The
Tod Sa Gun Game (เกมทศกัณฐ์ in Thai, named for the 10-faced giant in the
Ramayana story) is a Thai
game show produced by Workpoint
Entertainment. It was the 2003 runner-up, and the 2005
winner, of the "best game or quiz show on Asian television"
award.
In the original format, a contestant was shown 10 faces. They have
to name them all in order to win 10 million
baht. It was the first game show to have a ten million
baht jackpot, the highest at the time.
The show has won a number of awards from many institutions in
Thailand and Asia, including runner-up and highly commended of best
game or quiz programme in the
Asian Television Awards of 2003 and
2005, respectively.
In the one-on-one game, a player tries to score as many points as
possible by telling the name of the given face within one minute.
The game continues as far as player gives correct answers, then the
other contestant starts. The minimum prize is one million baht with
a maximum prize of 10 million. Later, the jackpot was fixed at 10
million.
Suk Tod Sa Gun Hnaa Thong (ศึกทศกัณฐ์หน้าทอง, The Golden Face
Show Down)
In 2005, the show invited several former long-running champions of
the original format to compete one-on-one. The trophy was a large
golden mask in the shape of a face, hence the title.
Tod Sa Gun Yok Tub Game (เกมทศกัณฐ์ยกทัพ, The Tag Team)
A three-person team selects a representative to compete one-on-one
with the opponent. A player will be eliminated if they give a wrong
answer. They are replaced by a member of their own team. This
continues until the three members of a team are out.
A team that wins 10 consecutive games plays for the jackpot worth
30 million baht maximum. However, the most that was actually won in
the jackpot round was 100,000 baht. The jackpot round had the
contestant(s) being shown a 1/5 of a picture, with less money given
for each extra piece shown.
Tod Sa Gun Jumlang Game (เกมทศกัณฐ์จำแลง, The Disguise)
The show returned to single contestant format in this version, in
which a keyword (sometimes cryptic) was shown alongside two faces,
and the contestant had to guess which face related to the keyword.
Originally, the game ended on a wrong answer, resulting in a few
instances where a contestant won without playing a single face, so
it was changed to so that the game ended when one contestant gave a
wrong answer and the other gave a correct answer on their
respective turns. The jackpot round was similar to the Tag Team
format, with a keyword being given along with each piece.
Tod Sa Gun Chuay Kruu Taai (ทศกัณฐ์ช่วยครูใต้, Help Southern
Teachers)
Between May 2007 and February 2008, celebrities answered questions
about various people and things to earn money for charity, to help
teachers in the South of Thailand.
Tod Sa Gun Yok Siam (ทศกัณฐ์ยกสยาม, All of Siam)
The current format began in late February 2008, where teams
representing each province of Thailand answer questions about
various aspects of the culture of Thailand in a knockout
competition. The eventual winner will receive 10 million baht. A
name change in April saw the Tod Sa Gun being dropped from the
show's title because the questions generally no longer involve
displaying a picture of someone's face.
Tod Sa Gun Kids Game (เกมทศกัณฐ์เด็ก, Kids Edition)
Children play on their own rather than against each other. They
have to match the correct face with a given name. The player will
receive a scholarship worth up to one million baht. The game will
go on until a wrong answer is given.
A later format change, perhaps due to the controversy (see below),
saw teams of three different ages, and then single players, playing
for charity in a similar format to the Southern Teachers version,
before the kids' edition was discontinued altogether in June 2008,
which, combined with the renaming of Yok Siam (above), meant an end
to the Tod Sa Gun name after just over 5 years.
Controversy
While the show is popular, it has faced accusations that the
programme is rigged. Internet webboard posters, such as in
Pantip.com, have alleged that the game is set up
to make more appealing players win (like the original
Quiz Show.) The allegation first started
after a woman had scored 50 consecutive wins. In 2006, the
accusation started again after a young boy had 200 wins in the kids
edition. It was noted that Phanya Nirunkul, the show's host and
Workpoint's owner, gave a lot of support to the child. For example,
Phanya gave the boy a green suit of his own (at the time, the host
wore a green suit). There was a pocketbook written about the boy's
success in the game published by Phanya's company, even before he
had reached his 200 wins. After the boy was done with the quiz
show, he became a co-host of a variety show under Workpoint. All in
all, it look like a big setup to promote an unknown boy to fame and
reap a long-term rating from his popularity. A young girl has also
had 200 consecutive wins in the kids edition, and the allegation
has started flying around internet webboards once again.
Fan Pan Tae, another Workpoint's quiz
show by Phanya, is also criticized about inaccuracy. A more serious
allegation includes the show gives unfair advantages to famous
competitors over unknown ones.