Little Rich yesterday made a comment that got me thinking. He said Tracy should no deal as the £250k was still on the board and the game is "to win the £250k". This is an interesting statement.

I think the game is about decision-making and judging when the right time to deal is, if at all. For me, that decision is made by evaluating the offer based on its generosity and my target. It's no secret that I'd find it difficult to turn down any offer above £20,000 and any above £30,000 would often be a cast-iron deal. However, if I had an offer of £30,000 on a golden board at 11-box, I may turn it down... whereas if I had an offer of £3,000 on a very week board at 5-box stage, I may deal it due to risk of collapse.

Therefore, I don't believe the game is essentially "to win the £250k". The £250k is the maximum money available to you. As Noel used to say in the early days of the game, the game board is more of a "status board". You're not climbing a money ladder like you are in Millionaire - the aim of the game in DOND is surely to win the maximum amount of money possible by making the right decision... hence its title of "Deal or No Deal".

In fact, can you even call it a "game" when it is based on random choices with the box selections? People have said to me that DOND is pointless and is just opening boxes with no skill involved whatsoever, and you might as well deal at the first or second offer to guarantee a bit of money (that kind of goes against what some say about the general audience wanting to see people no deal... maybe it's just the friends I mix with. Although what they would do is probably different to what they'd want to see.).

My argument is that there is skill involved in not letting the banker get a psychological advantage over you, and also knowing when the right time to deal is, be it based on odds or based on your target. If you literally shake at the second offer of £10,000 and say you've never had that much money in your life, then don't expect very generous offers as the banker knows he can buy you cheaply. At the same time, arrogance may piss him off and he may punish you for it (not the case with Andy K, but possibly the case with three-swaps "I'll go on if the £250k's there" Craig... although why did PJ get that swap offer? He wasn't arrogant.).

I think if the aim of the game was to win £250k, then there would be some sort of other element involved... such as a general knowledge round or something. Therefore I don't think the aim of the game is to win the £250k. It's just an amount that's there that can be easily knocked out like all the other amounts. Also the fact that you can only win the £250k by playing to the end, so in that case the show might as well be called "No Deal or No Deal".

This is why I don't like it when the banker uses stupid tactics such as the over-use of the swap, ridiciulously stingy offers, or offers to undeal offers, because it affects the decision making process (or in some cases, removes it altogether!) and really does make the show about simply opening boxes, and nothing more...

It's all about the attitude of the player, how they appear to the banker, and the smart ones out there realise they begin playing their game as soon as they join the wings...

so in your opinion H the 250K should NEVER BE WON? I bet you curled your toes at Lauras win then.

I never said it should never be won. What I said is I don't think the sole aim of the game is to win the £250k. It is about dealing at the right opportunity should one arise. If it doesn't arise, then by all means a no deal is probably the best thing to do, and in Laura's case she went for it after turning down a poor offer for the board and luckily for her, she won the maximum money avaiable to her in the game.

The aim of the game is to maximise your winnings. The top prize is arguably best seen as indeterminate (c.f. Millionaire, where it's clearly £1m through getting every question right), varying depending upon the vagarities of luck and the Banker. The latter can be influenced by you, but in many cases seems completely out of the player's hands!

Simple. It's to get the maximum amount of money out of your game.

The main aim surely is reckless and carefree gambling to maximise the excitement and enjoyment of the viewing public.

Ok ok I'm joking.

DonD is a game that doesn't require any intelligence at all, unlike other game-shows on TV that at least requires half a brain or some kind of knowledge to actually win anything. Even the brain-dead and completely stupid can apply to be on this show as long as they can count from one to five, but even that qualification isn't a legal requirement, as plenty of contestants can't even do that. To be frank, it's nothing more than an exercise in easy money for people who are too lazy or stupid to play a normal quiz show that requires at least some level of intelligence to win.

The only "skill" in DonD is choosing the optimum time to say "deal" and try and maximize your winnings. The £250K is a goal, but realistically, isn't obtainable unless you're a Wakeyist who is prepared to go all the way to the end and just open your box regardless, which makes the previous 45 minutes kinda pointless - you might as well just come to the pound table, say 'no deal' and open your box and just hope for the best - the show would be over in two minutes flat and we'd have quite a number of quarter a millionaires by now ! To my mind the object of the game has never been to win £250K. That's just not realistic. The object of the game is to meet new friends, run up a huge hotel bill and then take Endemol, Channel 4 and the Banker for whatever you can get without being too reckless or greedy in the process!

