Game Play
Once seated in the Chair, the contestant found him/herself looking up at a large video screen on which McEnroe's image was displayed, as well as the information for the current question. He/she began with a stake of $5,000 and could increase it to a maximum of $250,000 by answering a series of seven multiple-choice questions. However, the contestant's heart rate was continuously measured throughout the game and compared to a "redline" threshold. This value started at 60% (later 70%) above the resting heart rate, and it was lowered by 5% of the resting heart rate after each question.
Money was subtracted from the contestant's total for every second that his/her heart rate exceeded the redline value ("redlining"). In addition, he/she was ineligible to give an answer during this time; only after the heart rate dropped below the threshold could an answer be given. (Redlining between questions, or while a question was being asked, carried no penalty.) The third question involved recalling information from a video clip, the fifth was a list, and the seventh involved choosing which event occurred first/last (However, in Stephen Benjamin's game, he was asked a question about animal groups for #7). After the fourth question, McEnroe would make a one-time offer: keep the redline rate constant for the next question, at a cost of $25,000. This was rarely - if ever - accepted.
As long as the contestant had money in the account, and continued to answer questions correctly the game continued. If the money ran out or a question was answered wrongly, the game ended. The question values and penalties for redlining are shown in the table below.
| Question | Value | Redline penalty (per second) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | $100 |
| 2 | $10,000 | $100 |
| 3 | $15,000 | $200 |
| 4 | $25,000 | $300 |
| 5 | $40,000 | $400 |
| 6 | $50,000 | $500 |
| 7 | $100,000 | $1,000 |
Read more about this topic: The Chair (game show)
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