The following discussion attempts to (briefly) explain the game show "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"
The game follows two stages. In stage one, a single player emerges from a group of potential players. The potential players are asked collectively to place a set of four objects in a specific order. For example, the potential players may be given the names of four U.S. cities, and asked to place these cities in order from the eastern-most city to the western-most city. The player who answers correctly in the shortest amount of time emerges as winner of stage one, and proceeds to stage two.
In stage two, the game begins with the player being asked to answer a $100 question. If the player answers correctly, then the player may proceed to the next question, where a correct answer allows the player to earn a larger cash prize. This continues, in sequential fashion, until one of three possible outcomes arises:
The potential prizes associated with each respective question are:
| Question 1 | $100 |
| Question 2 | $200 |
| Question 3 | $300 |
| Question 4 | $500 |
| Question 5 | $1,000 |
| Question 6 | $2,000 |
| Question 7 | $4,000 |
| Question 8 | $8,000 |
| Question 9 | $16,000 |
| Question 10 | $32,000 |
| Question 11 | $64,000 |
| Question 12 | $125,000 |
| Question 13 | $250,000 |
| Question 14 | $500,000 |
| Question 15 | $1 million |
As stated, a player always has the option of ending the game.
If a player does choose to end the game, then the player is allowed to leave
with their current winnings. For example, if a player has correctly answered
the $16,000 question, then that player may choose to end the game and leave with
their $16,000 winnings. Players are allowed, however, to view the next question
(in this case, the $32,000 question) before deciding to end the game.
During the course of a game, there are two earnings levels that provide a guaranteed minimum prize, the $1000 and $32,000 questions. If a player can answer the $1000 question correctly, then the player is guaranteed a minimum award of $1000. Similarly, if the player proceeds to the $32,000 question and answers that question correctly. After achieving a minimum award level, incorrect answers cause the player to revert to the last guaranteed minimum prize. For example, assume that a player has successfully arrived at the $64,000 question. After viewing the $125,000 question, the player answers this question incorrectly. If the player had chosen to end the game without answering the $125,000 question, then the player could have taken their $64,000 in winnings home with them. However, because the player chose to answer the $125,000 question and because this answer was incorrect, this player's winnings revert back to the last guaranteed minimum prize of $32,000.
At any point in the game, a player may always use one of three
"lifelines" to assist in answering a specific question. The three
lifelines are: (1) "poll the audience" - where the player may see which answer
the studio audience believes is correct, (2) "phone a friend" - where the player
is allowed to call one friend from a predetermined list, and (3) "50:50" - where
the player can reduce the number of wrong responses in a given question from
three to one (leaving one correct answer and one incorrect answer).
The player may use one, two or all three lifelines at any given moment, but may only
use each lifeline once.