Top 6 TV Game Shows Which Can Make You A Millionaire
Top 6 TV Game Shows Which Can Make You A Millionaire
Game shows offering tremendous amounts of money have always been very popular, especially in the USA. They are exciting to watch, with families all over the world tuning in to prime time television to see such shows and enjoy together.
However, in the USA, it has actually become a sport to participate and win in as many game shows as possible, and there are some people like Ken Jennings, who have actually become celebrities by winning several game shows.
- Have you ever wondered when did your favourite game show begin?
- Ever wanted to know the gameplay rules of some famous shows ?
- Did you know what was the highest amount ever won on a game show ?
Fret not, because we’ve got you covered, as we discuss some of the top game shows in the world. The reality TV industry is massive in the current age, and it is here to stay.
- There have been a total of 91 instant millionaires via game shows in the US.
- A little bit of general awareness can make you an instant millionaire !
Lets take a look at some of the top TV game shows, which can help you win big money.
1. Deal Or No Deal (USA)
Deal Or No Deal is one of the most popular TV game shows of all time. While the original show was first telecasted in Holland, it has been adopted by several major countries such as the UK and India, among others. However, the most popular version of this show is the USA version, with millions of viewers watching the show from all over the globe.
Facts
Creators : Endemol USA
Started In : December 2005
Host : Howie Mandel
Channel : NBC (USA)
Episodes And Seasons : 6 seasons, 199 episodes.
https://youtu.be/p_-N6v7IQJ0
Popularity
Deal Or No Deal premiered in the USA on 19th December 2005, with NBC holding the exclusive broadcasting rights. The show attracted a huge amount of attention, with an average of over 16 million viewers per episode in its first season, an American record. The popularity of the show was such that it made a great amount of profit by selling merchandise as well, such as board games, game cards as well as certain interactive video games.
Gameplay
- Deal Or No Deal is a single player game, with 1 player selected out of 15 potential candidates. There are 26 identical numbered briefcases being held up by 26 identically clad models, each briefcase containing a unique value ranging from $0.1 to $1 million.
- The selected player has to choose any 1 briefcase randomly. On the main stage, there is a big screen that displays all the available amounts that are still in play.
- The briefcase that the player has selected is kept separately on a podium. In the first round, the player is asked to select 6 briefcases out of the remaining 25. These briefcases are eliminated one by one and the amounts inside are removed from the screen as they get eliminated.
- After the 6th pick, the show simulates a phone call from an unseen figure known as the banker, who, based on the amounts already eliminated via the 6 briefcases, makes the player an offer to buy his selected briefcase. The player can either accept that offer by saying ‘deal’ and pressing a red button on the podium, or he can reject the offer by saying ‘no deal’.
- Every time the player rejects the banker’s offer, he is supposed to play another round, in which he will have to open 1 less briefcase than the previous round i.e 5. The briefcases get progressively fewer in every round, with 4 in the 3rd round, 3 in the 4th round and so on.
- Beyond the 5th round, the player can only eliminate 1 briefcase per round, and will also receive a new offer from the banker after every briefcase eliminated. This goes on till the 9th offer, which is between the last remaining briefcase and the player’s selected briefcase. Should the player reject that final offer, he has the opportunity to either open his originally selected briefcase or to trade it with the last remaining briefcase. The player walks away with the amount inside his chosen briefcase.
Payout Structure
The amounts hidden in each of the 26 briefcases are as given below.
| $.01 | $1 | $5 | $10 | $25 | $50 |
| $75 | $100 | $200 | $300 | $400 | $500 |
| $750 |
| $1,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 | $75,000 |
| $100,000 | $200,000 | $300,000 | $400,000 | $500,000 | $750,000 |
| $1,000,000 |
Biggest Winners
Two contestants, Jessica Robinson and Tomorrow Rodriguez both managed to win the highest possible amount on the show i.e. $1 million, in September and October 2008 respectively. Both the contestants traded their originally chosen briefcase with the last remaining briefcase and got extremely lucky.
2. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
One of the most popular and globally acclaimed TV shows of all time, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has been adopted by almost every prominent nation in the world. It is the quintessential quiz show, with one of the highest rates of instant millionaire amongst all other game shows.
Facts
Owned By : Sony Picture Television
Started In : September 1998
Channels : ABC (USA)
Episodes and Seasons : 16 seasons, 363 episodes (USA)
Popularity
A staggering 160 different countries have used the same format of the original show, merely changing the name as per their own respective languages. India itself has 13 different versions of the show in different languages, due to the vast regional diversity in the country. The original Who Wants To Be A Millionaire show aired in the UK in 1998 and immediately gained a lot of popularity with its simplistic approach and global appeal.
