Deal Or No Deal Review

Overall Rating

Big Prizes
Noel Edmonds
Brilliant Format

May go stale in the long run - no sign of this yet though!

I'd just love to be a contestant on Deal Or No Deal, it's such a great show and Noel Edmonds is perfect as the host.

How does it work? Here's the deal: 22 contestants all have one box each. Each box contains a sum of money ranging from 1p to £250K. The contestants do not know the amount of money that is in their box. One contestant is picked at random to play the game and they take to the hotseat with Noel. The contestant must then select a series of boxes in each round with the aim to try and avoid the big money boxes. At the end of the round The Banker then calls the studio to try and tempt the player to sell his/her box. If the contestant wants to sell then they say "Deal", if they want to play on and try and take the banker for more then it's a "No Deal" shout (followed by applause from a rapturous studio audience). The trick is to sell your box at the right time and to keep as many of the big prizes in play for as long as possible. The more of the big money boxes you lose, the less The Banker will offer, the more you keep in play, the more the more The Banker will offer you. If a contestant decides to play to the end then they get the value that is in their box or are given to swap their box for the last remaining box amongst the other players. Sounds complex? Trust me it isn't and it is great to watch as the players squirm their way through it testing their metal against The Banker.

Deal or No Deal is pretty unique in many different ways - firstly there are no questions, this game is purely about the willingness of players to take a risk and grab a deal that is right for them. Other unique aspects include the interaction with The Banker who rings the studio at the end of each round to present his cash offer in an attempt to get the contestants to do a deal. It's also great in the respect that all the contestants get a chance to play, unlike shows like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? This helps the game as over the weeks you become familiar with different players as they dispense advice to others and you have automatically built an affinity with them before they get their chance in the hot seat.

Noel Edmonds is also a perfect fit for this show. he gets the crowd riled up and helps to produce a great atmosphere through bantering with The Banker and the contestants.

Give this show a try!

Members' Comments onStone Cold Steve Austin's Review

• playboy2 on 9th Mar 2006

  Never seen this but great review on it. Emma.

• Stone Cold Steve Austin on 9th Mar 2006

  You should try and watch it Emma! It's the best quiz on TV!
  
  Cheers,
  
  Stone Cold.

• AMI14 on 21st Mar 2006

  I have to agree Steve - thank God for Sky plus - I now tape it every day!! Sad maybe but its a great release at the end of a hard day!! I love it!!!!!

• Stone Cold Steve Austin on 23rd Mar 2006

  Sad! Not at all - I'm not a happy man if I miss Deal or No Deal!!! It is also repeated on More4 at 6.10pm on weekdays which I find useful as I am at work during the 4pm show. It's the best show on TV and I just love it when the contestants 'No Deal'!!!!

• ootoph on 30th Mar 2006

  I'm still trying to work out if there's a "fix" in this game and whether it's really what it seems... Having watched the contestant doing her 50th game and the amazing conincidences of "50" things related to this (some of which must surely have been preconceived), it's got me thinking. Whatever the answer - and I'm still suspicious! - Noel Edmonds does a great job. And I'd love to see a pic of the banker at some stage.

• hb1444 on 1st Aug 2006

  Its a good show, its quite fun to see the contestants deliberate whether to say "deal" or "no deal!"

• nedbrab on 23rd Sep 2008

  I too tape it every day. It's a little addictive because every day, when they don't win £250k, you think to yourself "Maybe tomorrow..."! I'm not sure about the "one player picked at random" bit. I don't for a minute think it's truly random. I'm sure the TV company (and possibly even Noel?) knows precisely who is going to be picked on any given day.