Spit It Out (game show)
| Company type | Television program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television entertainment |
| Founded | October 4, 2010 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Elliot Spencer (presenter), Alan Curtis (creator), Grant Rule (collaborator) |
| Products | Children's game show |
Spit It Out is a children's game show from Australia, presented by Elliot Spencer. It debuted on 4 October 2010 during an afternoon slot on the Seven Network, taking over from It's Academic following its twelfth and final series. Initially created as a board game by Alan Curtis, the concept was later adapted into a television format through collaboration between Curtis and Grant Rule.
Format
The competition involves two teams representing schools, who face off in various word-based challenges. Each team designates a clue leader responsible for receiving a secret word from the host and guiding teammates to locate 'letter blocks' using provided hints. The team then attempts to identify the word.
The show employs a round-robin system, allowing every school two opportunities to participate before elimination rounds decide which team secures the grand prize.
Notably, unlike many other children's game shows that typically feature Sydney schools and production, Spit It Out highlighted Victorian schools and was filmed in Melbourne.
Head to Head
In this segment, team captains are given an unknown word and collaborate with their teammates who use large foam blocks arranged on a clue bank (resembling Boggle) to offer clues. Captains have one chance per clue to guess the word correctly, scoring 3 points for each accurate answer.
Frenzee
During the first series, two players from each team interact with a touch-screen displaying fourteen random letters (nine consonants and five vowels) to create as many words as possible ranging from four to seven letters within 90 seconds. Plurals formed by adding 's' are not permitted, nor are proper nouns. Each valid word earns one point; in quarterfinals, seven-letter words are worth two points.
In the second series, this round introduced a specific order: teams must find words of increasing length starting with four letters, then five, followed by six or seven letters repeatedly. Points vary according to word length—one point for four-letter words, two for five-letter words, three for six-letter words, and five points for seven-letter words—encouraging longer words and discouraging repetition of shorter ones.
Every Second Counts
Clue leaders receive a secret adjective and arrange letter blocks on the table. Captains decide when to guess within a two-minute time frame. Correct answers begin at 3 points and increase by 3 every 30 seconds up to a maximum of 12 points. An incorrect guess disqualifies the team from further attempts in this round.
Head to Head: With A Twist
This variation follows the original Head to Head format but features escalating point values: the first correctly guessed word earns 10 points, with each subsequent correct guess increasing by 10 points. Teams have three minutes total. Near the end of this round, any team member may contribute clues to prevent captains from managing time excessively.
If the score is tied after four rounds, a golden word tiebreaker is played where one secret word is revealed. The first team to guess it correctly wins immediately; no time constraints apply.