Deal or No Deal – TV Hit to Gaming Fave

Deal or No Deal was a hit on Canadian TV when it first aired in 2007, although for some reason its network chose to only create five episodes.

Howie Mandel and Rick Campanelli were the show’s star presenters, keeping viewers on the edge of their seat as they constantly posed the famous question: is that a deal or no deal?

It is not often that a TV show or series manages to cross over into other forms of entertainment such as online gaming, but that is exactly what this gameshow managed to do, being famously turned into a land-based quiz machine as well as an online live casino game.

Let us take a look at the latter, to see which features of the gameshow stay the same, as well as the few variations that have been made to fit the casino game genre.

Qualify to Make it Through to the Gameshow

Most popular TV gameshows require their players to go through some kind of qualifying process in order to make it onto the show and in front of the cameras.

The same goes for the Live Casino version of Deal or No Deal as players must qualify for the gameshow round. This is done by spinning the three reels of a bank vault wheel, with the gold portions of each reel being what must match up in order for a player to advance.

Once all three gold symbols do match up then a player is taken through to the Top Up Wheel until the main gameshow round starts, and where many of the game’s elements resemble those seen in the TV gameshow.

The challenge is to know when to say “deal” or “no deal”

The Top Up Wheel

The Deal or No Deal game dynamics kick straight in once the qualifying round has been passed, as players are faced with what is known as the Top Up Wheel.

This wheel features multipliers which increase the prize money in one or more of the 16 briefcases that can be chosen during the main gameshow round. It is up to players just how many times they choose to spin the Top Up Wheel before heading on through to the business end of the game.

Let the Show Begin

Out there under the bright lights of the main gameshow stage, players are faced with 16 closed briefcases.

The game begins with the gameshow’s assistant opening some of the cases to reveal what’s held inside, until finally the player is offered something by the host based on what they have seen revealed thus far. Then, the player must make the most important decision of all- “deal” or “no deal”.

Choose a deal, and the player automatically receives what the gameshow host offered.  Choose no deal, and more cases are opened with the same decision arising again with a revised offer.

If a player manages to hold their nerve until the final suitcase, then another option arises, as they can select “Deal” to accept the dealer’s final offer, “No Deal” to take what lies inside the final case, or “Switch” to see what is to be found inside another case instead.