QuizMaster

Host
Simon Reeve
Broadcast
Seven Network: 2002

QuizMaster (also known as QuizMaster: Million Dollar Challenge) was an Australian game show with a test of masters from the quiz show scene with the ultimate prize.

Gameplay[]

Four contestants, already renowned for their mastery of the question/answer format, challenged each other for the title of QuizMaster and a potential prize pool of $1,000,000.

There were essentially two components to the show. The first part involved five rounds of questions amd answers, where contestants had to buzz in to give their response. (NOTE: The rules for each round differed slighty)

Round 1[]

All contestants competed with each other to score the most points within the time limit. A correct answer resulted in the addition of 10 points to the score, an incorrect answer locked that player out for the next question.

Round 2: Round of Team Play[]

Each contestant, starting with the highest scorer, was allowed to choose a partner of their choice to work together in building a sizeable score, Each player alternated at answering questions; each time a player answered correctly, both teammates would pick up 10 points. However, if a player answered incorrectly, then they had to answer a further question correctly before passing on to their colleague.

Round 3: Round of Point Steal[]

This played exactly as Round 1, except that a contestant who answered correctly nominated an opposing player to take 10 points from to add to their own score.

Round 4: Round of Isolation[]

Each contestant in turn chose one other player to "isolate" . That player had to play alone for 60 seconds against the other three players who worked in a team. If one of the team members answered incorrectly, all team members were locked out. At the end of the round, the player with the lowest score was excluded from becoming QuizMaster, but could still influence the final result in Round 5.

Round 5[]

This played exactly like like Round 3. However, the eliminated player from Round 4 was still permitted to answer questions and could distribute any points he/she earned to the player of their choice. The player with the highest score at the end of the round would play for the title of "QuizMaster".

The Second component saw the highest scorer attempting to answer 5 out of 10 questions to achieve the title of "QuizMaster". They nominated one of the other players to help them in their quest. In each show, $250,000 was added to the prize pool. The questions in this section of the show were extremely difficult but did not have time limits. The highest scorer attempted to answer each question in turn. If they didn't know the answer, they could ask their partner to answer the question in their place. However, if that partner was called upon that player could claim $50,000 from the prize pool for each question correctly answered. The prize pool was only handed out and the highest scorer named "QuizMaster" if five or more questions were answered correctly, otherwise; the pool jackpoted into the next show. A successful "QuizMaster" was allowed to appear on the next show and potentially pick up the entire prize pool of $1,000,000.