I'm among those who doubted that a 60-minute daily Pyramid could work, but I've come up with a format that combines what I would think are the desired features.
Four main games an hour comes out to 20 per week. I think we've already heard that every attempt is for $25,000. That works with my idea.
1. A player wins a match against his opponent by winning either two main games or one $25,000 attempt. When you lose a match, you're gone. When you win five matches, you're gone.
2. Regulation play is interrupted after game 2 on Friday. The two players who won the most money in those first 18 games come back for a two-game championship match.
3. If you win one Winner's Circle in the championship match, you double your winnings (or add $25,000, if the bar was set that low for the week). If you win both games and both Winner's Circles, you win $1,000,000.
Actual $1,000,000 wins would be rare enough to preserve the budget, but it would at least be possible every week, and $100,000 wins would not be unusual (two WC's in regulation plus one in the championship match).
The intro could even be like the one in the B&W clip we've seen: "Watch this space. This week, someone will sit here with a chance to win life-changing money. This ... is the One-Million-Dollar Pyramid! Today's special guests are Betty White ... and, from How I Met Your Mother, Neil Patrick Harris!"
I left out some minutiae. I'll mention these two, because they relate to breaking or preventing ties as far as qualifying for the tournament match:
1. Include a merchandise prize at least in Game 1. (Jim and Cheryl each won $26,500, but Jim also won a piano, so he's in.)
2. ISTR that the fall pilot had $100, $200, $300, $400, $500, $750, which is fine. The important thing is that having a different value for each space makes ties less likely. (Compare to 50-50-50-100-100-200 or 100-100-100-200-200-300.)
What do you think?
