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Deal or no Deal is a game show that has taken the world by storm. Since its debut in Holland in 2001, it has been aired, using different names, in more than 65 countries around the world.

Countless contestants have won millions of dollars total.

There are internet versions where home viewers can play along, even some that allow players to play for real money. Deal or no Deal has been parodied and referenced many time on other popular shows many times.

Economists have even studied the game to get insight on how people assess financial risk. The object for a contestant, an audience member, of Deal or no Deal is to walk away with the most money possible.

As Howie Mandell, the host of the American version, states at the beginning of every show, “One million dollars as the top prize. No crazy stunts to perform, no trivia questions to answer. In fact, there’s only one question you need to know how to answer, the only question that counts. Deal or No Deal?”

There are 26 numbered briefcases. Each case has a dollar amount ranging from one cent to the top prize of one million dollars. In the American version, each case is held by a beautiful woman on the stage. The money amounts are placed, in order, on a monitor on the stage next to the women. The contestant first chooses one briefcase to be theirs. That case is placed near them. If he or she does not sell it, or take a deal, the amount in that case is theirs at the end of the game. He or she then chooses one case out of the remaining 25 cases on stage. The host then instructs the woman holding that case to open it, revealing the cash amount inside. As the dollar amount is revealed, it is eliminated from the monitor. A “banker,” who is off camera, then calls the host on the phone and offers the contestant a “deal.” The banker offers to buy the contestants case for an amount of money is usually a rough average of all the dollar amounts that have not been revealed. The contestant must decide whether he or she is going to accept the deal or choose another case.

If he accepts the deal, the game is over. If he doesn’t, he must chose five more cases before another offer of a deal is made.

Deal or no Deal has a great play along element. Watching the contestants weigh the option of taking the deal or walking away might be one of the most entertaining parts of the show. Near the end, even the most usually uninterested parties in a room where the show is being watched will be urging the contestants to “take the deal.”