Gameplay
- The quiz game focuses more on suspense rather than speed, with only 1 player playing in 1 game session, as a one on one quiz conducted by the host. The selection process involves telephonic questions, and out of the millions of callers, 10-20 players are selected to enter the final show.
- The selected players are then supposed to play a preliminary round known as ‘Fastest Finger First’, where a question appears on their individual screens along with 4 answers which need to be arranged in a particular order. The player who arranges these 4 answers in the correct order in the shortest period of time, is then selected to play the main game.
- The contestant who wins the preliminary round is now asked to sit on the ‘hot seat’, facing the host, who duly starts asking him a series of questions, each with a different monetary value as winnings. Each question is a multiple choice question, with the contestant supposed to select the correct answer out of 4 given options labeled as A. B, C and D.
- The first 5 questions are generally very easy and almost 100% of the contestants get them correct without a lot of hesitation. Answering 5 questions usually enables the player to reach $5000 (in the US version of the game), which is the first milestone of the game i.e. even if the player gets a wrong answer eventually, $5000 is the least he/she will take home.
- The next such milestone is at $50000, usually at the end of the 10th question, with just 5 more questions to go for the final winning prize of $1 million.
- The most unique feature of the games is the use of lifelines. In the original format of the game, only 3 lifelines were available to the player, as explained below:50-50: Two incorrect answers out of the 4 options given below are eliminated.Phone A Friend : The player has the option to make a phone call to anyone he wants to, to assist him in answering a particular question.Audience Poll : The audience have a device with which they can vote for the correct option in any given question, and the player can seek their help.These lifelines can only be used once in each game session.
Big Winners
There have been a total of 124 millionaires from various versions of this show all over the world, with 5 people winning the $1 million prize in the United Kingdom version and 14 people winning in the US version. One of the most popular winners ever was John Carpenter, who was also the first person ever to win $1 million on any TV show, in 1999. He did not use a single lifeline till the very last question, and even then, he used the ‘ Phone A Friend ‘ lifeline only to call his father to let him know that he is about to win a million dollars.
Another American, Kevin Olmstead, was the biggest winner of any edition of this show when he bagged $2.18 million in April 2001.
3. The Price Is Right
Another extremely popular game show is The Price Is Right, by Fremantle media. The original version of the show was telecasted in 1956 in the USA, on NBC. The game was later modified in 1972, and that version is still being used in different countries.
Facts
Owners/ Creators : Fremantle Media
Started In : 1956 (Revamped in 1972)
Channels : CBS (USA)
Episodes And Seasons : 45 seasons, 8000 + episodes
https://youtu.be/oe41yBIwlig
Popularity
The game was extremely popular in the inaugural decade since its launch. Over 55 countries adopted the idea and renamed the show, to great success. It is one of the longest running TV shows in the history of USA, entering its 45th consecutive season in 2016. The TV Guide labeled it as the greatest TV show of all time.
Gameplay
The show features a unique concept, and is mainly prize-based and not cash-based. There are 4 different levels in the show, starting from One Bid and ending with The Showcase, in which the remaining 2 finalists compete for the grand prize.
One Bid
In the opening round of the game, 4 contestants are randomly selected from the crowd by the host. A prize is shown in the display area and all the contestants are required to submit their bid by guessing the prize of that prize, and the contestant who is closest to the actual price, wins the round and moves ahead, with a new contestant chosen from the crowd to replace him.
This round is followed by 6 pricing games and a showdown for the showcase, which is the final round.
The Showcase
At the end of every episode, the final two contestants with the highest winnings advance to The Showcase, which is the grand finale. A showcase of extravagant prizes is displayed in front of both the contestants and they have to bid on the total value of all the prizes on display. The one who bids nearest to the actual price of the products, wins all the prizes in the showcase.
Big Winners
Adam Rose, of Texas, holds the record for the biggest win on the show. In February 2008, he managed to win both the showcases at the end, plus a $1 million bonus for bidding within $1000 of the products’ actual value in the showcase showdown. The bonus ensured his total winnings went beyond the million dollar mark, and he eventually left with $1,153,000 worth of prizes, including a Cadillac Convertible and a Ford Escape Hybrid.
4. Wheel Of Fortune
One of the highest rated television shows in the history of USA, Wheel Of Fortune is another popular show that offers big money to be won. The game is a twist on the popular paper game Hangman, and involves the introduction of a spinning wheel to determine the amount of prize money won by contestants.
Facts
Owned By : Merv Griffin Enterprises
Started In : 1975
Channels : NBC (USA)
Episodes : 6000
https://youtu.be/7YQoy2VKydE
Popularity
The show has been running successfully since 1975, and was rated as the highest rated TV show in the USA till Two And A Half Men overtook it in the charts in 2012. The game has been adopted by several countries, and unlike other game shows, its name has remain unchanged in all those countries.
