Germany's WWTBAM Innovation -- "Risk" Option

[TheConfessor]

Here's an interesting video from a recent German episode of WWTBAM.
http://buzzerblog.flashgameshows.com/we ... llionaire/

Three things to note:
1) It's in German, with subtitles.
2) The female contestant got into the wrong seat by accident, and the host played along, acting as if the roles had been reversed. Hilarity ensued.
3) Contestants can opt to play in the traditional style or in the "Risk" style. Those who go the Risk route get a fourth lifeline, but do not get the second level safety net if they miss a question in the upper tier. I'm not sure what the fourth lifeline is.

[15QuestionsAway]

Here's an interesting video from a recent German episode of WWTBAM.
http://buzzerblog.flashgameshows.com/we ... llionaire/

Three things to note:
1) It's in German, with subtitles.
2) The female contestant got into the wrong seat by accident, and the host played along, acting as if the roles had been reversed. Hilarity ensued.
3) Contestants can opt to play in the traditional style or in the "Risk" style. Those who go the Risk route get a fourth lifeline, but do not get the second level safety net if they miss a question in the upper tier. I'm not sure what the fourth lifeline is.

I did some research on this, but my German skills are not really up to scratch. So with the help of some translation software, here's what I think it is:

It seems to be a lifeline not in use anywhere else. It's an enhanced version of Ask the Audience. What happens is if the player uses this lifeline, the host asks the people in the audience who think they know the answer to stand up.

The player then chooses one of these people from the audience, and they provide the answer. If the player uses the answer and it's correct, the audience member receives €500. The player can also choose to walk after hearing the audience member's answer.

BTW, the video is very funny once you realize what's going on. The people in the audience figure it out right away - you can see them laughing in the background.

[TheConfessor]

It seems to be a lifeline not in use anywhere else. It's an enhanced version of Ask the Audience. What happens is if the player uses this lifeline, the host asks the people in the audience who think they know the answer to stand up.

The player then chooses one of these people from the audience, and they provide the answer. If the player uses the answer and it's correct, the audience member receives €500. The player can also choose to walk after hearing the audience member's answer.

Thanks for researching this. It sounds as if they invented a lifeline that was inspired by 1 vs. 100.

I don't know how reliable this lifeline would be. If all the audience members have a chance to win €500 by standing up and claiming that they know the answer, or to win €0 by staying seated, why wouldn't most of them stand up, including the clueless idiots?

Assuming the new fourth lifeline actually proves to have some real value, I like the idea of giving contestants the option to take the "Risk" route to the top. It essentially makes each player declare from the start whether they are really trying to win the top prize or just planning to walk away when the going gets tough. I wonder what percentage of people on the German show go for the Risk option. Based on the typical contestants we see on the current USA version, I think about 99% of them would decline the Risk option. And that's kind of a shame, when you consider the name of the show.

[MarleysGh0st]

The player then chooses one of these people from the audience, and they provide the answer. If the player uses the answer and it's correct, the audience member receives €500. The player can also choose to walk after hearing the audience member's answer.

Thanks for researching this. It sounds as if they invented a lifeline that was inspired by 1 vs. 100.

I don't know how reliable this lifeline would be. If all the audience members have a chance to win €500 by standing up and claiming that they know the answer, or to win €0 by staying seated, why wouldn't most of them stand up, including the clueless idiots?

Yeah, at least the audience doesn't have an incentive to deliberately fool the contestant with the wrong answer, as the mob did on 1 vs 100.

I wonder if there's anything in the rules for that new lifeline against choosing an audience member the contestants know? Could a BB have a group of reliable fellow BBs in the audience? That would make the lifeline as good as a PAF.

[slam]

I wonder if there's anything in the rules for that new lifeline against choosing an audience member the contestants know? Could a BB have a group of reliable fellow BBs in the audience? That would make the lifeline as good as a PAF.

Not quite. It might raise some eyebrows if an audience member started googling away (assuming they could even get an internet connection in the studio).

I certainly agree that "seeding" the audience with some reliable fellow BBs would make it a very useful lifeline.

[MarleysGh0st]

I wonder if there's anything in the rules for that new lifeline against choosing an audience member the contestants know? Could a BB have a group of reliable fellow BBs in the audience? That would make the lifeline as good as a PAF.

Not quite. It might raise some eyebrows if an audience member started googling away (assuming they could even get an internet connection in the studio).

I certainly agree that "seeding" the audience with some reliable fellow BBs would make it a very useful lifeline.

True, there wouldn't be any googling for the really oddball questions. But you might have a dozen friends in the audience and trust that only the ones who really know the answer would stand up!

I still don't think that's worth abandoning the safe havens and making it an all-or-nothing game! But I would prefer this new lifeline for its excitement value over "Ask A Celebrity".

[trevor_macfee]

Here's an interesting video from a recent German episode of WWTBAM.
http://buzzerblog.flashgameshows.com/we ... llionaire/

Three things to note:
1) It's in German, with subtitles.
2) The female contestant got into the wrong seat by accident, and the host played along, acting as if the roles had been reversed. Hilarity ensued.
3) Contestants can opt to play in the traditional style or in the "Risk" style. Those who go the Risk route get a fourth lifeline, but do not get the second level safety net if they miss a question in the upper tier. I'm not sure what the fourth lifeline is.

Very funny clip! Thanks for posting it.

[tanstaafl2]

The player then chooses one of these people from the audience, and they provide the answer. If the player uses the answer and it's correct, the audience member receives €500. The player can also choose to walk after hearing the audience member's answer.

Thanks for researching this. It sounds as if they invented a lifeline that was inspired by 1 vs. 100.

I don't know how reliable this lifeline would be. If all the audience members have a chance to win €500 by standing up and claiming that they know the answer, or to win €0 by staying seated, why wouldn't most of them stand up, including the clueless idiots?

Might be more useful if the audience gets €500 for the correct answer but has to pay the cast member €500 if they give them the wrong answer and they use it. Might, and I emphasize might, keep a few of the clueless idiots in their seat.

Might even keep everyone in their seat...

Like there is any chance that someone stands a good chance of being held personally responsible for their actions. Doesn't happen often in society so making it happen in a game show seems unlikely...

[MarleysGh0st]

Might be more useful if the audience gets €500 for the correct answer but has to pay the cast member €500 if they give them the wrong answer and they use it. Might, and I emphasize might, keep a few of the clueless idiots in their seat.

I like it. Fits in with the "risk" theme nicely! Not that that's adequate compensation if it just cost the contestant €1 million!

Might even keep everyone in their seat...

I think there are a good number of us who wouldn't be frightened off by this rule!