I watched the premiere of the Italian "Pyramid" (they didn't even bother to translate the title) and it is actually a cross of the original with the French version.
Before you ask: it's all unacquainted civilians, but in January there'll be nighttime episodes with celebrities.
This version has two "starting contestants" already seated on opposite desks (presumably they would be the winners of the previous episode) plus a "bench" of 20 other contestants. Before the game begins, two random contestants are selected from the bench to fill up the vacant seats.
The front game is the same as in the USA but with four rounds (8 categories). After each round, if a team is trailing by 4 or more points, the scores are reset and the trailing team is in for a bad surprise: a box with three spheres is brought in, and each each member of the pair picks a sphere (the host picks the third). One of the three spheres has a black scarab, the other two have a white one. If a contestant got the black scarab, he or she switches place with a random contestant from the "bench". If the host got it, the team stands and keeps playing.
After the fourth round, the losing pair heads off to the bench. The winners have to play the scarab lottery to ultimately win the game, this time with four white scarabs and one black one. (IMHO it's not fair to lose a shot at the money to the whims of fate in favor of a random guy who did nothing but watch. )
The winners circle part is a little different as it's 10 categories in 120 seconds with the chance for each player to skip one category. When a player wants to use his or her skip, time stops and the host rotates the circle 180 degrees, effectively switching roles.
The pair wins €5,000 for completing the pyramid using both skips, €10,000 if one skip was used and €20,000 for a flawless win.
that's pretty much it
