Deal or No Deal Board Game

It’s part gameshow, part psychological thriller. It’s a nail-biting, stomach-knotting test of nerves. Who can stay in the game down to the last two boxes?
Watch everyone jump to the ceiling when, after five choices, the phone suddenly starts to ring…. Yes, it’s the Banker. He’s ringing with his first cash offer, which is displayed on the telephone’s screen. Each player then has to answer the question … DEAL OR NO DEAL? If the answer is ‘no deal’, the players carry on, right down to the final two boxes, just like in the TV show.


You start by laying the 22 money tokens, representing the prize amounts ranging from 1p to £250,000, face down on the table, mixing them up, and placing them at random into the 22 red boxes (no peeking!). Each player is given four answer cards (Deal, No Deal, Swap and Stick), and the Banker’s electronic phone is placed on the game board. The youngest (or oldest, if you prefer – you’re in charge!) player starts by selecting one box and places it onto the white table next to the scoreboard. This is the ‘prize box’ everybody’s playing for.
Also on the board is the Banker’s phone – which naturally is a big ‘retro’ replica of the one on which Noel converses with the unseen Banker on the TV show. Play proceeds with the next player selecting the first box to be opened; this is done by the player to their left, and is the opportunity for any amount of amateur dramatics! The value inside the box is covered on the scoreboard - hopefully it’ll be low and blue, but if it’s got to be red, all players will want to steer clear of the biggest amounts, ‘the power five’.

Can you Beat the Banker?. Each time a money amount is revealed it’s entered into the Banker’s phone; and after the fifth amount has been entered, the Banker makes his first ‘offer’, which is displayed on the screen of the telephone. Each player must then decide whether to accept the offer or hold out for a higher amount – Deal or No Deal.
A player indicates his or her decision by placing the relevant card face down on the table. Those who choose to deal write down their prize money amount for that game on the score pad provided; those who refuse the deal carry on, with the Banker then offering further deals after every third box is opened. (If luck’s against them, however, the Banker’s offers might well go down instead of up!) When only two boxes are left, players can use their cards and choose to swap or stick, just like on the TV show. The winner is the player with the highest money total after six games.