Deal or No Deal is a massively popular game show that since its inception in the UK in 2005 has been taken around the world and aired in different countries around the globe. The format in each country is slightly different but in the UK the basic premise is simple – a player can win between 1p and £250,000 by guessing which boxes contain which amounts of cash. Find out more about how to play the game by reading this quick guide.
Basics of Deal or No Deal
There are 22 sealed boxes in the Deal or No Deal game. Inside each sealed box is an amount of money. The money goes from 1p to £250,000. Each box is sealed by an adjudicator and set up ahead of time. No one else on the show knows what is in each of the 22 boxes. At the beginning of every game there are 22 contestants standing behind the 22 boxes. One contestant is selected to become the player for the game. They move from their position in the circle to the table next to the host, Noel Edmonds.
The Game Begins
The box in front of the contestant, which they selected at random, contains their prize – unless they decide to choose another. The player begins the game by choosing one box at random to open. The amount that the box contains is then checked off the list of possible amounts, which is displayed to the audience and the contestant on a screen. It is best for the contestant to uncover the smallest sums of money first, so that they can predict that they have a higher amount in their own box.
Deal or No Deal Game Progression
The Deal or No Deal Game progresses through six rounds. In the first round the player opens a total of five of the boxes. There are three boxes opened in each of the next rounds. After each round, the banker – an unseen figure who communicates by telephone – makes an offer for the box in front of the player. The amount offered by the banker largely depends on the sums of money that have already been revealed. If all the biggest prizes have been revealed, it is more likely that the sum in the player’s box is low and therefore the banker makes a low offer to buy that box. The idea is that the player gets the most amount of money possible – if they decide to take the banker’s offer at any time and then find out that the box they sold has the highest amount, they lose the possibility of getting their hands on the top prize. If the player says “deal “to the banker this means they take the money the banker offers and relinquish their box. However, the game still continues to a hypothetical conclusion that reveals what would have happened if the player had not said “deal”. This makes the show more interesting for the viewers and more exciting.
