Editing Figure It Out (section)

==Gameplay==
Each episode has two sets of three timed rounds (originally all 60 seconds in length, for the revival series, rounds two and three were played for 45 seconds), in which the panel takes turns asking yes-or-no questions to try to guess the contestant's talent. For every "yes" answer, the panelist's turn continues. Once a panelist asks a question with a "no" answer, their turn ends and the next panelist's turn starts. If at any time a panelist cannot think of a question on their turn, they may pass their turn to the next panelist. Each time a panelist mentions a word that is part of the phrase that describes the secret talent, the word is turned over on a game board displaying the puzzle. This game board was referred to as Billy the Answer Head during the original series run and is known simply as the "It" Board in the show's later adaptation.

This game board shows which words of the phrase are guessed, along with blanks denoting words that the panel did not solve. [[preposition and postposition|Prepositions]] and [[Article (grammar)|article]]s, such as "of" and "an," are provided automatically. During the very early episodes of the show, synonyms of words that were on the board were accepted by the judges (e.g.: A panelist revealing the word "song" by saying the word "carol" and another episode featured a panelist revealing the word "tossing" by saying the word "throw"). This was later changed to a panelist having to say the exact word in a contestant's talent in order for that word to be revealed on the board.

The contestant wins a prize after each round that their talent remains unguessed. The prize for winning the third round is a trip. In Season 1, prizes consisted mainly of leftover props from then-defunct Nickelodeon shows such as ''Double Dare,'' ''Legends of the Hidden Temple'' and ''Global Guts.'' Merchandise prizes (such as a [[Nintendo 64]]) and gift cards for stores including [[Kids Foot Locker]], [[Toys "R" Us]], and [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's]] began to appear as prizes during later seasons. If Round 3 ends with at least one word left unrevealed, each panelist takes one final guess as to what the contestant's talent is (any correct words given during the final guess are revealed, as during the game). The game ends when a panelist either guesses the secret talent or if no panelist guesses the secret talent correctly after the "last guess" stage.

During each Round, the panelists receive one clue as a hint to one of the words of the secret phrase. The clue usually takes the form of physical objects - such as [[Phoenix dactylifera|dates]] to indicate a clue about calendars - sounds (rarely used), the clue-cano (seasons 4-6), featured messy clues erupting out of the clue boxes all over the panel, making them just as messy as a sliming, especially in the Sutphen era which made the panel cautious when opening the clue boxes  or pantomime (the "Charade Brigade" (Season 1-4), "Clue Force 3" (Seasons 5-6), usually two or three cast members that act out a word from the phrase during Round 3) with "Clue Force 3" pictionary was sometimes used instead of pantomime. At the start of the second and third rounds, a recap of two or three clues are shown on the monitor next to the contestant and host.

At the end of the game, after the secret talent is revealed, the contestant demonstrates or displays their skill and discusses it with the host and panel.

===Secret Slime Action===
In each game, from the start of round 2, a randomly selected member of the studio audience plays for a prize (a merchandise prize, such as a Nintendo 64 or a mountain bike in season 1 or a ''Figure It Out''-branded article of clothing in seasons 2-6). If at least one or more panelists perform the Secret Slime Action, those panelists will be slimed by the end of round 3 especially when one of the panelists tries to break the rules and get a second chance (during season 1, the secret slime action could be triggered anytime after the end of round 1, including between rounds and when the contestant is performing their secret) and the audience member wins that prize. "J", the regular announcer for the original show, would disclose what the Secret Slime Action was for each episode in which he appeared.

The action designated as the Secret Slime Action is typically simple and almost guaranteed: touching a clue, looking to the left, which was reflexive, as clues were commonly wheeled out on a small track from a tunnel to the panel's left; using the phrase "Are you..." or "Is it...", looking to the audience behind the panel, who was sometimes used for clues, saying "[[You Can't Do That on Television|I don't know]]," which panelist [[Danny Tamberelli]] was notable for saying out loud whenever he got confused, having a certain name, and even ''being'' a panelist. For example, [[Steve Burns]] (from ''[[Blue's Clues]]'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "having a blue dog," [[Alex Heartman]] (from ''[[Power Rangers Samurai]]'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "wearing a red unitard to work", Jade Ramsey (from ''[[House of Anubis]]'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "having an identical twin sister", [[Ryan Potter]] (from ''[[Supah Ninjas]]'') was slimed because the Secret Slime Action  was "being a supah ninja", and in the second game of the first episode of the 2012 Revival, the entire panel was slimed because the Secret Slime Action was "wearing underwear".

Some Actions are logically not able to be forced, such as "thinking about coconuts" or "thinking about mushroom soup." Especially in the latter seasons, a successful Action has mostly been a foregone conclusion - the variables have only been when it will be triggered, and by whom (not necessarily a panelist).

When the Secret Slime Action is triggered, all play stops (including the clock) while the panelist is slimed, the action is revealed, and a replay of the sliming is shown, after which gameplay resumes. The host knows of the action and sometimes tricks the panelists into performing it by making them say or touch something (in one episode, the action was "touching your head." Sanders touched her head and said, "Have you done something with your hair?," which caused the panel to touch their heads in reaction).

====Word of Honor====
In the 2012 revival, prior to each game, one word of either the first or second contestant's secrets may be designated as the "Word of Honor." Should the panel guess this word, the contestant is slimed.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2012/05/18/ready-set-slime-nickelodeon-premieres-figure-it-out-on-monday-june-11-at-7-pm-et-pt-339315/20120518nickelodeon01/ |title=Ready, Set, Slime! Nickelodeon Premieres Figure It Out on Monday, June 11, at 7 P.M. (ET/PT) |publisher=[[Nickelodeon]] |date=May 18, 2012 |access-date=2016-01-23 |via=[[The Futon Critic]]}}</ref> As the contestant is slimed, gameplay and the clock are paused. Once the Word of Honor was revealed, either by a panel guess or the contestant filling in unguessed words, it would be out of play for the rest of the show.