Teams consisted of a celebrity and a contestant. Each team was given three clues to identify the name of a famous person or in some instances, a place. Each clue was a word which became part of the name the teams were trying to identify. The team member who knew the answer would communicate to their partner using a sentence or statement that would help the partner come up with the correct word, and this was the word "you don't say". There was a five-second time limit, and if one team was unsuccessful, play would pass to the other team. The team that successfully identified the person or place scored one point, with the first team to score three points winning that game. In the bonus round, the winning team was given three clues to identify another famous person, with the choice of choosing any of the clues in any sequence. If the team was successful on the first clue, the contestant won $300.00. If successful on the second clue, the prize was $200.00, and if it took all three clues, the prize was $100.00. If a team won a game via shutout, also known as a blitz game, the contestant would win an automobile if they could guess the name on the first clue. In such cases, their partner could not help on the first clue. There was a fixed number of rounds or turns for each team in a game, and the host would advise both teams when the final round or turn would begin. If neither team could identify the person or place after this, the host would give the correct name and the game was declared a draw.

Goodson-Todman Productions thought the game looked a little too much like "Password" (1961) so the producers moved the host's podium from between the teams to camera left.