Weekdays, 4:30pm
BBC1
Christ a new format, how exciting this is for us.
And we’re hoping this is good fun, it looked quite fun from the trailer. Questions fall down the screen, contestants must swipe left or right to determine which of the two options the answer relates to. Get it right and bank the cash, bank the most cash of the three teams and play for the right to take it home in the final.
Whether there is much more to this remains to be seen, the clip suggests a more evolved Dis or Dat? but whether that’s enough to fill 45 minutes who knows. It certainly ought to have a certain amount of shoutability.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
This is going to make a much more enjoyable mobile game than it does a TV show.
Just caught up on iPlayer. I quite enjoyed it and liked the variety of questions for each category. Some of the text was quite hard to read going down the run though.
Good Point. At times you couldn’t see the questions they should have kept the questions on screen while they were going down the run so we could see them and play along properly which wasn’t always the case the camera cut off to a wide shot at times forcing the questions to disappear from our view
Good fun, doesn’t feel like a long-runner but I’ll enjoy it while it lasts. Best buzzer light effect in a while, best Paul Farrer theme in a while, and the game moves along nicely with a couple of variations.
The flipping values are an interesting way of adding risk/reward, but the game moves too fast to really strategize with them or digest the result once the clue’s gone. Not sure how I feel about the final’s consolation prize mechanic, a team nearly hitting the jackpot and then crashing out with zero feels a bit pants when another team might get cash for fumbling their way to four at the right time.
Enjoyed it. Fun , Fresh and Fast Paced is three words i’d use to describe it, will 100% be watching tomorrow. It’s about time we got something decent to watch each day finally after so many months of sports on the BBC they’re back to normality just the way i like it. Like the way the money flicks between amounts as the questions come down The Answer Run from like £200 – £400 and from £500 – £1000 it puts the pressure on to swipe when the time is right if there confident about the answer then swipe the £1000 if there not confident swipe £500 to avoid losing it from the bank. I reckon as soon as we’ve watched a few episodes and got into the format and how it all works this will be a hit. The set design is like a Saturday Night Prime-Time show. Hint Hint i have a feeling celebrity specials are highly likely in the future. BBC1 have been top of there game these past few years in introducing highly addictive formats which you just can’t help keep coming back for more – Bridge Of Lies in 2022 , The Finish Line 2023 and The Answer Run in 2024 three daytime shows which i think might be long running formats. All three are in for the long run I have a good feeling.
I thought that was quite fun although I’m loathe to put it into the “day off treat” category just yet. I think it’s the quiz Manford has felt most natural hosting, it’s not a slow show but there’s enough room to breathe a bit.
I enjoyed the questions, it’s a pity that there’s going to be quite a few that go begging each round – 90 seconds to play means 6 seconds per question but you’ve got a maximum of ten and you’ve got to let the whizzy graphics do their thing. Actually for such a simple premise the graphics get in the way a bit, the head-to-head round, with it’s two sets of large numbers atop the screen, feels a bit visually overloaded, it could probably do with less wordy statements and probably the out-of-control team readout being in a smaller font.
Wordy statements is also my fear during the final, someone on six or seven blocks will expected to parse and swipe in about two/three seconds and there’s a lot of potential for that to look a bit crap. There’s a real chance today’s win might be one of very few. I’m not *generally* a fan of an endgame where a player can win or lose based on the timing of their last wrong answer, there’s extremely large potential for anti-climax. I’d probably like them to be able to play until they make a mistake after the clock runs out, but there are likely budgetary considerations that would stop that from happening. Right now I think I need to see it play out a few more times I think.
Otherwise not bad, a few clever things done with the premise and a difficult show to watch and not mentally playalong with. I quite like the way the podia light up. I might try and find a less awkward way of swapping the contestants over in the head to head. I might knock the “let’s put a timer up for the people at home!” instruction and just do it.
Also if the final is 15 questions, missing Q8 guarantees you can’t win the big money. Sneaky.
Edit: No, I’ve just been informed there are more than 15 questions available in the endgame, fair enough.
First episode in the bag, what’s the complete format rundown which will explain how they get to the maximum available top prize?
3 pairs attempt to win as much money as they can by swiping statements left or right.
In Round 1, there are 3 Answer Runs, each containing 15 statements. A toss-up question as asked to determine who will play first and get first pick of which run they want (e.g. the ones used yesterday were Won/Lost, Peter/Paul and The Smurfs/The Rolling Stones). The pair is then given 90 seconds to sort as many statements as they can by swiping a hand on a raised bar at the bottom of a large desk, with correct answers adding their value to the pair’s pot and wrong answers taking it away. The statements are shown randomly along with their cash value, harder ones being worth more money, moving down the central column of the game board. If a statement reaches the bottom of the column, which takes roughly 10 seconds, it is treated as a wrong answer. Whatever is in the pair’s pot when time runs out is added to their bank, and another toss-up question is asked between the 2 remaining pairs to determine who will play next, with the final pair playing the last remaining run.
Round 2 plays similarly to Round 1, but this time, the statements have 2 alternating values that change every second (e.g. £200/£400 or £500/£1,000 ) so it adds a little strategy. You can swipe the statement for the most money if you’re confident on it, or opt for the lower value if you’re not as confident so you don’t lose as much money as wrong answers still come out of your pot. At the end of this round, whoever has the least money in their bank is eliminated.
