Robi Domingo: From fan to contestant, now GKNB host

“Game KNB?” (@gknb) reinvents game shows in the country, making it wholly interactive on digital as it began streaming Monday at 12 noon.

Viewers can easily participate in the show hosted by Robi Domingo, and win up to P10,000 cash daily for its first season. The pambansang game show’s reboot also has a television simulcast on Jeepney TV.

Robi, who was a contestant in the show in 2018 after his PBB stint, said it felt surreal to be chosen as GKNB host.

“Every time I remember that moment when my boss called me up regarding GKNB, I can’t stop smiling. Being a big fan of the show from grade school until college, this project means a lot to me,” he said.

“I can’t forget those moments wherein I almost won Php1M . I got to answer six out of seven questions correctly.”

Robi told the management and GKNB team that he will give his full commitment to continue the legacy of the iconic show.

Prior to doing GKNB, Robi had snippets of handling game shows, thanks to the music channel Myx. He got to be a part of Myx Olympics where they tested the knowledge of artists on music and pop culture.

“Hosting this game show is really fun. I guess the most challenging part is having the correct pronunciation for certain terms like scientific names, the capitals of cities, etc. One really has to do his research before going inside the studio,” Robi shared.

“But the great thing about what we do is that we have a great team who checks and validates the questions and answers.”

He likes that GKNB is on a new format that is why everything seems new. It’s the first game show in the world wherein the program can be seen on television via Jeepney TV and played digitally via Kumu. What makes this show different is that they can have hundreds (even thousands) of players simultaneously which makes it even more exciting.

Of his preparations, Robi shared, “I’ve had script reading sessions with the team. I’ve even had virtual workshops with my girlfriend every night just to simulate the whole game and to get the feel of it. Every night, I would watch previous episodes of GKNB to see how Ms. Kris and Mr. Edu did their spiels and engaged their contestants. If the walls of my bathroom can talk, it would tell you all the variations of how I say 'Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba?'"

For Robi, the most exciting part of hosting GKNB is witnessing how competitive each player is.

"You’ll see who among them really wants to have that golden opportunity to be in the jackpot round. Another exciting part is whenever the player gets the right answer and anxiously waits for the game master to say, 'Correct!'”

Despite the ongoing pandemic, Robi believes game shows will always remain relevant.

“They take on a different format, have different mechanics, and they come in different names, but a lot of viewers follow them because it gets them engaged. Even if they’re not the player in the studio, they want to see if that player has what it takes to get the prize in the end,” said Robi.

“The best thing about the all-new GKNB, everyone can be a player or a winner every day. All you have to do is download the Kumu app, answer the five questions correctly, and win. Everything starts with the question: Game Ka Na Ba?”