Blackout saw two teams, each consisting of a contestant paired with a celebrity, compete to solve word puzzles. Each puzzle was a sentence or short paragraph with four missing words. One team member described a missing word while the contestant listened to the description afterward, but the opposing team could use a "blackout" button to mute parts of the clue to make guessing harder. Correctly guessed words earned money and a chance to solve the main puzzle.

Winners advanced to a bonus round ("Clue Screen") where they had a limited time to guess up to five subjects from accumulating clues for a top prize.