In the United States, "Blockbusters" aired from October 27, 1980 to April 23, 1982, and then a new version aired from January 5 to May 1 of 1987. In both cases, the time slot was 10:30 A.M. Eastern Time on NBC.
The host of the 1980-82 version was longtime American game show personality Bill Cullen, whose childhood bout with polio led to the set being designed so that he could sit down behind a large podium throughout the entire show. (However, he would be shown standing up at the beginning of the show to welcome the audience.) To play the Gold Run, the winning contestant would walk to the podium, part of which would swing out to create a smaller podium where the contestant would stand.
The memorable opening spiel on this version, delivered by announcer Bob Hilton: "This is the battlefield for our game of speed and strategy....These are the letters that lead to victory onnnnnnnn 'Blockbusters'!"
The host of the 1987 version was Bill Rafferty, previously seen on a short-lived syndicated version of "Card Sharks." This version, instead of having a two-against-one format, had only two contestants competing against each other.
The two colors used on the board in the United States were red and white.
"Blockbusters" was a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production; reruns have aired on Game Show Network.