DoND Ideal board?

[Gus]

[quote name=\'Steve McClellan\' post=\'122094\' date=\'Jun 22 2006, 02:18 AM\']
Interesting. That would put the DoND board somewhere around:

<scroll up for board>

So what do the critics think of this one?
[/quote]

Actually, now that you bring it up, I had been thinking that a board that's logarithmically-based, but only beyond its gag prize(s), wouldn't be too bad. Observe such a 26-case board, which I based off a logarithmic progression starting with $1:

  1¢  $ 1,000
$  1   $ 2,000
$  2   $ 3,000
$  3   $ 5,000
$  5   $   10,000
$ 10   $   20,000
$ 20   $   30,000
$ 30   $   50,000
$ 50   $  100,000
$100   $  200,000
$200   $  300,000
$300   $  500,000
$500   $1,000,000

Which, actually, is very similar to Joe's original board that kicked this thread off. I happen to like this one; It's less topheavy than the US board; the values between $1 and $10,000 are spread out more and the values from $100k to $1 million are spread out less. A few interesting statistics: The top prize is 29% of the sum of all the values on the US board, but the same figure for this board is 45% The sums, BTW, are $3,418,416.01 and $2,222,221.01 respectively.

That said, I think that the word "topheavy" is always relative to the top value. If your top prize is $1,000,000, then you're gonna have a few six-figure sums up there. But a $100,000 loss on this board wouldn't be "okay". If you're gonna shrink the other sums, like on Travis's board, then having that gigantic top prize makes it a one-case game from the get-go. which I think doesn't make for a good game and doesn't make for good TV either. I think this is a good compromise.

I'm not sure how the Australian board goes exactly, but I know it goes from 50 cents to 200k, and a logarithmically-based board for those values might go somethign like this:

$   .50  $ 500
$  1.00  $ 750
$  1.50  $  1,000
$  2.50  $  2,000
$  5.00  $  3,500
$  7.50  $  5,000
$ 10 $ 10,000
$ 20 $ 15,000
$ 35 $ 25,000
$ 50 $ 50,000
$100 $ 75,000
$150 $100,000
$250 $200,000

[TLEberle]

[quote name=\'Gus\' post=\'122334\' date=\'Jun 23 2006, 06:58 PM\']That said, I think that the word "topheavy" is always relative to the top value. If your top prize is $1,000,000, then you're gonna have a few six-figure sums up there. [/quote] I disagree. Howie says the top prize is "one million dollars." But if that money goes away, no worries, because there are still six huge amounts left. You are guaranteed to have a prize of at least $100,000 at the end of round one. The UK version leaves the possibility that all five of the big moneys could be knocked out in one round. In Australia, you could be playing for a whopping $15,000 if things don't go your way. When someone opens the $300,000 case, the proper reaction is one of devastation, except that it isn't, because there are so many other crutches to fall back on. Having that many big prizes dilutes the game, makes the big wins less exciting, and provides for nothing in between.

But a $100,000 loss on this board wouldn't be "okay". If you're gonna shrink the other sums, like on Travis's board, then having that gigantic top prize makes it a one-case game from the get-go. which I think doesn't make for a good game and doesn't make for good TV either.

I think you're wrong in that regard. There MUST be some danger in going on. The Deal cheerleaders would have you think otherwise, but the show isn't about the money, it's about the reunions, and the prizes behind the vault and all the other stuff that's in the wings. The money is secondary. If the producers want to have this as a 30-minutes, five-days-a-week show, there is no way that they will be able to sustain a prize budget that is dependent on the insane board that they have now.

[PalCatIN]

Here's my thought:

Left Side
$0.05
$0.10
$0.25
$0.50
$1.00
$2.00
$4.00
$6.00
$8.00
$10
$25
$50
$75

Right Side
$100
$250
$500
$1,000
$2,500
$5,000
$10,000
$25,000
CAR (Value between $25,000 and $50,000)
$50,000
$75,000
$100,000
$1,000,000

[beatlefreak84]

The only problem I have with this board is that it has the opposite problem of being top-heavy; I think it's now too bottom-heavy.  Yes, the top prize of a million still exists, but it's quite possible that, after the first round, you're playing for $10,000 or less.  That possibility jumps up round-to-round.

While this would certainly make big wins very exciting, they'd be happening too rarely for primetime, IMO.  I think that a good six-figure win should occur at least once every four shows...otherwise, I think it gets boring.  This could make a decent board for syndication, though...perhaps making the top value $250,000?

Just my opinions, though...take them for what they're worth (not a whole lot... ).

Anthony