I will start out by grading the Winner Take All gimmick!

Winner Take All, Grade = F-

That is definitely not what the game is about. It is just about making the right deal and beating the banker. We didn't need an extra level of (specifically human) competition that would drive people to do extremely crazy gambles (which one person did and ended up winning only a dollar in his game).

It just didn't deserve an F, but rather an F minus for this.

Deal Wheel, Grade = B
There is some risk involved, but the rewards can be huge. Not too rather convinced on rather this one is that bad, despite the slight (16.67%) chance of losing half of your winnings on that, but sometimes this can be based on good luck and timing, part of the game.

Well, as for grading the Million Dollar Mission...

Grade = C+

As much as we want to see a jackpot winner, I think NBC/Endemol is taking this a bit too far and ergo, quite desperate to see such a winner to do this.

Leftovers/Carryover (similar to Million Dollar Mission), Grade = Incomplete
Only seen in Episode 2 of the Thanksgiving episode, but has the potential to go too far a la Million Dollar Mission, especially if the seven figure prizes stay unwon for a while. A good idea to a limit, though.

Ouch! I personally kinda liked the Winner Take All gimmick but can see what's wrong with it. Probably the biggest flaw is that it makes players think of offers, not as real money, but as points - although I think it was not that but low offers and mostly bad boards dictated the gambling on the show in question. Personally, I'd probably take a more targetist approach than normal for Winner Take All - in an average sample of three games, I'd feel pretty sure $200,000 would win it and $100,000 wouldn't (in the case of the first such episode - OOPS!), and so I'd take my first $200k+ offer and turn down anything not in six figures.

Deal Wheel is fun, though I would like to see it made optional and possibly a bit meaner. Better yet, have TWO Deal Wheels, one of which has more risk and more reward - or do it like Aussie Double or Nothing (not the simplified US rule which sucked) where you can put as much or as little of your winnings as you like on the wheel.

Million Dollar Mission is a fun idea in its own right, creating some interesting boards, but it's ruined by the stench of 'we want a jackpot winner' and I don't like that. Man, if only Michelle Falco had taken the swap...

As for the 'leftovers', that really was just a rehash on the escalating-jackpot weeks of 2006.

My favourite twist of that gimmick week wasn't a gameplay twist at all. It was the orchestra on the Wicked-themed episode - if only because it kinda reminded me how rubbish the annoying-beat music is on this show. It was almost like doing Deal with the Millionaire music and it was lovely. Although the Case Reveal twist was pointless and the gimmick offer was desperate, clearly chucked out once it became a one-case game - just like Zenny's green Escalade, and in both cases the landmine went with the first proveout pick!!

Tha Deal Wheel was cool, that was good.