anniversary Games. The sector asked questions from old games “What? Where? When?”, most often the 1980s. He did not participate in the final of the anniversary games on December 30.
Rounds
The standard game involves eleven rounds (questions), although theoretically you can win it already on the sixth question. In rare cases, at the request of experts and the club, as well as with the support of the keeper of traditions (see below), the twelfth question may come into play. In the Winter Series, after the tenth round, the team is also allowed to take a "decisive round", in which the previous score is reset, and the team leaves the only expert at the table.
Decisive round: In the event that a team of experts has earned 5 points in their favor, but would like to increase the result of the game to a score of 6:0 in their favor, the team can take the decisive round. In this case, the strongest expert, in the opinion of the team, remains at the table, after which a question is selected in a standard manner using a top, which the expert must answer without anyone’s help. In this case, a mandatory condition is that there be absolute silence in the room and a complete absence of discussion of the issue. This type of question helps a team advance to the season finals if the previous teams of the season play more successfully. In the entire history of the Moscow elite club, 21 decisive rounds were played, and it was won only five times.
Club help. If a team of experts has no versions about the correct answer, it can use the help of the club once. The time that can be used for these purposes is 20 seconds. In 2007, this rule was slightly changed, after which help can only be taken when the score is not in favor of experts; since 2010, it can also not be taken on blitzes, superblitzes and the decisive round.
Prizes
It was only in 1979 that a new term appeared in the game - “connoisseur”, and the team eventually turned into a club of connoisseurs. In 1979, special prizes also appeared - books, awarded by Tamara Vladimirovna Vishnyakova, a member of the presidium of the All-Union Society of Book Lovers, director of the Moscow House of Books. If the player answered all seven questions correctly, he received a set of books.
A few days before the collapse of the USSR, the game turned from an “intellectual club” into an “intellectual casino.” The motto of the program was the phrase “Intellectual casino is the only place where you can make money with your own mind.” The gaming table was divided into red and black sectors, and each question now had its own “cost” in ruble equivalent. Later (from 1994 to 1998) bets appeared in the game. Chips were placed in an amount equal to the value of the sector: if the bet “plays” (the top arrow points to this sector), the amount increases tenfold. If in 1994–1995 the bet was made by the playing team, then from 1996 to 1998, when the teams in the club were disbanded, each player bet for himself. Sponsors and a lawyer appeared - the defender of the interests of “experts” - Mikhail Barshchevsky. And from December 1, 2001, the intellectual casino ceased to exist. Only TV viewers who win against experts receive money in the game. The amount of winnings of a TV viewer was first (from 2001 to 2007) determined using a telephone vote of TV viewers (two telephone numbers worked - the first was called by TV viewers who liked the question, the second - by those who did not like it. Each call “for” added 1 ruble to the winnings, and “against” took it away). Since 2008, the authors of the questions receive winnings in accordance with the point they brought to their team of viewers: for the first point - 10 thousand rubles, for the second - 20 thousand, and for the sixth, winning point - 60 thousand rubles. If the team of “experts” took advantage of the “club help” and won the round, the viewer receives compensation from the sponsor equal to the amount that he could have earned if the experts had not answered his question.
Musical pause
In 1979, a musical pause was introduced into the game.
For several years, the game “What? Where? When?" was one of the few programs on Soviet television where you could see clips of popular foreign performers. In the first years, musical breaks were recorded, but since 1982 they began to invite “live” artists. Since 1986, the musical break has been symbolized by three figurines in the form of treble clefs. The team captain had the right to use these pauses up to three times per game at the discretion of the team. In 1990, this rule was abolished, and in 1996, the musical break was appointed by the presenter. Recently, there has been a “Tea Break”, when the manager of the hall brings six cups of tea on a tray and places them on the table.
Music in the game
Music plays an important role in the game. Several songs were dedicated to the TV game: the song “I Want to Know Everything” by the vocal-instrumental ensemble “Jolly Fellows.”
The song “Vivat, King!” singer Tamara Gverdtsiteli gave the club a gift for its twentieth anniversary.
"What? Where? When?" has become so popular that her music is associated only with the game show. The main melody heard in the game's intro is the introductory movement to the symphonic poem by R. Strauss "Thus Spoke Zarathustra."
At the beginning of the game, a fragment of Hermann’s aria from the opera “The Queen of Spades” (“What is our life? A game!”) sounds.
Previously, Countess Loretta’s aria from A. Gretry’s opera “Richard the Lionheart” was also used. Often the Yello duet’s composition “Homage To The Mountain”, which opens the album “Baby”, was played as an introduction. The final game of the year features the Philips theme, “Cosmic Wind.”
During the game, when the top is spinning, the composition “Wild Horse” performed by Dixieland Albert Melkonov (author of the composition is Gennady Bondarev) is played; between rounds, arrangements of fragments from “An American in Paris”, compositions “Blues” by George Gershwin, jazz medleys, music are sometimes heard G. Verdi.
