Summaries

Synopsis

In this game, three contestants have to answer general knowledge questions to earn money by playing counters into a machine, though only the last contestant standing has a chance to win the money they have earned - the other contestants will leave with nothing except for any non-cash prizes that they may have won along the way.

The game's action centres around an arcade-style counter pusher machine, which consists of two shelves filled with flat circular counters, a top shelf that retracts and extends slowly and a bottom shelf that is stationary, and a rear face with four columns, referred to as "drop zones", of pegs arranged like those in a pachinko machine. At regular points in the game, a contestant will choose one of the drop zones, numbered 1 to 4 from left to right, and then press their button to release a counter into the selected drop zone. The contestant will aim to make the counter land flat on the top shelf so that when it retracts, it will push other counters over its front edge onto the bottom shelf, and when the top shelf extends, it will move these counters forward in a way that will push other counters over the bottom shelf's front edge into a large collection trough, referred to as the "win zone". Each counter pushed across the tipping point into the win zone earns the playing contestant $100. Sometimes a counter will bounce out of the machine and on to the floor - such counters are still credited towards the contestant's score. A mistimed drop or a counter that stays on its edge until the top shelf extends can make that counter overlap or "ride" other counters, resulting in a significantly reduced likelihood of counters falling into the win zone, though on rare occasions it can still push other counters raised above most of the others in a way that will make a counter fall off that shelf.

Also present in the machine are two Mystery counters, coloured in light green with black question marks. These counters have prizes attached to them that are only revealed when they fall into the win zone as the result of a contestant playing a counter into the machine. The contestant gets to keep the prize that they have won, even if they are eliminated at a later stage of the game. As well, there are two Double counters, coloured in yellow with black "x2" labels. When a Double counter falls into the win zone as the result of a contestant playing a counter into the machine, the contestant earns double the normal value of the counters that fall into the win zone on that drop, effectively earning $200 for each counter that crosses the tipping point on that play. The money is added to the total in the machine in two steps, one for the regular amount, then a separate addition to double the earnings from that drop. The Mystery and Double counters are placed in such a way that two of them will start on the top shelf and the other two begin on the bottom shelf, though what type of counters begin where varies between episodes.

Sometimes, counters that are close to the front edge of either shelf will fall at a time when the machine is not in play. These falls are referred to as "ambient drops". If an ambient drop results in counters being pushed into the win zone, those counters are voided and removed from the machine with no effect on any of the contestants' scores. If an ambient drop occurs close to when a contestant plays a counter, the contestant is permitted to change their choice of drop zone. If a Mystery or Double counter falls into the win zone as the result of an ambient drop, it will be returned to where it was before the ambient drop took place.

At the start of Round 1, known as the "Bank Builder" round, the three contestants each receive three counters. A series of general knowledge questions are then asked, and the first contestant to press their button wins the right to answer the question. If their answer is correct, then they can choose to put one of their counters into the machine, or if they think that it is not likely to pay out on the next turn, then they can pass and nominate an opponent who still has counters available to put one of their counters into the machine (if an ambient drop occurs just before a contestant releases a counter in this round and it pushes some counters into the win zone, they are permitted to change from playing to passing if they wish). When a contestant is out of counters, they cannot answer any more questions in that round. When only one contestant is left with counters, the remaining questions are asked to them unopposed, but they must still give the correct answer in order to put their remaining counters into the machine. If a contestant answers a question incorrectly or fails to answer within 3 seconds of buzzing or the last contestant remaining fails to give an answer within 3 seconds of the end of asking of the question, one of their counters will be voided and lost.

In round 2, known as the "Quick Fire" round, each of the three contestants is given 30 seconds of questions, with each correct answer giving that contestant one counter to put in the machine. The contestant must give their answer before the time runs out in order for it to be accepted, though the host will still complete the question if the time runs out while it is still being asked, even though the subsequent answer won't count. The contestant then plays all of the counters they have earned into the machine to try and add to the money they have won so far. The contestant with the highest amount of money at the end of the Bank Builder round gets to choose who has to answer questions first, then the remaining contestant with the higher amount of money (who may be the same as the highest money winner from the Bank Builder round if they chose one of their opponents to answer first) gets to choose who has to answer their questions next, then the remaining contestant answers their questions last. Any ties in the money earned are broken in favour of the tied contestant who correctly answered a question first in the Bank Builder round.

