Deal or No Deal (U.S. Syndicated Game Show) - Gameplay

Gameplay

Deal or No Deal is played by one contestant at a time, five contestants per week with 22 contestants per week trying to play. Prior to each game, 22 dollar amounts ranging from $.01 to $500,000 are distributed by a third-party among 22 briefcases, the values are unknown by the host or the Banker. The cases are then randomly presented to 22 contestants.

The game begins by spinning the "Deal Wheel," a wheel with 22 numbers that correspond to the numbers on the cases. A golden ball is placed in the wheel and as it spins, the ball bounces around inside the wheel to various numbers. When the wheel stops, whichever number the ball lands is the case number selected. The contestant's case is then placed on a podium. The player has the opportunity to either keep the case that they have or swap with one of the 21 remaining cases. The only exception to this rule was when Evian has been a sponsor on the show and the models would spin a bottle of Evian water to determine the contestants for that particular week. During special themed weeks, the logo sponsoring is shown on the wheel as well.

Through a series of rounds, the contestant is asked to select a number of the other cases still in play; each case is opened and the value revealed before it is taken out of play, and a large electronic board is used to track which dollar amounts still remain in the game. After completing the selection of cases for that round, the Banker, a silhouette figure lit only dimly from behind in a box overlooking the stage, will call down to the host using a phone on the podium. The host will then tell the player of the Banker's "offer": a cash value that depends on of the values of the cases remaining in play, in exchange for leaving the game. The host opens a Plexiglas case on the podium containing a button; if the player accepts the deal, he or she presses the button to end the game, otherwise, he or she closes the case and declares "No Deal," requiring the player to continue into the next round.

Each round progressively removes fewer cases from the game; the first round begins with five cases to be removed, the second round with five more, then four, two, two, and subsequently down to removing one case at a time. The Banker's offers typically depend on the interaction between the player and himself. Sometimes, they represent a small percentage of the average value of all the remaining cases. From round to round, that percentage generally increases, sometimes exceeding 100% toward the end of the game. Should the player make it to the final round, with the selected case and one other case left in play, they may take the final offer or win whatever is in the case they kept (there is no swap at the end of the game). If the player takes a deal prior to the final round, the host usually encourages the player to play through to the end to see what would have happened. Only one player plays for the entire show.