When the assistants take out an object or a black box, the composition Ra-ta-ta performed by James Last is played, and at the end of the program we hear “Dance of Death” by Saint-Saëns. When the “zero” sector fell out, the composition “Doop” was played, processed by Jean Lejeux Station Edit.
Awards
The “Sign of the Owl” was awarded to the best player of the 1980 final, Alexander Byalko.
"Crystal Owl" was introduced in 1984.
The owner of the first such owl was Nurali Latypov. Currently awarded in each series of games to the best player from the experts' team or the best player from the TV viewers' team (depending on whose team won); until 1990, it was awarded once a year to the best expert and the best television viewer.
The first episode of the TV show “What? Where? When?" aired September 4, 1975. True, it was not teams of experts who took part in that game, but two families of Muscovites - the Kuznetsovs and the Ivanovs. Moreover, the shooting took place not in the studio, but in the apartments of the players. The program was hosted by Alexander Maslyakov.
For a long time, players were called “members of the What? Where? When?". The term “experts” was first heard on air only in 1979. This is what Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov called the players, a man who for many years was the host of this popular program, but did not appear on camera. It was only on April 23, 1980 that he announced his name on air.
Fomka the owl is the mascot of this popular TV show. He first appeared in the hall where the filming took place in 1977.
The famous top, with the help of which a question is chosen for each round, was purchased by V. Ya. Voroshilov in a regular children's toy store. It was manufactured at the Krasny Proletary factory.
Since 1979, musical breaks have appeared in the program. Moreover, at first they just played recordings, but in 1982 they began to invite artists. Quite often popular foreign performers appeared in the studio.
Voroshilov V.Ya
Since 1982, you must give 6 correct answers to win the game. Before this, the game was limited by airtime, not the number of questions.
In Soviet times, it was not customary to play for money, so books were given to the winners as prizes. Money appeared on the gaming table only in 1991.
Since 1990, games of the club of experts have been held in Neskuchny Garden. The hunting lodge, where experts meet, was built in the mid-18th century on the estate of Prince Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy.
Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov played the last game of the elite club of experts on December 30, 2000, and in March of the following year the famous TV presenter died. Boris Kryuk became the new director, producer and host of the game. By the way, his name was also hidden for a long time, and his voice was processed on a computer.
In 2003, a monument was erected at the grave of V. Ya. Voroshilov - a cube made of black granite, which symbolizes the famous “Black Box”. The project of this original monument was prepared by Nikita Shangin, a long-time participant in the famous TV game. 
Since 2002, the main prize of the TV show “What? Where? When?" is the Diamond Owl. It is made of crystal and silver and weighs about 8 kg. 70 rubies were used to decorate the prize. The prize is awarded to the best expert or TV viewer.
On September 4, 1975, the then insanely popular game “What? Where? When?". True, it was recorded in the apartments of two Moscow families of players - the Kuznetsovs and the Ivanovs, who were at first called experts, and not members of the “What? Where? When?".
The name of Boris Kryuk, who became the new presenter, producer and director of the game, was also hidden for quite a long time, and his voice was subjected to computer processing.
Since 1979, musical breaks began to be practiced in the program, first in recordings; artists, including foreign performers, began to appear in 1982. At first, the game was limited to airtime, namely, since 1982, in order to win the game, you must answer 6 questions correctly.
Recordings of the TV show “What? Where? When?" Since 1990, they have been held in Neskuchny Garden, in a hunting lodge built in the mid-18th century on the estate of Prince Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy.
Since 2002, a diamond owl made of crystal and silver weighing about 8 kg has become a prize in the TV show “What? Where? When?”, which is awarded to the best connoisseur or TV viewer.
The prize is decorated with 70 rubies.
2
Money in transfer began to be used as winnings since 1991, because in Soviet times, as a rule, they did not play with money. Prizes for the winners were given in books.
3
Vladimir Yakovlevich Voroshilov led the popular game until December 30, 2000, and in March 2001 he died. At the grave of the famous TV presenter in 2003, according to the design of long-time participant in the game Nikita Shangin, a monument in the shape of a “Black Box” was erected.
4
The show's mascot, the eagle owl Fomka, first “took part” in the show in 1977. From an ordinary children's toy store, the famous top produced by the Krasny Proletary plant came into the program, with the help of which the question for each round is determined. It was bought by V. Voroshilov.
5
For the first time, the participants of the game were called experts by the permanent host of the TV show, Vladimir Voroshilov. Vladimir Yakovlevich announced his name on air on April 23, 1980; before that, he had never appeared in the frame of this television program.
One of the most beloved programs of Soviet television "What? Where? When?" celebrates his birthday on September 4th. In 2017, the program turned 42 years old. Today it is the longest-running program on Russian television. It includes everything: excitement, conflict, intrigue and, most importantly, a battle of intellects. It is noteworthy that the first prizes for the winners of the program were not money, but good books, which at that time were truly worth their weight in gold. In honor of the birthday of the famous program, the portal has prepared a selection of the most interesting facts about “What? Where? When?”