Gameplay
- Based on the popular game ‘Hangman’, as each round contains a specific category and a blank work puzzle displayed on the big screen, with every blank representing a missing letter of the final word.
- 3 Contestants play this game at once. A contestant is required to spin the titular wheel once to start a round. This determines a dollar value and then the contestant proceeds to guess a blank from the display screen.
- A correct guess ensures the player wins the amount derived from the when multiplied by the number of times the guessed letter appears in the word. For example, if the contestant spins the wheel and gets $500, and then proceeds to guess the letter A, which appears in the final word 3 times, then the contestant wins $1500.
- The wheel has 24 spaces, with different values on it, which keep increasing after every round. It also has a few special wedges, which can lead to jackpots, including one for a $1 million jackpot.
Big Winners
In 2008, Michelle Lowenstein became the first person ever to win the show’s top prize of $1 million. It was no mean feat and required a tremendous amount of luck as she had to first earn the million dollar spot during the normal rounds, then spin the bonus wheel and pick up the correct envelope, and eventually solve the final word puzzle as well.
5. Jeopardy
Another game created by Merv Griffin, Jeopardy has been successfully running on US TV networks since 1964.
Facts
Owned By : Merv Griffin Entertainment
Started In : 1964
Channel : NBC, Sony (since 1984)
Seasons And Episodes : 35 seasons, 7000 episodes.
https://youtu.be/p8llIgMgc6I
Popularity
The show was rated as the 2nd greatest game show in history by the TV guide, behind only The Price Is Right. The show has completed over 7000 syndicated episodes over the years, and continues to fare brilliantly in the TRP charts.
Gameplay
- The game involves 3 contestants, including a returning champion. There are 3 rounds, namely Jeopardy, Double Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy.
- The first 2 rounds each feature 6 categories, each containing 5 clues, valued according to difficulty.
- Unlike other game shows, in Jeopardy, the contestants have to form their own questions based on the general knowledge clues they are given.
- A few of the clues have secret bonuses behind them as well, such as daily double.
- The final jeopardy round involves only 1 clue. After the clue is revealed, the contestants have 30 seconds to write down their responses and place a wager up till their winning amount till then. The responses are then revealed and if a contestant has provided a correct response, his wager amount is added to his total winnings, and if he provides a wrong response, the amount is deducted. The contestant with the highest score at the end of the day is the show’s champion, and will be invited for the next episode of the show.
Big Winners
Ken Jennings holds the record for the longest winning streak on the show, with 74 consecutive wins which helped him amass a total of $2.5 million. The all time highest earner from this show is Brad Rutter, who won a combined total of $4.3 million spread over 4 tournaments and several episodes in 2000.
6. Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader
Are you smarter than a 5th grader is a unique game show, relatively new, and has quickly gained a lot of popularity all over the world, with several regional adaptations. The basic theme of the show involves answering the kind of questions which an average 5th grader usually studies in his/her academic year.
Facts
Owned By : MGM Television
Started In : Feb 2007
Channel : Fox
Host : Jeff Foxworthy
Seasons And Episodes : 4 seasons, 98 episodes.
Popularity
The first season of the show averaged more than 11 million viewers per episode. The show was adopted by several countries and was well received globally. It was featured in TV Guide’s list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.
Gameplay
- The game is played with 1 contestant at a time, who has is asked a series of questions spread over 10 different subjects, taken from the textbooks of grade 1 to grade 5 students.
- Each question is coordinated with a grade level, and there are two questions per grade. The subjects can range from sports, animal science, spelling etc to basic mathematics.
- After answering the 5th consecutive question correctly, the player essentially confirms a minimum prize money of $25000.
- Answering all 10 questions in a row, enables the player to enter the jackpot round, where he/she has to answer just one 5th grade bonus question for $1 million.
- There are a group of children, who are essentially child actors but are portrayed as 5th grade students. The contestant has to choose one of these kids as his ‘classmate’.
- The contestant can make use of 3 lifelines, namely Peek, Copy and Save, as explained below.
Peek : The contestant can take a look at his chosen classmate’s answer.
Copy : The player can choose to lock in his classmate’s answer, without being allowed to see it first.
Save : If the contestant gives a wrong answer, his classmate can help him provided he has answered correctly.
Big Winners
2 people have won the maximum amount of $1 million on the show so far. Kathy Cox, a superintendent of public schools in Georgia, answered all 10 questions along with the bonus question to win the jackpot in 2010. Nobel Prize winner George Smoot was a jackpot winner in the celebrity edition of the show, and donated his winnings to charity.
As we have discussed above, there are plenty of popular shows which offer the chance of winning big money. While shows such as Deal Or No Deal are based purely on luck, shows such as Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader require a great deal of general awareness to succeed, and many players train for months to have a better shot at winning the top prize.