At the end of this round, the contestant who has the lowest score is eliminated from the competition and host Todd Woodbridge will say to them, "You have found your tipping point". If two or more contestants are tied on the lowest score, then one or more sudden death questions are asked to the tied contestants (more than one question may only be needed in the case of a three-way tie). The first contestant to press their button gets to answer the question. The tie is broken by either all but one of the tied contestants giving a correct answer, eliminating the one contestant who has not done so, or a contestant giving an incorrect answer, which eliminates that contestant.

Round 3 is the "Head To Head" round, and it sees the two remaining contestants compete against each other with four questions asked, two asked alternately to each contestant. The contestant with more money at the end of the Quick Fire round gets to decide if they or their opponent should receive the first question (If the two contestants are tied, then the choice goes to either the contestant who had more money after the Bank Builder round, or the contestant who first answered a question correctly in that round if both contestants had the same amount at that point). After a question is asked, the contestant who receives it can choose to either answer the question or pass it to their opponent and force them to answer it. If the contestant who answers the question does so correctly, they get to put a counter into the machine, but if their answer is incorrect, their opponent (who may have originally passed the question) puts a counter into the machine. Like the end of the Quick Fire round, the contestant with the lower amount of money at the end of the Head To Head round is eliminated, and if the round ends with a tie, a Sudden Death question is asked to both contestants to decide the winner.

For the fourth and final round, known as the "Jackpot" round, the remaining contestant is then given the Jackpot counter, which is slightly larger than the standard counters and coloured gold with a red star. They then choose one of the four drop zones to put the Jackpot counter into the machine. The goal of this round is to get this counter out of the machine again by making it fall into the win zone. If they can do so, their cash total is augmented to $20,000. If the contestant can get a Double counter to fall into the win zone on the same drop that pushes the Jackpot counter there, they will win double the jackpot, with their cash total being augmented to $40,000. Once the Jackpot counter has been played into the machine, the rules around ambient drops change, with any counter falling into the win zone as the result of a subsequent ambient drop adding $100 to the contestant's total, a Mystery counter resulting in the contestant winning the prize attached to it and a Double counter doubling the value of all of the counters that fall into the win zone as a result of the ambient drop, all the same as if the counters had fallen after the contestant had played a counter into the machine

To get the Jackpot counter out, the contestant is given five question categories. The contestant can play the categories in any order and can play a category for one, two or three counters. The more counters they play for, the harder the question, but the better their chances of getting the Jackpot counter out if they get the answer right. The questions asked in this round are multiple-choice with three possible answers presented. If the contestant selects the correct answer, they get to put the number of counters they played for into the machine before choosing their next question category.

If the contestant can push the Jackpot counter across the tipping point in this part of the game, then their cash winnings are augmented to $20,000, or $40,000 if they can get a Double counter to fall in the win zone on the same drop that pushes the Jackpot counter there, but if the Jackpot counter remains in the machine after the contestant has run out of categories, then they will play "Jackpot Temptation", where Todd will present the contestant with a number of offers to trade the money that they have won up to that point for additional counters in the hope of getting the Jackpot counter out (these temptations are still made if the Jackpot counter remains on the top shelf after the contestant runs out of categories, unlike the UK version). The offers will vary depending on how close the Jackpot counter is to the tipping point, but they can lead to a contestant playing for $20,000 or a higher amount of money, and sometimes a holiday can be added to the money in an offer. Sometimes, a subsequent offer can reduce the value of what the contestant plays for in return for additional counters, while at other times the prize value can be increased for the same number of counters. If the contestant chooses to accept an offer, they forfeit the money they have won up to that point (they still get to keep any Mystery prizes that they have won) and the Jackpot counter will be the only thing of value, though the Double counter will have value only if it falls on the same drop as the Jackpot counter.

Regardless of how many counters they trade their money for, if the Jackpot counter still remains in the machine after all of the counters in the offer have been played, the contestant will leave the game with no money, but if they get the Jackpot counter into the win zone, they will win whatever prize and/or money was part of the offer they accepted, even if they need less than the offered number of counters to get it there. If a Double counter and the Jackpot counter fall into the win zone on the same drop after an offer is accepted, the contestant will still win double the amount of money in the offer. The contestant also has the option of refusing each offer and taking the money that they have won to that point.