Fact #1
In the very first episode of the program “What? Where? When?”, which aired on September 4, 1975, there were no experts yet. Two families from Moscow took part in the program: the Ivanov family and the Kuznetsov family. Filming took place in the apartments of both families. Each was asked 11 questions. Then the two stories were combined into one program. The show, as we are used to seeing it, appeared on December 24, 1977. Two years later, the players at the table were called experts for the first time. The first questions for "What? Where? When?" composed by the editors and a 12-year-old schoolboy, Borya Kryuk.
Now Boris Kryuk, host of the program “What? Where? When?”, recalls: “I wrote a chess problem. It was the very first question in the very first game. ... I was the first TV viewer to win against the experts.”
Fact #2
The name of the TV show host remained a mystery to viewers for a long time. And Vladimir Voroshilov was given the nickname “Incognito from Ostankino” for a long time. Viewers only found out who was hiding behind the menacing voice on April 23, 1980, when the broadcast ended with the words: “The broadcast was hosted by Vladimir Voroshilov.” After his death in 2001, Boris Kryuk took over as presenter. His name was also hidden for a long time, and his voice was processed on a computer. But even now, when this information has ceased to be a secret, experts address the presenter only this way: “Mr. Presenter!”
Fact #3
Since 1990, all games "What? Where? When?" take place in the Hunting Lodge in Neskuchny Garden. Built between 1739 and 1753, the building is an architectural monument of the 18th century, part of the pleasure estate of Prince Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy. It was there that the smartest Nurali Latypov gave the correct answer to a question that had baffled all experts.
Fact #4
The symbol of the game is an eagle owl named Fomka. In 1977, he even appeared in the hall during a game. And as a reward, the best players receive the Crystal Owl. The prize was first introduced in 1984. In 2002, a diamond owl was added to the crystal owl. It is awarded to the best player based on the results of the year. There were moments in the game when Alexander Druz rejoiced after making an incorrect move!!! answers from experts.
Fact #5
The organizers of the game take the musical break very seriously. Over the years, the following people performed on the TV show: Lyudmila Gurchenko, Vyacheslav Malezhik, Anne Veski, Igor Nikolaev, Edita Piekha and many others. At the anniversary games in 2000, Konstantin Raikin was awarded the "Crystal Owl" for the best musical break in the 25 years of the game "What? Where? When?" (the number with the participation of K. Raikin was shown on December 29, 1984).
Fact #6
One of the most mysterious attributes of the game is "What? Where? When?" is the famous black box. During the existence of the program, hundreds of different objects have been in it: soap, a conductor's baton, a skull, toilet paper, a wedding dress, feather bed fluff, spurs, a brick, a wheel of cheese, a head of cabbage, a bikini swimsuit, a jar of urine, an alarm clock, a live butterfly . Once among them there was even a real aviation “black box”. And several times throughout the history of the game the black box was empty.
Fact No. 7
Anyone who has ever watched the game probably noticed the top on the table with a rider inside, which the hall manager launches before each round. It's hard to believe, but this top is a slightly improved children's toy produced by the Moscow plant "Red Proletary". “Once I went to the Toy House to buy something as a gift for my three-year-old friend. I saw a top with a jumping horse and bought two at once, the second for myself. I played without leaving the house for ten days,” he recalled Voroshilov.
Fact #8
Until the fall of 1991, experts did not play for money. Books were used as prizes in the game. Then the intellectual club began to be called an intellectual casino, and the host was renamed the croupier. The motto of the program was the phrase: “Intellectual casino is the only place where you can make money with your own mind.”
Fact #9
On December 30, 2000, Vladimir Voroshilov played his last game; on March 10, 2001, he died. Since May 2001 author, presenter, director and producer of the game "What? Where? When?" became Boris Kryuk. Starting this year, “Sector 13” was introduced, to which Internet users can send questions to the game directly during the live broadcast. The creator of the game was born in Simferopol in 1930, and in 1943 his family moved to Moscow after evacuation. Three educations: Academy of Arts of the Estonian SSR (painting department), Moscow Art Theater School-Studio (production department), Higher Directing Courses. He was a production designer at the Moscow Art Theater, the Maly Theater, and the Operetta Theater. He worked as a director at the Sovremennik Theater and at the Taganka Theater. And in 1968, Vladimir Yakovlevich was invited to television. At least, that's what the official website of the Igra television company says. In any case, Voroshilov did not come to TV because of a good life - just to earn extra money. And, as often happens, I found my calling there.
Fact #10
During its existence, the TV quiz show "What? Where? When?" received seven TEFI awards, including victory in the Sound Engineer category. Each action of the game is accompanied by a specific musical composition. While the top is spinning, Gennady Bondarev's composition "Wild Horse" is played, the black box is taken out to the accompaniment of "Ra-Ta-Ta" by Chris Ewens and Christian Heilburg, and the crystal owl is given to the accompaniment of Homage To The Mountain by Yello.
Well, the very last fact, so to speak, “for a snack”. Club of experts "What? Where? When?" - the most ambitious idea, perhaps, in the entire history of television. This is the longest-running program on TV, which still does not lose its audience.