Round 3 is a Head-To-Head round. This round lasts 2 minutes, starting with the pair in the lead. They answer statements, still with alternating values, until they get one wrong, which hands control to the opposing pair. This continues until the time runs out, the pair with the most money going into the final round.
In the final round, the pair must answer 8 statements correctly in a row in 90 seconds to win their entire bank. The pair pick from 2 runs (e.g. the ones used yesterday were Chair/Table and Fox/Badger). Each correct statement adds a gold block to a stack, so with each statement you get right, it reduces the thinking time between each one. If a statement touches the stack or the pair give a wrong answer, it wipes out the stack and they must start again. If the pair can get at least 4 statements right before time runs out, they win half their bank.
If there’s anything I missed or didn’t explain fully, then feel free to correct me.
Slight correction, the team that starts in the Head-to-Head round is determined by a toss-up question, not whoever is in the lead.
Launched to 1.1m I’m told, which is what Bridge of Lies launched with (against Cheltenham) and up on what The Finish Line launched with. One number is not a trend, but against those that’s not bad.
That’s a fairly good start. Keep us updated how it gets on as the episodes continue across the week
871k ep2 I’m told. Which is quite a drop!
Wednesday – 1.1m / 16.2% share. Not bad…
A bit relieved after Tuesday I expect! Ta.
Thursday 1.0m.
Holding well considering Tuesdays downfall. As an article said they’ve timed this new quiz show right because ITV are showing horse racing and repeats of Tipping Point meaning it draws people over to BBC1 to watch this. They need to do Celebrity Specials and the figures might increase significantly just like with Bridge Of Lies which got around 1.4M then it nearly doubled with celeb specials to 2.4-2.5M
This week – Monday 26th 1.1M / 16.4% share…Tuesday 0.9M / 14.3%…Wednesday 1.1M / 16.2%…Thursday 1.0M / 15.2%
Seems to have settled around the 1M mark…will that be classed as a success, do we think?
Mmm, it’s lower than other shows in the slot and it’s not showing much of an upward trend. I don’t doubt an S2 is baked in though.
I should add that I like the show, but I think there’s a bit of a lack of killer instinct, especially with the endgame.
0.9 Friday.
I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It’s a really solid and simple concept done well, if perhaps a little bit repetitive with some pretty stretched attempts to vary it up. I’m just not sure if I’ll get bored of it after a few episodes.
Manford is a likeable natural host and this is far far better format than Unbeatable – although I’m slightly surprised at his apparent desire to be a daytime quiz show host rather than doing something a bit more high profile. Manford still feels like a “get” for this sort of thing.
The endgame seems a little tricky. I guess that’s the trade off for providing decent prize money but I can still see it leaving a bad taste when few people end up winning.
Watching it today, almost three seconds between a swipe and the next question appearing. Multiply that by 14, if you want to see all 15 questions you’ve got to answer each under four seconds. That’s got to be tightened up for next time, or at least mitigated for.
Good ep 3, exciting, even if the first round is a bit of a washout.
really liked today’s and yesterday’s episodes. This really does play to Jason’s strengths and he’s a lot more personable and fun than he was in Unbeatable
Say what you like about Manford, he’s good behind a podium.
Agreed, Manford is really good here. He’s good at both the contestant talky bits, which the format gives him plenty of opportunity to do, and delivering extra info and generally elevates the format. He makes quite a tricky job look effortless and in quite an understated way too (compare with someone like Mulhern who plays stuff “bigger”). Might explain his keenness to do a quiz given it plays to his strengths.
Not wishing to stereotype a northerner but he’d be a good shout for the inevitable Bullseye reboot.
I agree, This show is way better than Unbeatable by a country mile. Jason feels more relaxed in this one and can express a some comedy. Today’s episode was the best so far this week came down to fine margains which made it exciting
Seems quite a high prize for BBC daytime and decent chance of winning it. Not the best show, not the worst – but Jason Manford is better than this really. The set, music and look all feels so “generic BBC daytime quiz”.
Four eps in and 2.5 wins, still haven’t figured out if they’ve front loaded all the wins or they really blew past the expected prize payout and I need to reassess the difficulty.
I have made the conscious decision to watch it every evening so far, which is extremely positive.
Amazing end game on today’s show. Nearly 14k up for grabs!
Another first in yesterday’s show. Two teams fiished round 2 with the same amount of money. Instead of doing a quick fire question, it was the team who had swiped more correct answers over the two rounds that went through instead.
Also in the end game, the team got all the way to 7, crashed back down to 0, messed up a few more questions and then stormed it to get the full jackpot of £10,000. Very exciting and also shows they have more than 15 questions in the end game. Not sure if this will get a second series but I’ve enjoyed it overall and tuned in to most of the episodes.
I expect a second series is baked in regardless, I’ve not been informed of any numbers for this week (apart from 950k against new ITV stuff on Monday).
The series is over, some quick stats thanks to people on the Discord – apparently the last three weeks were in the 800-900k range so never really recovered from new Tipping Point episodes going out. In total £63,125 given away over the series, a shade over £2,500 an episode which feels reasonable but I don’t know what the prize budget was, presumably a bit higher than usual for the slot. Yes they very much frontloaded the wins, 4-and-a-half in the first two weeks, two wins and two half-wins in the other three.
I suspect there’s hope it would have done a bit better, but I suspect it will get another go regardless, I think there’s a lot to like throughout but I don’t love the endgame.