The "offer after each box at 5-box" twist appeared out of the blue today to presumably spice up what looked as though it could be a rather dull trainwreck game. As Noel said, normally it's reserved only for use during special weeks at Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, Easter and so on (and probably next week too as the banker's planning something special for the final week before the summer break).

Today is one of only a few times it's not been used in a special show... I can think of one other off the top of my head, and that was Ned who got it because he was a statistician (and it was considered quite ground-breaking for the show at the time, and I think it was even described with some anticipation in The Guardian article about DOND).

Other twists which the banker's used - including The Banker's Gamble and Dream Offers - have also increased in frequency since they were first tried out nearly a year ago now, although the surprising twist of allowing Janie to set her own offers during the whole game has yet to be repeated...

Should the banker be using the twists more or not, and should they be reserved for special occasions only? Which is your favourite "twist" out of the ones he uses and which is your least favourite?

Personally I like the "offer after every box" twist the best as it adds real drama to the game and means there are greater decisions in the later stages of the game. I wouldn't mind seeing this used more often and in fact I don't think I'd be opposed to seeing it being used permanently. The Banker's Gamble is an interesting twist but I can't see many people ever taking advantage of it as those who deal early and get the gamble probably won't want to part with the money anyway!! I'm not such a great fan of the Dream Offers and the "setting your own offers" twist, as I think both twists change vital elements of the game (the former changing the money side of the game and the latter rendering the banker pointless if he's not setting the offers!).

Banker's gamble for me. I just crave for people to deal it because if it's on an unstable board, the tension will be undescribeable, but I think it wouldn't be taken at all on an unstable board unless a situation like this occurs.

Someone deals earlier in the game for £22,000 when they said they felt £100,000 was in the box right from the very beginning.

Final 2 boxes, £500 and £100,000. The offer is a banker's gamble. Then I could see someone accepting it due to the fact that the amount was still in the last two and it was the amount that the player thought was in their box. I could see it used in vice versa situations, someone thinks they have £500 in their box, and says they will only do the banker's gamble if a swap is guarenteed. The banker will then of course will offer the swap to make the game more exciting so the player will accept his gamble.

It all comes down to self-belief, with the Banker's Gamble.

Offer after each box at 5-box for me, it adds to the tension and will encourage players to go on with the knowledge that there is an offer after the next box, adding to the drama. I'd quite like to see it used more often actually.

I like the Banker's gamble in theory but I think it's only been used well once, in Jess's game, where there was an actual decision to make...normally it's a gamble no one would ever take, and in Ann's and Marysia's games it was a ridiculously easy gamble (for everyone except Ann and Marysia themselves of course ).

I'm not keen on twists and reckon that the banker's gamble should be scrapped as it's a pointless catch 22 situation but the offer after every box can be used sparingly i.e. every few months or so (even if it is a bit unfair).

I went for the "offer each box after 5-box" option. It adds so many more decisions/twists to the game, the rest just add a single one.

Agreed with daniel4389 on the Banker's Gamble; agreed with all on the addition of four-box and three-box offers, and I think the time has come to make that a permanent addition to the format; dream offers are a tad mawkish for me but I have no objection otherwise; the make-your-own-offer twist needs using on a statistician before I fully judge it.

I chose other because I liked it best when The Banker had a bet that Melissa didn't have £20,000 in her box!

I went for "offer after each box" as it can often revive a boring game

I went for "other," as I liked it a lot better when the banker could look in the box. It would be better if that twist was played earlier in the game though. The Banker's Gamble is good, just want to see something like cookie described happen.

Offer after each box at 5-box - My favourite of the twists. It adds an extra degree of tension to the game, especially when it's only a 1-box game.

Banker's Gamble - I quite like this twist. It adds an extra element to the end game where someone has already dealt, even if the majority of the time it will never be accepted. I also suspect if we get our 2nd £250,000 through a Banker's Gamble that'll it cause a bit of debate over whether it should have been offered.

Dream Offers - Not so keen on these and I find them a bit pointless. Perhaps the Banker could, instead of just offering a dream offer, also make a money offer at the same time and let the player decide what they want to take, if either.

Setting your own offers - A twist rarely seen and whilst interesting I do think it should be rarely used. Unless you're going to deal the offer you're going to set, then it's pretty pointless in making your own offer just to decline it. This is a twist that would be better suited to a more analytical player, with a good reading of the board and its odds.

Other - A couple of other twists i've enjoyed were the Banker's Good/Bad Easter eggs. They could throw up many different possibilities to a game and whilst they weren't used to great extent at Easter, I do think they have potential if ever used again.

Another interesting twist is the Banker's ability to look in a box. This twist is a player's worst nightmare as the Banker then goes into overdrive with the mind-games. Is the Banker bluffing or is he bluffing to make you think he's bluffing. This twist combined with the offer after each box twist would be a good combo.

I think the frequency of how they use the twists is on a good balance and that they shouldn't be over used.

I've also wondered how these twists may have changed older games, had they been around since the start of the show. Such as the offer after every box and the Banker's Gamble. Would we have seen different results had they been.

Offer after each box at 5-box.

It's between the dream offer and offer after every box for me. It's fun to watch the players squirm when they've got to decide whether to take their dream offer or not. The offer after every box is good, because it encourages the player to go on a bit further than they maybe normally would.

The thing about the Banker's Gamble is that it's highly unlikely that anyone will ever take it on a blue/red finish, so it's a bit pointless. I hated the "pick your own offers thing."

My favourite is when he looks inside the players box/looks inside 2 of the other boxes. It just throws up soo many mind games and makes it much more interesting viewing, cause ur like "is he bluffing, or is he double bluffing". I really liked it when the did it at Santa/Scrooge last year and im glad its coming back for this year!

By the way... about the "dream offers". Many many years ago (must be about 13 years ago now!) I remember seeing on Watchdog (or something like that) that the holidays that could be won on Teletext could legally be exchanged for money. I'm not sure if this was a legal thing that applied to ALL competitions or not... something's telling me it was. Does anyone know if this "loophole" still exists? Because if it does then the player would legally be entitled to request the cash equivalent of a dream offer if they ever got one!

My question about that has coincidentally been answered by Brenda (who played 11/09/07) here - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=732&p=472948#p472948 and here - viewtopic.php?f=12&t=732&p=472948#p472948

Seems quite harsh that she can't get a money exchange for it as she missed it due to illness but I suppose if it's non-refundable, there's not a lot that can be done.

There have now been 2 new twists which look as though they may become regular things - the banker giving money to recent players who've won a blue if the player wins at least a certain amount, and buying items (Len's cardigan and Brian's mug) for substantial sums of money to boost low money games.