Imagining the $1,000,000 Pyramid

[Jay Temple]

Since this imaginary show has been mentioned in a couple of threads, here's how I'd do it. (My concept predates Donnymid.)

It's a one-hour show with four games and three new players per night, running like this:

Games 1-3: Each player sits out once and plays once with each celebrity. The first trip to the Winner's Circle is worth $100,000; the second, $250,000 additional. The player who wins the most money advances to Game 4.

Game 4: The winner from G1-3 faces the defending champion. If the champion wins, he plays for $1,000,000. If the challenger wins, he plays for $500,000 additional. If he has three perfect boards that night, the $850K is bumped up to $1,000,000.

For the first show, I'd love to find a $100,000 Tournament winner and accord them the champion's spot in Game 4.

Some of the finer details:

• The individual categories in the Winner's Circle are worth $1-6K in the first three rounds, double that in Game 4.
• The challenger in Game 4 plays with the celebrity who won him the most money up to that point.
• If two players tie for the Game 4 spot, they play a sudden-death round like the other versions had. They play with the same celebs as in their first meeting, and the player who won that game has the choice of letters.

[BrandonFG]

Here's the thing...Pyramid is one of those shows, where the boatloads of money takes a backseat to the game. Honestly, I don't think Pyramid could work for that kind of money without looking gimmicky.

The $100K tournaments worked because the drama and high money were drawn out, and not rushed over the episode. IMO, $100K is too much for the first Winners Circle, with no prior build-up.