A group of contestants on each episode play a preliminary round called "Fastest Key First". All are given a question by the host and four answers which must be placed within a particular order; in the first season of the original version (2005) and the first four seasons of the Australian version (2005–2012), contestants have to simply answer a multiple-choice question. If any contestants are visually impaired, the host reads the question and four choices all at once, then repeats the choices after the music for this round begins. The contestant who not only answers correctly, but in the fastest time, goes on to play the main game. In the event that no one gets the question right, another question is given; if two or more contestants answer correctly but with the same time, they are given a tie-breaker amongst them to determine who will move on. This round is only used when a new contestant is being chosen to play the main round, and can be played more than once in an episode amongst those remaining within the group seeking to play the main game. In celebrity editions, the round is not used; celebrities automatically take part in the main game. Once a contestant enters the main game, they are asked increasingly difficult general knowledge questions by the host. Each features four possible answers, in which the contestant must give the correct answer. Doing so wins them a certain amount of money, with tackling much tougher questions increasing their prize fund. During their game, the player has a set of lifelines that they may use only once to help them with a question, as well as two "safety nets" – if a contestant gets a question wrong, but had reached a designated cash value during their game, they will leave with that amount as their prize. While the first few questions are generally easy, subsequent ones after them will prompt the host to ask if the answer they gave is their "final answer" – if it is, then it is locked in and cannot be changed. If a contestant feels unsure about an answer, and does not wish to play on, they can walk away with the money they have won, to which the host will ask them to confirm this as their final decision; in such cases, the host will usually ask them to state what answer they would have gone for, and reveal if it would have been correct or incorrect. For the first group of five questions: £100, £200, £300, £500, £1,000 For the second group of five questions: £2,000, £4,000, £8,000, £16,000, £32,000 For the final group of five questions: £64,000, £125,000, £250,000, £500,000, £1,000,000 After 2007, the format was changed, reducing the number of questions to twelve; the overall change in format was later incorporated into a number of international versions over a period of four years, including the Arab, Bulgarian, Dutch, French, Polish, Spanish, and Turkish versions. The payout structure, as a whole, was subsequently changed as a result, with the second safety net relocated to £50,000:[8] The first two questions: £500, £1,000 The next five questions: £2,000, £5,000, £10,000, £20,000, £50,000 The final five questions: £75,000, £150,000, £250,000, £500,000, £1,000,000 When the game show was revived for British television in 2018, the format was changed a second time, reverting to the original arrangement used before 2007, but with one notable difference, in that the second safety net was made adjustable – once a contestant reached £1,000, the host would ask them, before giving the next question, if they wish to set the next cash prize amount as the second safety net, with this allowing them to set up as high as £500,000 in their game as a result. U.S. format An American syndication of the game show was conceived after the British original proved successful, debuting in 2002. The only difference between it and the British version was that episodes were halved in length – 30 minutes, as opposed to the 60-minute length of the original version. The change meant that the preliminary round of the show was eliminated, and contestants had to pass a more conventional game show qualification test. Exceptions to this arrangement, in which it was used under the name "Fastest Finger" included: primetime special editions of the programme; the 2004 series that was dubbed Super Millionaire, in which the final prize was increased to $10,000,000;[9] and for the 10th anniversary special of the US edition, run during August 2009 for eleven episodes. The decision to remove this round would later occur in other international versions, including the British original.
Who Wants to Be a ScratchMillionaire? (abbreviated WWTBASM? and informally known as simply Millionaire) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by ClayCSA19 (me), ScratchTeam and Sirstotes. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Cat Pictures Scravision, contestants tackle a series of multiple-choice questions to win large cash prizes in a format that twists on many game show genre conventions – only one contestant plays at a time, similar to radio quizzes; contestants are given the question before attempting an answer, and have no time limit to answer questions; and the amount offered increases as they tackle questions that become increasingly difficult. The maximum cash prize offered in most versions of the format is one million of the local currency. The original British version debuted on November 23rd 2019 on the CreateTV network and was aired until its final episode on NONE NONE XXXX. A revived series of seven episodes to commemorate its 20th anniversary aired from 5 to 11 May 2018. The revival received mostly positive reviews from critics and fans, as well as high viewing figures, leading CreateTV to renew the show for another series. Since its debut, international variants of the game show have been aired in around 160 countries worldwide. The format of the show was created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight, who had earlier created a number of the promotional games for Tarrant's morning show on Capital FM radio, such as the bong game. Tentatively known as Cash Mountain,[1] the show took its finalised title from a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, starring by Frank Sinatra and Celeste Holm. Since the original version launched, several individuals have claimed that they originated the format and that Celador had breached their copyright. While many pursued litigation, none was successful, and each claim was later settled out-of-court on an agreement/settlement.[2][3][4] In March 2006, original producer Celador announced that it was seeking to sell the worldwide rights to Millionaire, together with the rest of its British programme library, as the first phase of a sell-off of the company's format and production divisions. British television producer Paul Smith first had the idea to franchise the UK programme internationally. He developed a series of standards for international variants that ensured they mirrored the British original closely. For example, all hosts were required to appear on-screen wearing Armani suits, as Tarrant did in the UK; producers were forbidden from hiring local composers to create original music, instead using the same music cues used by the British version; and the lighting system and set design were to adhere faithfully to the way they were presented on the British version.[5] Some of Smith's rules have been slightly relaxed over the years as the franchise's history has progressed. English company ADD ANYTHING YOU WANT! ultimately acquired Millionaire and all of PugtatoesAt3AM's other projects. 0 Years later, Cat Pictures Entertainment purchased Add Anything you want, to here. Cat Pictures Scravision currently owns and licenses the show's format. Griffpatch–Projecting Scravision, the Scratchers Company's in-home sales and content distribution firm controls the U.S. version independent of Cat. #scratchmillionaire