You need the £250K on the board to get the really good offers, but just because it is still there as the game proceeds, doesn't mean that you should keep saying no deal. DonD is 99% luck, and the game can turn just like that. If you get a decent five figure offer in the region of £20K or better, then in most cases, that is the time to get the hell out of the studio, no matter how good the board looks! Or at least that's my "magic figure"...

I suppose the object of the game is to win an amount of money that you're happy with. At each offer you have to consider your situation/ambitions and what's on the board, and decide whether it's worth taking the risk of going on.

Targetism and the £10k/£20k rule has taken over a bit in recent times, the approach where virtually anything less than £10k is a no-deal and virtually anything over £20k is a deal, regardless of what's left. It's hard for the Banker to make testing offers for purely target-driven players, which is why the analytical players and instinctive players who don't have a pre-set target can produce the most interesting games.

for the contestant the aim of the game is to get the most money out of the game

for endemol the aim of the game is to entertain the viewers the most

for viewers the aim of the game is to be entertained the most. ive seen some negative opionon on here and thats just simply viewers not being entertained and posting their bit about the game

i can understand if some viewers dont like the first statement (when people deal early) and so do endemol so thats where all this undeal stuff is coming in

instead of the swap complicating things cant they just let contestants choose their own box at the beginning?

The aim for me would be mainly to play the game without a target and assess the board, dealing good offers and no dealing bad ones and taking/ not taking certain risks. I migh find it hard to no deeal certain offers on risky boards and there are some areas where it would depedn on what I felt like at the time.

Players that actually play the board make good games. But they are quite rare. How many times have we seen golden boards squandered by target driven players where they haven't shown any intention of playing their boards.

All too often we seem to get strong boards wasted by cautious players while players that would actually play their boards end up with blues and a disappointing finish. A golden board and a player that will play it is such a rarity

I'm not even advocating wakeyism although that can create spectacular results. if some players weren't completely target driven, assessed the generosity of the offers, kept their cards close to their chest and occasionally went one more round on good boards, it'd be better.

And, indeed, it would make an interesting contrast if someone were to take a good early offer on a less than stellar board. Not so sure there's been much of that recently, although Tom's £15k second offer on a £100k board counts in my opinion.

I don't think a second offer willever happen though. I could only envisage it happening in a situation like Paul H's game where it's really high for the board. Or robot steve's ,conor's , Phils inflated 2nd offers etc.

Not with current offer patterns unless they're changing.

I'd be happy for just 1/2 people to do it and ideally get OPWs/reasonable results.

I agree. This offer pattern probably won't produce (m)any Deals before eight-box. The post-Laura pattern, however, was very very different, and I seemed to be shouting for a third offer Deal every other game.

We basically need more people who are more likely to Deal £10,000 on a bad board than £20,000 on a good one...

What I was going to say was "To get an OPW, no maatter how it's achieved" - whether that's by taking some unbelievavble risks or unlikely deals, I don't really mind which way it's done!

Personally, the game to me is a reflection of life, to do the best you can with what you have, and to enjoy your time along the way.

While you're there, you may win a large amount of money, a fair amount, or a small amount. Remember that money from the show is just one way to reach your goals, and always have options of reaching them in other ways, as you may find something more worthwhile along the way.

The game, moreso than money, is a battle of two competing goals. You know the banker is a grandmaster at this game. Even if you're only a beginner, he will react with caution until he knows for sure. Battles can begin before a move is even played.

So enjoy the experience, be true to yourself, and be happy to make mistakes. Stats can tell you what's happening with the board, but only you know how much the board is worth to you.

Don't come with targets and all that nonsense, just play it as a game and play it by the board and if the oppotunity for life changing money comes grab it with both hands.

It will one day, I'm sure. Someone playing a target based game will deal as soon as they reach their target, no matter what stage of the game. It may not be soon, but it'll happen. Anyway, back on topic, I would say the aim of the game is to get the maximum amount of money from your game.