Deal or No Deal looks like a dumb game of luck on the surface, where you pick one case out of 26 and go through a process of elimination.
The real element of this game comes from the "evil Banker", who offers to buy your case and reduce your personal risk, in exchange for a guaranteed amount worth less than fair value.
Because of the Banker, this show goes deep into the world of psychology, human behavior, expected value (average value of the case), volatility, and utilitarian value (are you willing to sacrifice long term gains to secure a smaller win?), all of which have been studied extensively by brilliant experts writing papers on game theory.
Watching this show is intense, but that's also what makes it exciting. The differing views people have as to when to take a bank offer, they vary from taking the first offer, to going all the way.
I can understand why some people can't stomach it. Game shows love to bring extroverted contestants on air who are more likely to take risks.
Also, some of the bank offers are designed 1) to encourage risk taking 2) take advantage of scared contestants by making low ball offers 3) to be very generous to try to compel the player to settle for less.
In some cases the Banker offers more than fair value, just to be generous and toy with the audience.
The thought of receiving a 6 figure bank offer, and people accepting, turning it down, making it bigger, or in some cases losing it all on national TV, it is absolutely wild.
The game show host, Howie Mandel, is fundamental to the show. He expands on the game by getting us to know the contestants and family members, who are an interesting bunch.
The contestants leave people sitting at home shouting at their tvs, because a contestant is, more often than not, a bigger risk taker than the person watching at home.
Also, Deal or No Deal is self aware of the fact that their game show can be viewed by some as a bit boring and overly simplistic.
In response, they change things up all the time with surprise celebrity appearances, family/community reunions, special themes that center on the contestant, and customized bank offers for dream prizes specifically appealing to that contestant, plus other silly things to make some episodes memorable.
One last comment: I find it ironic that the original run of Deal or No Deal ended in 2008, at the same time that "evil bankers" went from a silly gimmick, to a real thing involving trillions in dollars and millions of job losses in the 2008 financial crisis.
The real element of this game comes from the "evil Banker", who offers to buy your case and reduce your personal risk, in exchange for a guaranteed amount worth less than fair value.
Because of the Banker, this show goes deep into the world of psychology, human behavior, expected value (average value of the case), volatility, and utilitarian value (are you willing to sacrifice long term gains to secure a smaller win?), all of which have been studied extensively by brilliant experts writing papers on game theory.
Watching this show is intense, but that's also what makes it exciting. The differing views people have as to when to take a bank offer, they vary from taking the first offer, to going all the way.
I can understand why some people can't stomach it. Game shows love to bring extroverted contestants on air who are more likely to take risks.
Also, some of the bank offers are designed 1) to encourage risk taking 2) take advantage of scared contestants by making low ball offers 3) to be very generous to try to compel the player to settle for less.
In some cases the Banker offers more than fair value, just to be generous and toy with the audience.
The thought of receiving a 6 figure bank offer, and people accepting, turning it down, making it bigger, or in some cases losing it all on national TV, it is absolutely wild.
The game show host, Howie Mandel, is fundamental to the show. He expands on the game by getting us to know the contestants and family members, who are an interesting bunch.
The contestants leave people sitting at home shouting at their tvs, because a contestant is, more often than not, a bigger risk taker than the person watching at home.
Also, Deal or No Deal is self aware of the fact that their game show can be viewed by some as a bit boring and overly simplistic.
In response, they change things up all the time with surprise celebrity appearances, family/community reunions, special themes that center on the contestant, and customized bank offers for dream prizes specifically appealing to that contestant, plus other silly things to make some episodes memorable.
One last comment: I find it ironic that the original run of Deal or No Deal ended in 2008, at the same time that "evil bankers" went from a silly gimmick, to a real thing involving trillions in dollars and millions of job losses in the 2008 financial crisis.