This is my attempt to do a piano solo rendition of the theme tune written for the original 1975-80 version of a television game show entitled "The Cross-Wits." (The show got a revival in 1986, but it had a different theme song.) The show involved two teams of three, one contestant and two celebrities, all working to solve a crossword puzzle. All words in the puzzle are extra clues to an additional person, place, or thing.

The category of the master puzzle was announced at the beginning of each round. The contestant captain of one team chose a word in the puzzle, by number and orientation (across or down), and designated one star to play it. After hearing a clue to the word, the star had seven seconds to guess it; if he/she failed to do, the captain could offer a guess. If the captain also failed to solve the word, control passed to the opposing team.

A correct answer awarded 10 points per letter in the word. The captain could then either choose a word for the other star on his/her team or try to guess the subject of the master puzzle. In the latter case, all three team members were given seven seconds to discuss the puzzle, after which the captain could guess. A correct solution awarded 100 points, while a miss gave control to the opponents. The trailing team at the end of any round had initial control for the next one.

Starting in 1976, contestants won a prize for solving each puzzle in addition to the 100-point bonus. From 1976 to 1979, the category of the master puzzle was not immediately revealed at the start of the first two rounds; any contestant who solved such a puzzle after the first word won a car. The host revealed the category if the puzzle was not solved at this point. In case a car was won in the first round, the category of the puzzle would be revealed for the second round. In 1979, the rules were changed to offer the car only during the second round, with no discussion between the stars and contestant, who was given five seconds to decide on a response. The team who solved the puzzle in the first round began the second one, a change intended to deter teams from deliberately losing the first round in order to have a better chance at winning the car.

The game continued until time was called, and the captain of the leading team won the game. Starting in 1979, a captain whose team scored 1,000 points also won a $1,000 bonus.

The contestant with the most points at the end of the game played the Crossfire Round along with his/her choice of celebrity partner (a choice of only the winning player's partners in 1975 and a choice of all four in 1986). The team was shown one last crossword puzzle with ten words, none of which were clues to a master puzzle. The team called out words by number and the host read the clue for that word. If the team could solve all ten words in 60 seconds or less, the contestant won the grand prize.

In the 1975 version, each correct answer won increasingly valuable prizes, and if the contestant solved all ten they won the grand prize, which was usually a car, but sometimes a trip or a fur coat. In the 1986 version, contestants who solved all ten words won a trip and the opportunity to win a car. Contestants who failed to win the bonus round on the 1986 version won a consolation prize package.

Information taken from Wikipedia.

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Original music composed by Ron Kaye, Buddy Kaye, and Phillip Springer.
This arrangement © me and me alone
The Cross-Wits © the following (and everybody else who owns the rights in case I missed somebody):

Ralph Edwards Productions (1975–80)
Metromedia Producers Corporation (1975–80)
Crossedwits Productions (1986–87)
Outlet Communications, Inc. (1986–87)

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Theme I attempted to do here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnNBkGMAxOQ
Full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vBH6F_Z-eI