Lingo (UK Game Show) - No Lingo

No Lingo

The team is shown another Lingo card filled with even numbers. Sixteen numbers are covered before the start of the round, arranged in a star shape along the diagonals, middle row and middle column; the center space, where the free space is on a normal bingo card, is left uncovered. The hopper is loaded with 40 numbered balls (all the even numbers from 2 to 80–this is unlike the main game in which only the numbers that actually appear on the Lingo card are loaded into the hopper), plus one silver ball. The contestants are given £100 to start. The team is then shown a five-letter mystery word with the first letter and one of the other four letters shown. The team is given the usual five chances to guess the mystery word; for each guess they use, they must draw one Lingo ball. If they fail to guess the word in five tries, they must draw an extra two balls, for a total of seven balls. If the team draws a numbered ball that appears on the board, that board space is covered and the ball is discarded, just like it would be in the normal game; if this forms a Lingo, the team immediately loses the bonus round and the prize money. If the team draws a numbered ball that does not appear on the board, nothing happens; the ball is simply discarded. (This is good for the players, since the object of the round is to avoid forming a Lingo.) If the team draws the silver ball, they are immediately allowed to stop drawing, their prize money is doubled and the silver ball is returned into the hopper. In addition, the ball corresponding to the center of the board was held by the host until the second word, then added in.

If they manage to draw the required number of balls (or draw the silver ball) without completing a Lingo, they double their money to £200. The team can then take that and quit, or try to double their money again by guessing another mystery word using the same rules. The Lingo board remains as it was, and any previously drawn numbered balls are still out of play, so the risk of forming a Lingo increases as time goes on. The team can try up to a total of five words, with the prize money doubling after each word; so the team can win £3,200 by trying all five words. If at any time a team makes Lingo in this round, the game is over, and the team's bonus winnings are reduced by half.